Fort William’s biggest
Black Parks
Park or garden
9.3 ha (23 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Peter S · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Fort William · parks, paths & countryside
Fort William is on the coast
The sea makes up 11% of the area within 5 km. The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area begins 0.1 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Fort William add up to 3.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Fort William has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
3.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
74%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
58 km
2.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
20%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area
The sea
11%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Fort William?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast11% of the area within 5 km is sea; 15 beaches mapped.Countryside close byThe Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area starts 0.1 mi south-east.On a long-distance trailThe Cape Wrath Trail passes through.
Fort William’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area close by.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Fort William’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Fort William
The biggest is Black Parks, 9.3 ha (23 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The Old Fort
Park or garden
0.4 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Fort William
Picnic site Fort William, fort monument
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Fort William residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (74%)Further (26%)
Fort William74%
Highland towns82%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 1,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 19 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 303 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area is 0.1 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
National Scenic Area
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe
0.1 mi south-east905 km²since 198020% of the land within 5 km
National Scenic Area
Loch Shiel
11 mi west130 km²since 1980
National Scenic Area
Lynn of Lorn
16 mi south-west50 km²since 1980
National Scenic Area
Knoydart
18 mi north-west395 km²since 1980
20% of the land within 5 km of Fort William is National Park or National Scenic Area.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Fort William is on the Cape Wrath Trail
58 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Fort William and the kilometre around it, 2.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Invergarry → Morvich)8.7 km
Great Glen Way8.7 km
Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Glenfinnan → Morvich)7.9 km
East Highland Way6.1 km
West Highland Way (Kinlochleven to Fort William)5.1 km
West Highland Way (High Route to Fort William)2.9 km
Crofters Woods Walk2.2 km
Ben Nevis Mountain Path1.0 km
The Cape Wrath Trail, a national route, passes Fort William. The regional route here is the East Highland Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Fort William: June to August
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 7.4 | 9.4 | 11.6 | 14.2 | 16.4 | 17.8 | 17.2 | 15.2 | 12.7 | 10.2 | 8.0 | 6.8 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 305 | 256 | 218 | 153 | 143 | 132 | 149 | 178 | 203 | 275 | 266 | 312 |
June is the driest month (132 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 17 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 312 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 72 nights a year. The climate in Fort William →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Fort William
11% of the area within 5 km of Fort William is sea. 15 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by SEPA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
11 viewpoints and 19 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 11
Cow Hill0.3 mi from town
DirectionsTreslaig Tower Viewpoint1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 9 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Druim na h-Earba288 m (945 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsTom Dubh1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 19
Assault Coursein town
DirectionsClaggan Play Areain town
DirectionsPinegrove Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
The Helferindernot0.1 mi from town
DirectionsGlen Nevis Caravan and Camping Park1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Plus 2 slipways without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
CaolFort William
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort William | – | 3.1 | 74% | 20% |
| Caol 1.5 mi | – | 3.5 | 71% | 19% |
Questions about the outdoors in Fort William
What is the biggest park in Fort William?
Black Parks, 9.3 ha (23 acres), with 1.6 km of path. The Old Fort (0.4 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Fort William near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area, 0.1 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 905 km² and was designated in 1980.
What are the best walks near Fort William?
8 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Invergarry → Morvich), Great Glen Way and Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Glenfinnan → Morvich).
How many people in Fort William live near a park?
74% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Fort William?
June to August: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Fort William’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Fort William’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.