3 days in Fort William.

Fort William might be the rainiest town in the UK, but the sun actually came out for me and allowed me to ramble hither and yon. After a brief nap at my little inn, I moseyed on down to the “town center” to have a look around.

Although it was a bit drizzly, plenty of people were out and about. There was a full-size bronze replica of a Model T Ford. Apparently, in 1911, some valiant chap had driven a Model T all the way up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK! I sat next to him and got a picture.

Then I stopped in at the “Highland Museum,” which was small but packed full of interesting historical artifacts about the area, including the Jacobite uprising, Queen Victoria, and other bits and bobs.

There was a break in the mist, so I walked along the river for a while. I saw the ruins of the old fort. Not much of it is left, because the Railroad Company bought the site and ran their trains right through it! However, you can still see the shape of it and get an idea of how it might have looked.

It was high time for a pint and some grub. I stopped into a pub and had an ale and some fantastic seafood chowder before heading back up the hill.

The next day promised to be sunny. Well, sunny-ish! I decided to make the most of it with a walk along the “Great Glen Way” and a visit to the old castle and a local distillery. So many beautiful flowers and plants along the river. It was a lovely walk.

There were sheep! They baa-ed at me as I walked by.

Soon I reached the ruins of Inverlochy Castle. They are currently doing some structural work, so it wasn’t possible to walk through it. But you could still get up close enough to see its magnificence. It was built in the mid-1200s and is still in remarkable shape. Very “Lord of the Rings.”

Down the path a little ways was a soap factory and cafe. So many lovely soaps…and they had a sink where you could try them out. I resisted purchasing anything, but I did have a latte and a delicious avocado toast with sun-dried tomatoes and smoked salmon.

Then it was time for whisky! When I got to the distillery, I was told that all tours were completely booked. But…it seemed that several folks had not shown up for the tour that was just starting out. So they squeezed me in. It was very interesting. And I got to try four different types of whisky, all made on site with the incomparable water from Ben Nevis. All very, very nice!

The clouds had parted enough so we could actually see Ben Nevis…an unusual occurrence!

The night before, I had ended up with rather mediocre Indian food for a late supper (this was after the most excellent soup…) so I decided to get a decent meal. By now, it had begun to drizzle, so after I dodged the raindrops back to my guesthouse, I booked myself a table at a fine restaurant just down the street. I was not disappointed!

My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here, 
My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; 
Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe, 
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.