Fort William
Fort William is the largest town in the western
Scottish Highlands, very close to
Ben Nevis,
Britain's highest mountain. It is also at the southern end of the Great Glen, Glen Albyn. Despite the name, there is no military presence now - the fort being referred to was constructed to control the population following
Oliver Cromwell's invasion during the
English Civil War, then helped suppress the
Jacobite uprisings of the
18th century. Just outside the town is a large
aluminium plant, powered by the
Lochaber hydroelectric scheme, in its day the biggest tunnelling project in the world.
Fort William was also a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, which was merged with the nearby city of Port Arthur to form the new city of Thunder Bay.