Fort William sits below the bulk of Ben Nevis, at 4,404 feet, Britain's highest mountain. There are a number of exhibitions and visitor centres in Fort William. The area is central for exploring the wild and remote regions of Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan, for climbing and hillwalking on the many mountains and, in winter, ski-ing on Nevis Range and at Glencoe. The cable car ride at Nevis Range is one of the easy ways to get to the mountain tops in winter or summer.
Heading eastwards inland from Fort William, the A82 leads to the pretty village of Spean Bridge where you can either continue on to Fort Augustus (Loch Ness) and Inverness or take the road via Laggan (Monarch of the Glen Country) across to Kingussie and Aviemore.
Two miles from Spean Bridge is the Commando Memorial dedicated to the men who trained in this area during World War 2.
South of Fort William along the shores of Loch Linnhe is the inlet of Loch Leven, now spanned by a bridge but years ago crossed by a ferry, to Ballachulish where the road divides. The A828 goes south along the coast towards Oban,
while the A82 leads inland through Glencoe, site of the infamous massacre, and popular with walkers and climbers, before heading south-east over the wild and beautiful Rannoch Moor.