Highwinds Self Catering Fort William Scotland Inverness-shire Highlands
Highwinds Self Catering is a lovely, substantial detached house near Fort William, Inverness-shire.
As cosy for two as it is ideal for larger groups with it's two lounges and large kitchen. It's ideal for one or two families and is set in a picturesque half acre garden where you can enjoy outstanding views to the north face of Ben Nevis and the Nevis Range.
Highwinds is set in Torlundy just 3 miles from Fort William, the outdoor capital of the U.K. Fort William has a good variety of shops, pubs and restaurants.
This is a fabulous area for Walking, Climbing, Salmon fishing on the River Lochy from April-October with Ben Nevis as the backdrop is there a more idilic highland scene, Trout fishing nearby, pony trekking, mountain biking on the world championship course, Fort William 18 Hole Golf Course is under a mile away, a great day can be had at The Ice Factor which has the largest indoor ice wall in the world, sailing, canoeing and skiing at the Nevis Range in winter.
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Inverlochy Castle Hotel by Relaix & Chateaux
This video was developed by Relais & Chateaux for the award winning Inverlochy Castle Hotel in Fort William, Scotland
Ben Nevis - The North Face (Ledge Route)
Having previously completed Curved Ridge, Aonach Eagach and Forcan Ridge, I fancied a challenge ...
Peter and I had high hopes of obtaining the summit of Ben Nevis via the North Face scramble known as Ledge Route on Saturday 14th September 2013. Parking in the North Face carpark at Torlundy, we were 2 hours to the entrance of Gully number 5 on the North Face. This is at the top of the scree pile that extends all the way down to the CIC hut,
On entering the Gully things started to go astray. First mistake - not having a helmet. Scree all over the place means loose rocks bouncing downwards to the unsuspecting climber below! We then missed the right hand turn and scrambled up Gully 5.
Then clag and rain moved in and the rocks became horribly slippy - arghh.
We looked back and realised that we'd missed the actual ledge we should have gone up - complete will the lovely wet sloping slab at the top.
Our main objective at this point was to retreat safely to the start of the ledge route. We had to remove our backpacks to descramble the Gully 5 and whilst lowering them down Peter's water bottle fell out and down the hill, being decapitated too. Thank goodness that was not our heads!
Eventually we made it down to the bit where we should have headed right and up. We mused over the happenings over a cup of coffee and decided that the slippy slab was not for us, due to its proximity to the cliffs, so made the decision to retreat down and just enjoy the views of the North Face and take lots of photos and video instead.
The clag cleared and the sun came out briefly and we met two walkers heading fro Ledge Route. One of them had done it before and assured us that the slab was the only difficult part of the walk, but we'd made our minds up and wished them all the best. By the time we neared the CIC hut lower down the slopes, we could see they'd reached the top of that section and were already quite high up.
We soaked up the moody views of the North face of The Ben for an hour or so, before heading back along the path to the North Face carpark. At the style, just before the trees, we met a local guy who'd went up the Castle Ridge and down the Ledge route. He said we could have avoided the slab by going via Moonlight buttress, so if we go up there again, that sounds like a plan!
I've already got Ben Nevis and CMD ticked off, so didn't miss out on adding to my tally, I felt a little disappointed in failing on the Ledge Route, but we both made it back down safely and had a great day out.
Sad to read this report of a 21 year old who fell 500 feet from the ledge route:
Summiting Ben Nevis
I've never seen the summit of Ben Nevis from afar. For the times I travelled through Fort William, it's always hidden behind clouds. Although it's on my plan to climb it in this trip, I didn't think it will happen due to continuing bad weather. The morning I woke up in Fort William, no surprise, the summit was again behind dark clouds. So I decided to just walk around town and catch the first bus to Skye.
When I strolled into Glen Nevis Visitor Centre car park, two locals were gearing up for the summit. Suddenly I felt I needed to do this, despite I had no map no food no rain gear and only 200 ml of water in my pack. So I did. And I'm glad I did as it's a rewarding experience.
8:30am Visitor Centre
11:45am Ben Nevis summit (10 min on top)
2pm Visitor Centre
Near the summit, snow came down and covered trails and cairns. There's no visual reference except the footprints of a small group of climbers before me. Nothing but white all around. Soon the climbers before me retreated as well. At that point I sensed the summit was within 500 yards. Despite zero visibility, I decided to keep going up. Interestingly the retreating local climbers turned around and followed me to the top. I was the first to summit Ben Nevis that day, and possibly the first in a week of bad weather. At the summit, the locals shook my hand thanking me for leading the way.
A few things I learned...
1. Unlike the Scots and the Brits who can always jump in the car and try again when it's sunny, I had flown half way around the world and was not to get rejected by the last 500 yards. I'm not a better climber. I just had a different risk-reward profile that day.
2. I handle steepness better than the Scots and the Brits (thanks to Sierra Nevada in my backyard), but they handle better the wetness and bad weather in general. When the weather turns they just pull up the hood and keep going, as everything they wear is already water-resistant.
3. Hail and snow are better than rain. They don't get you wet. They just bounce off your face and clothes.
B&B Fort William Spean Bridge
distanthillsspeanbridge.co.uk
The exterior of Distant Hills Guest House, Spean Bridge near Fort william with Aonach Mor mountain behind. Still snow in June.
Distant Hills Guest House
Roy Bridge Road, Spean Bridge, Inverness-shire PH34 4EU
01397 712452
Mayfield bed and breakfast Fort William
Small family-run quiet B&B in a lovely setting close to Ben Nevis, 4km North of Fort William, Scotland. Close to Nevis Range mountain bike / ski centre. Info at mayfield-bandb.co.uk