Day trips from Fort William?

[Anand25]

Hi, can I ask for advice on planning a trip to Fort William?

We’re booked on the overnight sleeper Friday night from London arriving on Saturday morning, then have Sat, Sun, Monday in Fort William, before taking the train down to Edinburgh on Tuesday (I understand the FW to Glasgow route is pretty scenic)

We are not planning to rent a car (could do in theory) so thinking about reasonable day trips/outings by train or bus (by reasonable I think an hour/hour and a half is a must!)

This is early March 🥶 (maybe not the best choice but it’s a birthday trip!)

I was thinking Loch Ness, Ben Nevis distillery (would have to be the Monday)… any other recommendations/must sees? Happy to spend one of the days pottering in FW too, is there much to do in town?

We will go to Pitlochry over the summer (with a car) so thinking of keeping it fairly local to FW…

Interests: views, eating/drinking, whiskey … a bit of a walk would be nice but nothing too dramatic (we are 50s and I’m a bit lazy 😁)

I have tried Trip Advisor/travel sites but some of those suggest eg Mull as a day trip and that just seems a long long day!

Thanks so much for any advice and suggestions!

If you have any Harry Potter fans either take the Jacobite Steam train or drive to the viaduct to watch it pass over.

You can also visit the Loch where Dumbledore's grave is.

Even if you are not Harry Potter fans it's a nice drive or train ride.

Apologies didn't mean to quote your OP!

If you get the train back to corrour you are at a station with no road. It’s about a mile round trip to walk along the track to the loch.

make sure you are well wrapped up!!

Or bus to Glencoe mountain ski resort. If you don’t ski you can still get the chair lift up the mountain and walk to the cafe/sledding area.

On both of these don’t go off adventuring away from the main path unless you are competent at mountain exploring.

@lifeturnsonadime : thank you, off to look up this viaduct! I’m hesitating about the steam train as we are doing the fancy double bed on the sleeper so it’s £££ but watching it go over sounds good !

@JustKeepSwimmingJust : thank you, 1 mile walk (and off to the tea room after 🤞) is the kind of pace I am thinking of 😂

Really appreciate the replies!

Train to Mallaig and back. You can get the Jacobite steam train but you’ll need to book in advance. If it’s all booked up or too expensive you can get an ordinary train. Scenic journey. Not much to do in Mallaig but can get lunch, have a little wander and then come back.

Bus to Ben Nevis visitor centre then cable car to cafe at viewpoint. Nice short walks up there.

Not a lot to do in Fort William from my memory but attractive views over loch so probably some walking routes.

Personally I would rent a car. Day 1 drive to Fort Augustus (bottom of Loch Ness) - get a cruise up the loch from there. Watch the boats going through the canal, walk up the canal side. Afternoon tea/lunch at The Lovat. Drive from FA to Invermoriston round to Invergarry. Very scenic. Back down to Fort William.

Day 2 drive to Mallaig - Glenfinnan etc. fish and chips in Mallaig.

Day 3 around Fort William - distillery etc.

Have a great time! It's beautiful up there.

You can go over the Glenfinnan viaduct on a normal train if you want, it's much cheaper. At the other end (Mallaig) is a small museum.

Just north of FW at Corpach there is a gemstone/fossil museum (Treasures of the Earth) and a shipwreck on the shore, and you can walk along the canal.

Thank you @HeddaGarbled , @DuesToTheDirt and @roobyred in particular …

@roobyred : I think you may in fact be right about renting a car, your itinerary actually looks perfect…! May I ask if you have done those roads, is the driving challenging? (Guess the clue is in the name ‘Highlands’?)

The train to mallaig is also good! That’s the one over the viaduct. I’ve seen deer from it (and no one needs to be driving instead of looking out of the window)

Thank you @JustKeepSwimmingJust

I think it’s clear we can do Loch Ness on Saturday (shorter day) and Maillag on Sunday (longer day)

Monday : relax in FW & go to the distillery

Now just need to figure out if prefer train/bus or car

Thanks SO MUCH to all of you for the replies, a huge help!!

Gondola up the Nevis range, Fort Augustus, Urquart castle

Maybe train to Mallaig and ferry over to the Isle of Eigg or Rum, I know it used to be possible and get a few hours on an island. Or the boat from mallaig to Inverie, Old Forge Pub (most remote in mainland Uk).

I'd rent a car!

Day 1: as others have suggested, up to Mallaig. Go the costal road and take in Back of Keppoch, Arisaig, Camusdarach beach (where local hero was filmed). From Mallaig you could book up a boat over to Knoydart Peninsula for a pint and food at the Old Forge Inn.

Day 2: I'd spend time pottering around the Moidart peninsula. Up to Lochailort then off the main road, down to Glenuig, Acharacle, Strontian and over the wee ferry back to Fort William. Lots of wee walks, beaches, lay-bys and coffee stops. It can be stunning in March. It's certainly possible to get over to Mull for the day (I've done it, but feel you'd be in a rush).

Driving is fine (can get busy at peak times, stuck behind log hgv's or when ferries have just docked). Wee roads can be twisty but generally never felt to be in a rush and can enjoy them.

Have fun - beautiful countryside and FW is a great base.

Oh, maybe controversial but I'd miss Loch Ness! It's not that beautiful (in my opinion).

Another option is to take the train down to Oban for a day. Oban itself offers a lot (better distillery than FW!) and you could get a ferry over to Mull as a foot passenger (not spending time on Mull, but enjoying the scenery and possible wildlife spots) OR book up a bus tour from Oban to Iona. Alternatively, over to Kerrera (Calmac sail from just out of town and there used to be quick private sailings from the little harbour in addition).

@ShopMyWardrobe25 : No Nessie?!😮

These are some amazing tips, thank you

DP loves ‘local hero’ so stopping at this beach would be brilliant (it’s a trip for his birthday)

I'm starting to think renting a car might be a good option to see more: but am relieved that there are public transport options too as early March can be very unpredictable weather wise (have had snow in Glasgow/Edinburgh in April let alone March, and I don’t fancy driving if weather poor …). Hence option of train to Maillag also looks good !

Is the Jacobite is running in March? It might not start until later in the spring and it's just the normal train otherwise. Other stuff might not be open then either so best check.

The roads can be a bit hairy if you're not used to single track and idiots who can't drive their NC500 campervans. Otherwise if you hire a car you can really get out there and see what you want, when you want and not be tied to infrequent public transport, especially if the weather is "seasonal".

Thanks @user14320953 : Jacobite starts in April so we miss it (however, if we enjoy this trip might do a summer trip fly /drive from Inverness one of these days!)

I think I might rent a car, do the short drive to Loch Ness etc on day 1 and if comfortable continue, if it’s stressful (I don’t like mountain driving/snow) then we can do Maillag on the train instead for day 2 … agree car gives more options/flexibility

Also might put DP down as a driver too 😈 He’s been driving a lot longer than me /better on bad roads!

Not far out of FW is Neptune's Staircase, a series of locks on the Caledonian Canal. Heading towards Mallaig (I didn't think it that great and would probably give it a miss) is the Glenfinnan viaduct and then the Silver Sands of Morar, which were worth a stop in my opinion.

I found more to do around Oban. If the Calmac ferries are running do the Iona day trip with the boat ride to Fingal's Cave - we saw dolphins and the basalt rocks are impressive. I loved Iona. You only get a short time there though. I will definitely go back to Iona and spend the night.

Castle Stalker and nearby the Pierhouse Hotel/Restaurant had lovely views. So many really close rainbows that you could see both sides of but it was September so you might not see them. A drive through Glencoe was also wonderful. Such a wonderful place. Have a lovely time.

@KarlaKK : thanks for this, silver sands of morar sound lovely!

It's near Mallaig so might as well go there too. There's nothing at Morar but the sands were amazing so it was a nice walk. We were lucky with the weather. HOpe you are too.

Whisky not whiskey in Scotland!! with an e is Irish/ American.
If you're hiring a car to get to the distillery then note that drink drive rules in Scotland are lower than in England and whoever is driving shouldn't have even a nip.
It's definitely worth a drive to Mallaig and round the old coast road to Arisaig as the beaches and views across to the islands are stunning and if you time it right you could stop to see the steam train go over the viaduct.
walk highlands website is good for walking routes
Fort William itself isn't particularly pretty and I agree with the PP about skipping Loch Ness.

I'd add that Mallaig in March could be quite a miserable, cold let down. There's not much there and very much a working harbour town rather than traditionally pretty. I'd only go up if driving (to enjoy the coast road) or linking with a Ferry (ie Knoydart). If you're travelling up the west coast line to FW, the scenery from FW to Mallaig isn't that much of a difference. The highlight of the train journey would probably be Glenfinnan but no guarantees (weather) that you'd see the monument/ Loch! Hence the Oban by train suggestion - prettier than FW, distillery, seafood restaurants, potential to island hop, McCaigs Folly, nice walks.

I've now got an itch to get up to Lochaber - thankfully a few days off next month!

Thanks @ShopMyWardrobe25 - Oban by train is a definite option

@MiddleAgedDread : thanks for the tip about no whiskey if driving!!!

People go to Fort William to use it as a walking/hiking/skiing(?) base. It's not considered a great place to stay in terms of eat out etc. although I haven't actually stayed there. The route is very pretty as are many of the places along the train route. March would be ok for walking if the weather was kind or if you are a seasoned hill walker.

Maybe climb Ben Nevis? (Apologies if I missed another suggestion.) Peeps who've done it say it's great and not technical.

Plus, Pitlochry later on in the year should be fab. Been there. Enjoy that too.