Fort William and Ballachulish

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Commando Memorial

At the end of our week in Dornie last July, we broke our journey home with two nights in Ballachulish. Our first stop on the way down was the Commando Memorial just past Spean Bridge. From 1942 until the end of the Second World War, the Lochaber district was used as a training area by the elite commando units of the British Army. This group of bronze soldiers was sculpted by Scott Sutherland in 1952.

We then headed into Fort William, situated on the shores of Loch Linnhe and gateway to Ben Nevis, Scotland’s (and the UK’s) highest mountain. An unattractive dual carriageway along the waterfront rather spoils it, but we enjoyed looking round its central green area, The Parade, before lunch. The Peace Memorial with its various inscriptions was particularly interesting.

The Parade
Statue of Donald Cameron
The Parade with War Memorial
Fort William Peace Memorial
Fort William Peace Memorial
Fort William Peace Memorial
Fort William Peace Memorial

After lunch, we walked out along the River Lochy to the ruins of Inverlochy Castle.

River Lochy
River Lochy
River Lochy

Inverlochy Castle
Inverlochy Castle

On the way back into Fort William, we stopped at the old fort.

At the old fort
At the old fort

Then we wended our way back to our car – the town was busy! There is a statue on a bench near here to mark the end of the West Highland Way, Scotland’s most popular long-distance walking trail, but it was never free of other people to get a photograph. With a bit of patience we were luckier at the Bronze Ford.

Fort William
Bronze Ford

This commemorates the feat of one Henry Alexander who ascended Ben Nevis in a Model T Ford over nine days in 1911. As if this wasn’t daft enough, one hundred years later 77 people carried the components of a 1911 car to the summit where they reassembled it in a snowstorm. That car was used as a template for this sculpture cast in 2018 at Powderhall in Edinburgh.

From here, we headed straight to our hotel, the Isles of Glencoe, in the village of Ballachulish.

The hotel is built on a peninsula created from slate waste from the local quarry which operated from 1693 until 1955. The only visible legacy of this is the slate boatsheds. The bridge in the pictures has connected North and South Ballachulish since 1975, before which a ferry had operated since 1730.

Loch Leven at Isles of Glencoe
Loch Leven at Isles of Glencoe
Loch Leven at Isles of Glencoe
Ballachulish Bridge
Ballachulish Bridge
Old boatsheds
Loch Leven at Isles of Glencoe
Loch Leven at Isles of Glencoe

After exploring the peninsula, we went into the village itself. We were welcomed with peace in three languages.

Peace sign
Peace sign

We explored the site of the quarry, now a tranquil picnic area, but a site of bitter industrial disputes in the past, including a 12 month lock-out in 1903 over pay and conditions and the dismissal of the company doctor. The workers won in the end, but endured terrible hardship during the quarry’s closure.

Ballachulish Quarry
Ballachulish Quarry

Veins of quartz and blast holes in the slate are still visible.

Quartz seam
Blast holes

Round the corner is the only survivor of six inclined planes, built in 1822 as part of a system to take slate down to the harbour. The arch is because the old public road to Glencoe used to run under it.

Inclined plane
Inclined plane

We had a lovely dinner in the hotel, and looked forward to our explorations the next day. However, overnight the view from our window changed from the one on the left to the one on the right:

Hotel view day 1
Hotel view day 2

Whatever could we do?

Scotland, UK , ,

58 Comments »

  2. beautiful . . . and what glorious weather you had for part of the day, maybe that’s why is changed so dramatically the following day. Too much of a good thing and all that!

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  3. The Peace Memorial is very poignant and interesting. I don’t usually use the word “daft” although it fits perfectly here. The end result, the sculpture of the car is worth it. Like you say, Anabel, tranquil now. Bitter disputes and hardship in the past. Fascinating post!

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  4. It looks like you had a nicer day in Fort William than I did on my one brief visit. It was the end of November, there was a horrible cold driving rain, and we basically left the car long enough to run into a chippy and back to the car again to eat our chips inside. On the plus side, it definitely wasn’t crowded!

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  7. I wasn’t particularly impressed with Fort William as a town when I went a few years ago but I wasn’t really there for the town, more for the views across the loch, and I did like the Municipal Gardens running along the loch side. I missed Inverlochy Castle though so maybe one for the future. The hotel at Ballachulish looks nice, certainly two different views from your window! 🙂

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  9. What a beautiful countryside. The West Highland Trail has long been on my list to hike. When I looked at tour guides, I was intimidated by the 30km a day the group would be hiking. There is just no way I could keep that kind of pace … especially in these mountainous conditions. But I can look at your photos and dream 😊

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      • I draw the line at camping, but I could handle basic accommodation as long as it includes running water and a bed off the floor.
        I’ve tried scheduling this twice, then something major comes up in my life (like my son getting married 2 years ago). I haven’t ruled it out yet 🙂

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  10. Hi Anabel – well there were lots of things to visit … but I loved ‘seeing’ around with you and John. The hotel sounds a good base (as a stop over). That slate mine must be fascinating to see now … and the inclined plate you showed us is just extraordinary – those were the days of a hard working life – yet with innovation. The weather looked invigorating before your last photo! I’m sure you found something interesting to do … cheers Hilary

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  12. You do find the most interesting places to visit, Anabel. Your words and your photos convey your travels beautifully. I always look forward to coming along (and I prepare ahead for unexpected changes in the weather). 😀

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  15. You’ve managed to make Fort William look scenic and interesting – well done. We always used to head for Nevisport, chip shop, then a pub crawl and that was about it. Bumped into Jimmy Savile up there a few times but that’s not really a claim to fame these days :o)

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  17. Odd thing.. I always intended to go to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, but never did. Now it’s one of the first places, I will go to if and when I get back to Scotland this year. The other place, surprisingly enough, is Paisley Abbey. Great photographs! Not a fan of Billy Connolly but I remember something he is reputed to have said “There is no such thing as bad weather – only inappropriate clothing”.

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  18. The usual fascinating post from you, Anabel, but I would have liked to know what the lovely green area was in your ‘strap-line picture’, the very top one that scrolls across the page. I’m presuming it’s some part of Fort William. Would I be right? It looks delightful anyway and a change from all the grey stone and slate. That little spot of blue in one picture is so vivid, just shows you what the sky there could do if it really tried.

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    • Hi Mari, glad you enjoyed the post. Do you meant the header right at the top behind the Gallivanter title? I have about a dozen images that appear at random there, so I can’t be sure what you saw – but it definitely wasn’t Fort William.

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  19. I was just thinking what lovely clear weather and beautiful blue skies you were blessed with for this trip and then I got to the conclusion. Uh oh. Good weather never does last long in Scotland.

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  20. I know all of those places and enjoyed reading about them! We’ve often stayed in Balachuillish in preference to Fort William and had an evening walk through the slate quarry.

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