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Fort William
Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan
Fort William  Fort William shown within Scotland
Population	9,908 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	NN103738
Council area	Highland
Lieutenancy area	Inverness
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FORT WILLIAM
Postcode district	PH33
Dialling code	01397
Police	Northern
Fire	Highlands and Islands
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Scottish Parliament	Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Fort William, Scotland

Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles. It is an important centre for hillwalking and climbing due to its proximity to Ben Nevis and many other Munro mountains, marketing itself as the "Outdoor Capital of the UK".^[1] It is also well known for its nearby famous Downhill Mountain Bike Track and its connection to the West Highland Way from Glasgow and the Great Glen Way; a walk/cycle way from Inverness to Fort William through the Great Glen.

Originally based around the still-existent village of Inverlochy^{[citation needed]}, the town lies at the southern end of the Great Glen, on the shores of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil. It is close to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, and Glen Nevis.

Around 726 (7.33%) of the population can speak Gaelic.^[2]

Historically, this area of Lochaber was strongly Clan Cameron country, and there were a number of mainly Cameron settlements in the area (such as Blarmacfoldach). The nearby settlement of Inverlochy was the main settlement in the area before the building of the fort, and was also site of the Battle of Inverlochy.

Fort William from Loch Linnhe.

However, the town is not of local origin. It grew up as a settlement next to a fort constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell's invasion during the English Civil War, and then to suppress the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century. The fort was named "Fort William"' after William Of Orange, and the settlement that grew around it was called "Maryburgh", after his wife. This settlement was later renamed "Gordonsburgh", and then "Duncansburgh"^[3] before being renamed "Fort William", this time after Prince William, Duke of Cumberland; known to some Scots as "Butcher Cumberland". Given these origins, there have been various suggestions over the years to rename the town (for example, to "Invernevis"). These proposals have led to nothing as of yet.

During World War II, Fort William was the home of HMS St Christopher which was a training base for Royal Navy Coastal Forces.

Fort William is the northern end of the West Highland Way, a long distance route which runs 95 miles through the Scottish Highlands to Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, and the start/end point of the Great Glen Way, which runs between Fort William and Inverness.

On 2 June 2006, a fire destroyed McTavish's Restaurant in Fort William High Street along with the two shops which were part of the building. The restaurant had been open since the 1970s and prior to that the building had been Fraser's Cafe since the 1920s. The site is still empty in 2008 and the adjacent Grand Hotel has now also closed.^[4]

A "Waterfront" development has been proposed by the Council though there is not overwhelming support for this in the town.^[5] The development will include a hotel, some shops and some housing but it was discovered early in 2008 that it is unlikely to be completed before 2020.^[6]

Fort William lies on the shores of Loch Linnhe (sea water) beside the mouth of the rivers Nevis and Lochy. They join in the tidal zone to briefly become one river before discharging to the sea. The town and its suburbs, surrounded by picturesque mountains, follow the curved contour of the end of the longest sea loch in Scotland.

The town is centred on the High Street, which was pedestrianised in the 90s. Off this there are several squares. Monzie Square (named after the Cameron Campbells of Monzie, Perthshire, former landowners in the town), Station Square, where the long-since demolished but often lamented railway station used to be, Gordon Square (named for the Gordons, who owned land where the town now stands in the late 1700s, during which time the town was named Gordonsburgh), and Cameron Square — formerly known as Church Square.

The main residential areas of the town are unseen from the high street or the A82 main road. Upper Achintore and the Plantation spread steeply uphill from above the high street.

Inverlochy, aluminium plant, Corpach and Loch Eil

Inverlochy, Claggan, Lochyside, Caol, Banavie and Corpach outwith the town are the other main residential areas. These areas are built on much flatter land than the town.

Nearby is Glenfinnan, 17 miles, home of the Glenfinnan Monument (Jacobite era) and Viaduct (as seen on a Bank Of Scotland £10 note^[7]). The viaduct is also known as the "Harry Potter Bridge". Glenfinnan has also been used in: Charlotte Gray, Highlander and other Harry Potter films. For more details, visit: http://wikitravel.org/en/Glenfinnan

Just outside the town is a large aluminium plant, powered by the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme,^[8] in its day the biggest tunnelling project in the world. This was formerly served by the Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway better known locally as the Puggie.

The West Highland Line passes through Fort William. Owing to the difficult terrain in the area, the line from Glasgow, to the south, enters from the northeast and trains from Glasgow to Mallaig, the terminus of the line, have to reverse at Fort William railway station.^[9]

The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William.

2007 'The Worlds': Sam Hill. Time: 4:51 minutes.

2008 World Cup: Greg Minnaar.

2009 World Cup: Greg Minnaar. Time: 4:39:98 minutes.^[10]

Winners of key women's downhill events at Fort William are:

2008 World Cup: Tracey Mosely.

2009 World Cup: Sabrina Jonnier. Time: 5:17:65 minutes.^[11]

Winners of key women's 4-cross events at Fort William are:

2009 World Cup: Jana Harakova.

2009 World Cup: Jill Kintner.^[12]

Motorcycle trials

Fort William the home of the Scottish Six Day Motorcycle Trial (SSDT), held annually in the first full week of May.

Shinty

Fort William has two major shinty teams, Fort William Shinty Club and Kilmallie Shinty Club.

As a film location

Movies filmed in or near Fort William include Being Human, Braveheart, Highlander, Restless Natives and Rob Roy. The TV series Rockface was filmed mainly around Fort William and some scenes of Monarch of the Glen were filmed around Fort William though most was done near Newtonmore. Local Hero shot the internal Houston scenes in Fort William. The opening sequence for Warner Bros. 2007 film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was shot in Fort William.

Festival

In a celebration of mountains and the culture that surrounds them, and in recognition of the importance of climbing and walking tourism to the town, the Fort William Mountain Film Festival is held there each year. For a number of years this volunteer led festival has concentrated mostly around film but, starting in the Year of Highland Culture - Highland 2007, its scope was widened, and it dropped the 'film' from its title. Fort William Mountain Festival website

Famous people

Charles Kennedy - Former leader of the Liberal Democrat party, although born in Inverness, was brought up and educated in Fort William.

Daniel McLean McDonald - Founder of the BSR company and benefactor of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in the University of Cambridge.^[13]