Linnhe Lochside Holidays

Activities on land, sea and in air are the order of the day in Fort William and the Highlands, with almost every outdoor adrenaline-focused activity possible catered for. Get an overview of it all at the Nevis Range Mountain Centre, which has high wires, snow sports, the Mountain Bike World Cup each summer, and the country’s only mountain gondola for scenic sights. More sedately, the glens around this area are prime fishing spots to land brown trout and Atlantic salmon, and there are mackerel and herring shoals off the coast. If you’re new to the art, local excursion companies provide all tackle, training and equipment. Go out on the water less hair-raisingly than in a raft or kayak with a cruise down Loch Linnhe, on the Sound of Sleat, on the Caledonian Canal or down Loch Shiel to Acharacle. There are boat trips from Fort William pier to Seal Island and its breeding colony of grey seals, with seal spotting and birdwatching trips available from several other nearby islands including Skye, Craigleith and Colonsay. Within an hour, beachcombers can reach the famed silver sands of Morar; look out for Nessie’s cousin Morag at nearby Loch Morar. Several indoor activity centres and attractions are within easy reach too for rainy days: that ice-climbing can be had at The Ice Factor in Kinlochleven, or see how Highlanders used to live at the living history Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore (there’s a West Highlands Museum in Fort William too). The Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Oban and the Kincraig Wildlife Park at Kingussie are both just over an hour’s drive away, or take a stroll to the award-winning Treasures of the Earth a mile and a half away from Linnhe Lochside Holidays with its caves displaying crystals, gemstones and fossils. (Grownup concerns can be met by a tour of the Ben Nevis Distillery.) Loch Ness, the Isle of Skye and the other Hebridean islands are all easily reachable for day trips, and Inverness is about an hour and a half’s drive away. For golf – another Scottish essential – four golf courses are around Lochaber and Fort William, all in seriously scenic locations: Fort William, Spean Bridge, Traigh and Fort Augustus on the shore of Loch Ness.