Across Loch to Ben Nevis
The Tourist town of Fort William lies beneath the shadows of Ben Nevis. The Ben, at 4441feet – 1345meters, is not only Scotland’s highest mountain summit but also the highest in Britain. Part of the Highland Lochaber Range it is a major attraction for mountaineers as well as tourists.
Fort William
The town itself sprawls along the eastern shores of Loch Linnhe a tidal sea loch feeding in the waters from the Atlantic. Ben Nevis dominates both Fort William and the whole area…..on a good day, which are rare in our experience, the Ben stands proud from all approaches. On a bad day the weather that the Ben creates also shrouds everything in mist and rain.
Some of the best views I believe, are from the western shores of the Loch and a short but exhilarating crossing of Loch Linnhe at the Corran Ferry takes you to a narrow road that winds its way northwards, hugging the shoreline for much of the way…every corner brings a new view. Sometimes the summit is touched by the clouds then the wind blows it clear…
Ben Nevis from Inverscaddle Bay
For us a drive or walk up Glen Nevis is a must. The Glen can be found directly behind Fort William and is even more in the shadow of Ben Nevis and its neighbouring Lochaber summits.
Glen Nevis and the approach to Ben Nevis
The Glen is well forested and the paths and roads twist, often alongside the Waters of Nevis which it crosses at various waterfalls. Trackways lead up into the numerous valleys across mountain passes or to one of the many summits…
Fort William can also be described as a Port. Shipping was once the vital link to the Highlands, the numerous sea lochs the major highways of that time. But it was along way around the north coast of Scotland so inspired thinking created the Caledonian Canal. The canal links west to east, Fort William to Inverness, by linking the inland lochs of the Great Glen by means of the canal with large locks to adjust for height and the climb up from sea level.
Entry to this western end of the Caledonian Canal is at Corpach.
Corpach Lighthouse and Ben Nevis
This is also the entry to Neptune’s Staircase a series of locks that lift that link the lower sea waters of Loch Linnhe with the first level section of the Canal. The canal was built for both Fishing vessels and the steam powered coastal Cargo boats and is still a link for Commercial boats but now mainly leisure sailors.
13th October
(C) David Oakes 2017
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 
FA BU LOUS!! Great photos. Thank you very much. In 1994 I didn’t feel good enough to leave the train, after I had left Mallaig where I stayed in a hotel to recover from terrible sea sickness on the tugboat they called ferry van Kyly to Mallaig. Now I can see what I missed… 😀
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and I thought that you were a seasoned Ferry traveller. Skye to Mallaig is nothing compared to your travels across the North Seas 🙂
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Aye but with windforce 9 from the South West…? Do you have sturdy sea legs? I haven’t. Obviously… hihi. The big ferry has a large number of stabilizers under the hull which keeps the ship upright and pretty stable. Now with windforce 9 I did cross several times. It wasn’t easy but with my ginger sweets and two pills I did sleep through most of it. This sea tug in 1994 did’nt have any stabilizer at all. It rolled. Not so much when we were between Skye en the mainland of Scotland, but when we changed course in order to sail straight on to Mallaig, we got the Atlantic gale sideways and with a vengeance. I wasn’t the only one that hung overboard. 😀
And I wasn’t the only one to step onto steady ground with a green face. 😀
As soon as you go left to the mainland again, you have reached the southern point of Skye en the whole Atlantic is out there waiting… Wham!
I am so please there is a bridge now…. hahahaha
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Don’t think the boats have changed much since then and I am sure they have not heard of stabilisers…… anyway you can get to Skye over a bridge now.
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