My chief memory of Fort William is of a shopkeeper refusing to allow me into her shop because my camera had set off the shoplifting alarm as I walked in through the door.
This seemed to be characteristic of a place that was so subsumed in tartan, kilts, bag-pipes and everything else stereotypically Scottish that its sanity was severely threatened.
Yes, the world of Andy Stewart and the White Heather Club is still alive and well, and living in Fort William, surrounded by hundreds of anorak and climbing gear shops. It really needs to move on.
Seal Island Boat Trip
Boat trips down Loch Linnhe to 'Seal Island' run regularly from the town pier in Fort William, passing one of the many salmon farms that are now such a major feature of the economy of this part of the world.
An interesting trip with fine views of the surrounding countryside and, if it's clear, beyond Seal Island out to the open sea with the Isle of Mull visible in the distance.