We decided to rest today :) we needed it.
A little more on Fort William, the 'Outdoor Capital of the UK'. 2013 is also the Year of Natural Scotland, celebrating their natural heritage. When looking at the shops in the centre of Fort William you see many outdoor Centre shops. Many of the hotels here have their own minibus to transport folk to and fro, often with knowledgeable local guide, which will enhance your experience. We visited the West Highland Museum and first watched a film about the Commando's Green berets; the elite Scottish Corps, set up by Winston Churchill after the defeat at Dunkirk. We saw how they were trained for 6 weeks before they were awarded their 'Green Beret'. Their training ground was at Achnacarry, west of the Great Glen Way. I believe only Scottish men could enlist in this corps, but I'm not quite sure on that.
Something else I found out was, that In 1896 Fort William became the first town in the UK to have electric street lighting entirely generated by water power. Some days ago we talked at a breakfast table to a guy, who was a surveyor in wave energy off the coast at Pentland Firth. He had installed equipment on the sea bed and that morning he was to collect the data - all done from a cabin on a boat! I used to believe that wind farming was the way forward, but have for some time now changed my mind. Certainly in Scotland with the many tidal waters and reading and listening to others, this must be it.


Sent from my iPad