Sunday, 6 March 2016

Fresh Breakfast bread in Spean Bridge guesthouse near Fort William

Our homemade date and walnut bread.  Delicious with your (and my) breakfast!

If you would like some book at www.distanthillsspeanbridge.co.uk

Friday, 4 March 2016

Monday, 29 February 2016

GOOD NEWS - Vodafone 3G mobile telephone signal in Spean Bridge, near Fort William, Scottish Highlands

GOOD NEWS - Vodafone 3G mobile telephone signal

As part of an initiative started by the Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council and managed by the Glen Spean and Great Glen Tourism Group we now have Vodafone 3G mobile telephone signal in Spean Bridge.

Three businesses offered their premises as locations for the transmitters across the village. The signal will be strongest near the Milton Spean Bridge Hotel, Aonach Mor Hotel and Distant Hills Guest House.

Distant Hills is now live with the two hotels coming on stream this week providing fast loading web pages, maps and video streaming!

This is great for visitors and locals alike and is the kind of steady improvement in facilities we want to see for the area.

Saturday, 27 February 2016

Beautiful day in Spean Bridge near Fort William

Beautiful day in Spean Bridge with breathtaking views of the snow capped mountains.

Lets hope the snow stays all the way through to Easter so visitors can see the beauty of the Nevis Range of mountains and Ben Nevis.

The mountain in these photos is Aonach Mor which is where the Nevis Range ski resort and mountain gondola is based.






Friday, 26 February 2016

Easter looking popular in the Highlands this year

Lots of enquiries now for breaks over the Easter holidays.  Spean Bridge is a great location for exploring the West Highlands and Isles including Fort William,  Ben Nevis,  Oban,  Mallaig, Skye,  Aviemore,  Cairngorm mountain,  Loch Ness,  the list goes on.

Monday, 22 February 2016

Saturday, 19 December 2015

General Wades Road - Fort William to Inverness. A short stretch from Mucomir to Stronaba including a visit to the Powder House

Hello

This time I would like to show you my short walk of exploration!

One of General Wades Road's runs from Fort William to Inverness and was created between 1725 and 1727 to help control the Jacobites. It allowed troops to move more quickly between what had been previously difficult to reach locations.

Many visitors to the area will be familiar with the High Bridge just West of Spean Bridge over the River Spean. There is a great walking path from Spean to the High Bridge, up to the Commando monument and back down to the village. However I was curious to know what remained of General Wades road beyond the Highbridge to the North.

I have previously walked the track from the High Bridge through a field (very muddy) to the B8004 and now the next leg from the B8004 North beckoned.

There is no indicator that there is a historic road disappearing off the bend in the tarmac but Wade built pretty straight roads so I headed into the head high ferns. A machete would have been handy at this point to hack my way through the jungle.

Soon the woodland opened up and this is the first sight of a definite road
Over the top of the brow the view to the North opened further looking up the Great Glen.
The Great Glen
The Great Glen

 This is one of the tiny bridges still standing from the 1700's - Forth Road Bridge engineers take note




 After crossing a very boggy flat area the road disappears into woodland.


 Exiting on the other side of the wood there is a warm greeting! However by moving up the fence line a little I could see where the old road met the A82 at Stronaba and that was satisfactory enough.

Stronaba
Stronaba

 Coming back this shows how the road is barely there.


 At the crest of the little hill the very cold Nevis Range came in to view and a daunting Ben Nevis with October snows.

Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis

This is the powder house which dates from the early 1900's . It was built to house explosives whilst they constructed the railway line from Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus - which was intended to carry on to Inverness.
I have driven on the B8004 hundreds of times and have often wondred what this little building was but being a few hundred metres off the road I had never gone to see it up close.
The Powder House

 The surprise inside




 The view from the Powder House at Mucomir looking towards Ben Nevis and Fort William.

There is a short circular walk that could be made up from the elements I explored today probably taking an hour or so. If you are interested ask me with a map to hand!