Fort William is a settlement in the Highlands of Scotland. Originally based on the still-extant village of Inverlochy, the town sits at the southern side of the Great Glen, Fort William lies beside the head of Loch Linnhe, one of Scotland's longest sea lochs, near 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 train line opened to Fort William on 7 August 1894, the station was given prime position at the south end of the town. The effect was that the town was detached from the lochside by train tracks before the 1970s when the present-day by-pass was built, and the station was re-located to the north side. According to 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 leading 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 a result of its closeness to Ben Nevis and lots of other Munro mountains. It is also 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 of your home enhancements, make certain to identify credible specialists in Fort William to make certain of quality.