Fort William (Highland)
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Fort William Scottish Gaelic An Gearasdan |
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| Coordinates | 56 ° 49 ′ N , 5 ° 7 ′ W | ||
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| Residents | 5883 2011 census | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | FORT WILLIAM | ||
| ZIP code section | PH33 | ||
| prefix | 01397 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Lieutenancy Area | Inverness | ||
| Council area | Highland | ||
| British Parliament | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch | ||
Fort William ( Gaelic An Gearasdan , The Fortress) is the largest city in the western Scottish Highlands with a population of 5883 . It lies on the banks of Loch Linnhe at the southern end of the Great Glen . Due to the proximity to Ben Nevis , the highest mountain in Great Britain , Fort William is a tourist stronghold with shopping streets, hotels and bars.
geography
Fort William lies on the shores of Loch Linnhe, the longest sea loch in Scotland, at the mouths of the Nevis and Lochy rivers. The city and its districts are surrounded by beautiful mountains such as Ben Nevis . Loch Eil is another bay that connects to Loch Linnhe near the city .
The nearest major cities are Inverness in the northeast (approx. 90 km away) and Glasgow in the southeast (approx. 120 km away). The smaller towns in the area include Mallaig , Fort Augustus and Oban . About 20 km west of Fort William is Glenfinnan , where the Glenfinnan Viaduct (also known as the Harry Potter Bridge ) is located.
history
Originally, the Lochaber area was Clan Cameron's land . There were a number of settlements of this clan in the area (for example Blarmacfoldach). The city developed around a fortress founded in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell under the name Fort Inverlochy . 1690 the fortress by William III. (dt. Wilhelm III.) renamed Fort William . While the place itself was first named Maryborough , then renamed Gordonsburgh and later Duncansborough , it eventually took the name of the fort itself.
traffic
Fort William station, designed as a terminus , is on the West Highland railway line from Glasgow to Mallaig . It is frequented by around 160,000 (2008/09) travelers each year. In addition to the railcars operated by Abellio ScotRail between Glasgow and Mallaig, the Caledonian Sleeper also runs from Fort William , which connects the city directly with the British capital, London . In the summer months, the historic steam train " The Jacobite " also starts daily from Fort William to Mallaig.
Fort William is also the main bus hub in the Western Highlands and the destination of most bus routes in the region. There are connections to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness, but also to the sparsely populated north of Scotland and nationwide destinations in England.
The main highways leading to Fort William are the A82 and A830 . The A82 comes south from Glasgow and continues to Inverness; the A830 known as the Road to the Isles runs from Fort William to the port city of Mallaig.
tourism
Daily goals
- Ben Nevis , the highest mountain in Great Britain (1345 m)
- Glen Nevis , worth seeing valley with the Steall Falls (waterfalls) and the Glen Nevis visitor center Ionad Nibheis
- Nevis Range ski area on the Aonach Mòr
- West Highland Museum with Jacobite history and the area
- Glen Coe , impressive valley
- Old Inverlochy Castle, ruined castle from 1270
- Ben Nevis Distillery with Visitors Center, whiskey distillery
- Neptune's Staircase , lock system on the Caledonian Canal with seven steps and a swing bridge
- Glenfinnan Monument on Loch Shiel , memorial for the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 in a romantic lake landscape, Glenfinnan Viaduct (known from the Harry Potter films)
Long-distance hiking trails
Fort William is the destination of one of Scotland's most famous long-distance footpaths , the West Highland Way . Fort William is also the starting point of the Great Glen Way , which passes Loch Ness and leads to Inverness. The unmarked Cape Wrath Trail also begins in Fort William and leads to the far northwest of Scotland.
Underwater Center
Fort William is home to the Underwater Center, one of the leading training centers for professional divers in Europe. However, it is also possible there to be active as a scuba diver. The center also offers dives in historical and modern professional equipment and in the pressure chamber .
Sports
A few kilometers from the city center, on the Nevis Range , is a mountain bike trail that annually attracts thousands of athletes and fans from the UK and beyond. Since 2002, this route has been one of the most popular venues for the Mountain Bike World Cup . In 2007 Fort William also hosted the Mountain Bike World Championships .
In winter, the Nevis Range is very popular with skiers and snowboarders and is one of the most popular winter sports locations in Great Britain.
Fort William FC plays in the Highland Football League but is not as popular as Shinty in Fort William. That is why the football club has problems finding players and consequently has to suffer in the league as well.
Movies
Fort William and the surrounding area has been used as a production location in numerous films, including Being Human , Braveheart , Highlander , Restless Natives , and Rob Roy . Most of the British TV series Rockface was filmed in Fort William, as was some scenes from Monarch of the Glen . A scene from the Scottish film Local Hero was also shot in Fort William.
Personalities associated with Fort William
- Kate Bracken (* 1990), British actress, grew up in Fort William
- Michael Dixon (biathlete) (* 1962), British biathlete, was born in Fort William
- Charles Kennedy (1959-2015), British politician and former leader of the Liberal Democrats , grew up in Fort William
- Allan McDonald (1859–1905), poet and Catholic priest , was born in Fort William
- Fiona O'Donnell (* 1960), British politician, grew up in Fort William
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Information from the Scottish Parliament
- ↑ 2011 census
- ↑ Railbrit.co.uk , (Engl.) March 7, 2005.
- ↑ Annual station statistics (Engl.) , Additional text.
- ↑ America's Team FC , Accessed August 22, 2009
- ^ Official homepage of Fort William FC , (Engl.).
- ↑ Charles Kennedy's biography ( memento of the original from June 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , (Engl.)
