View across Loch Linnhe to Fort William and the towering mass of Ben Nevis beyond. SCO 10,985.
Fort William lies near the head of Loch Linnhe, one of Scotland's longest sea lochs, beside the mouth of the rivers Nevis and Lochy. They join in the intertidal zone to briefly become one river before discharging to the sea. The town and its suburbs are surrounded by picturesque mountains. The town is centred on the High Street, which was pedestrianised in the 1990s. 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 railway station used to be, Gordon Square (named for the Gordons, who owned land where the town now stands in the late 18th century, during which time the town was named Gordonsburgh), and Cameron Square — formerly known as Town Hall Square. There is also Fraser Square which is not so square-like since it now opens out into Middle Street but it still houses the Imperial , 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. The town grew in size as a settlement when the fort was constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell's invasion during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and then to suppress the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century. In the Jacobite rising known as the Forty-Five, Fort William was besieged for two weeks by the Jacobites, from 20 March to 3 April 1746. However, although the Jacobites had captured both of the other forts in the chain of three Great Glen fortifications (Fort Augustus and the original Fort George) they failed to take Fort William. During the Second World War, Fort William was the home of HMS St Christopher which was a training base for Royal Navy Coastal Forces.
Size: 6054px × 4041px
Location: Loch Linnhe, Fort William. Lochaber. Inverness-shire. Highland Region.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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