Fort William
Fort William is a settlement in the Highlands of Scotland. Originally built upon the still-extant village of Inverlochy, the town sits at the southern end of the Great Glen, Fort William sits close to the head of Loch Linnhe, among Scotland's longest sea lochs, beside the mouth of the rivers Nevis and Lochy. It is close to Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles, Glen Nevis and the town of Achnaphubuil is on the opposite bank of the loch. When the railway opened to Fort William on 7 August 1894, the station was granted prime position at the south side of the town. The outcome was that the town was divided from the lochside by train tracks up until the 1970s when the present by-pass was built, and the station was re-located to the north end. According to the 2001 Census, it has a permanent resident population of approximately 9908. This makes Fort William the 2nd largest settlement in the Highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger. Within this population, around 726 people, forming 7.33 percent of the population, can speak Gaelic. Fort William is a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles. It is a centre for hillwalking and climbing as a result of its distance to Ben Nevis and many other Munro mountains. It is also known for its close-by downhill trail bike track. It is the start and end of both the West Highland Way (Milngavie-Fort William) and the Great Glen Way (a walk/cycle way Fort William-Inverness). For all of your home refurbishments, make certain to identify credible specialists in Fort William to make certain of quality.