Fort William
UK & IRELAND diary : Day 8 - 18th April 2017
Fort William is a small town lying to the north of Glencoe, starting at the mouth of Lake Linnhe. It is usually the gateway to the Ben Nevis mountain, which is the highest mountain in whole of British isles. The Nevis valley is a hot tourist attraction. However, we had the route reversed in our tour. Our track was Edinburgh- Stirling- Loch Lubnaig- the GLENCOE and next FORT WILLIAM ( The Nevis Valley) Highlands, on our way to reach FORT AUGUSTUS.
The tour had a small stop around the mountainous terrain of Fort William. We didn't get to see much of the town. The Highlands were more than magical. The 20 minute stop at the stunning valley was well worth it all.
This Highland valley was right out of God's Canvas. It was sprayed in various mixes of green, brown, red, black and even pink. It was super stunning. Our van was parked at a suitable spot and the guide instructed us to get off and walk down the valley for views. The crowd was just awestruck by the surroundings. Though it was cold, the sun shined keeping us warm. We didn't feel the need to clothe ourselves in winter wear for a while. Some of them tried a little bit of mountain climbing. We had about 15 minutes here. All we could hear was the clicking of cameras. The rugged tall rocks forming various patterns, the last bits of snow adorning the peaks, it was surreal. The entire journey around the Highlands seemed to be in circles.
To catch glimpses of the Ben Nevis mountain range at every possible turn, in the area was fascinating . We begged for some time in order to try a short climb up the mountain valley. The guide , however, Kindly denied our request, as we had a lot to cover that day. "Remember it is a 12 hour tour, we are stretched enough" - he reminded, in his Scottish accent.
Like good children, we boarded our bus and we off to our next stop. The SPEAN BRIDGE - COMMANDO MEMORIAL. This lies at one and half kilometres distance from the village of Spean Bridge. The village is considered to be the crossroad junction, between FORT WILLIAM and FORT AUGUSTUS. The sky was clear and the views of the Ben Nevis was stunning.
The memorial is a tribute to the British commandos of the Second world war. There are 3 bronze statues of smartly dressed commandos, with rifles in their hands, overlooking the Ben Nevis mountain range. The vast area in front of it is mostly used for commando training. A part of the mountain range turns into a ski slope during winter. The area is well maintained and is therefore not only just a WAR MEMORIAL but also a popular tourist attraction. This open landscape provided the second break on this leg of the journey, from Glencoe to Fort Augustus. For further story read FORT AUGUSTUS.