Fort William is a settlement in the Highlands of Scotland. Originally founded on the still-extant village of Inverlochy, the town is found at the southern edge of the Great Glen, Fort William sits near the head of Loch Linnhe, one of Scotland's longest sea lochs, close to the mouth of the rivers Nevis and Lochy. It is close to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, Glen Nevis and the town of Achnaphubuil is on the opposite shore of the loch. When the railway opened to Fort William on 7 August 1894, the station was granted prime position at the south side of the town. The result was that the town was disconnected from the lochside by railway tracks prior to the 1970s when the existing by-pass was built, and the station was re-located to the north side. In accordance with the 2001 Census, it has a permanent resident population of close to 9908. This makes Fort William the second largest settlement in the Highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger. Within this population, around 726 people, representing 7.33 percent of the population, can speak Gaelic. Fort William is a significant tourist centre, with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles. It is a centre for hillwalking and climbing due to its distance to Ben Nevis and lots of other Munro mountains. It is additionally known for its local downhill trail bike track. It is the start and end of both the West Highland Way (Milngavie-Fort William) and the Great Glen Way (a walk/cycle way Fort William-Inverness). For all your home refurbishments, make sure to find dependable contractors in Fort William to make certain of quality.