( of
Scotland . Originally based around the still-extant village of
Inverlochy , 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 the beautiful
Glen Nevis . The town is a major
Tourist centre with
Glen Coe just to the south, and
Glenfinnan to the west, on the
Road To The Isles .
Historically, this area of
Lochaber was strongly
Cameron country, and there were a number of mainly Cameron settlements in the area (such as
Blarmacfoldach ). The nearby settlement of Inverlochy was the site of the
Battle Of Inverlochy .
However, the town is not of local origin. It grew up as a settlement next to a fort constructed to control the population following ) before being renamed ''Fort William'', this time after
The "Butcher" Of 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.
Just outside the town is a large
Aluminium plant, powered by the
Lochaber Hydroelectric scheme, in its day the biggest tunnelling project in the world.
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.
The
Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at
Inverness with the west coast at
Corpach near Fort William.
During World War II, Fort William was the home of
HMS St Christopher which was a training base for Royal Navy Coastal Forces.
) of the overnight
Sleeper train from London]]
