Fort William

About

Fort William is the home of the 2005 MTB World Cup Finals and 2007 MTB World Championships. It has proven itself over the past 3 years to be an outstanding venue for MTB World Cup. You can visit Fort William throughout the year and spend the weekend mountain biking on the world famous course.

Park at the Gondola station, pay your money end enjoy a day of unlimited runs on the World Cup course...or at least until you cant hold on any longer with arm pump. Despite its notorious reputation you don’t have to be a pro to enjoy the track. Its well rideable from top to bottom, it’s just a matter of how fast you want to go. I'd recommend having your wheels trued before you go, bring some spare tubes and make sure your brake pads are in good condition!

Anyone that fancies something a bit different can also check out the World Cup XC course, the Witches Trail. It will be one of the toughest XC courses you have ridden, with massive climbs, fast and technical descents, great views and you'll even find some cool Northshore stuff on the way round.

Twenty miles to the East of Fort Wiliiam, the village of Laggan celebrated the opening of its new mountain bike trails. The Laggan Wolftrax trails in Achduchil Forest at Laggan in Badenoch opened for business on 27th September 2004 . 14 kilometres (8.75 miles) of trails cater for different levels of riders, with sections graded from moderate to difficult and severe. The Wolftrax trails comprise 6.4km (4 miles) of black-graded trails for skilled riders, 6.2km (3.9 miles) of red trails for intermediate riders, and 1.4km (0.9 miles) of blue "fun park" trails. Cafe, toilets, bike hire and repair services are provided on site at "Laggan BaseCamp".

How to get there:

By Ferry: The easiest was to get to Scotland , with a car, and a bike is by ferry. Larne to Troon by P & O Irish sea is the closest route from Ireland . P & O also travel Larne – Cairnryan. Check out www.poirishsea.com

An alternative is to use the Stenaline who travel from Belfast to Stranraer Check out www.stenaline.co.uk

By air – Flying isn’t the most convenient with your bike, as you’ll have to hire a car or seek other means to travel once you land in the designated city. Although if you do want to Inverness is the closest airport to Fort William. Easyjet fly direct from Belfast to Inverness , and also fly to Glasgow try www.easyjet.co.uk. Also Easyjet don’t charge for bicycles so long as they’re packed well! From Dublin , Ryanair fly direct to Glasgow Prestwick.

By road - From the ferry, head to Glasgow , stay on the M8 through Glasgow and then the M898 over the Erskine Bridge to Dumbarton. Follow the A82 beside Loch Lomond to Crianlarich and Tyndrum before crossing Rannoch Moor and descending to the Atlantic coast and Fort William through the pass of Glencoe.

Accommodation

Fort William is a haven of B&Bs and guest houses. For a normal days mtb riding you should have no problem booking accommodation in the resort itself. However, if your traveling as a spectator to the World Cup, or competing in some of the British or Scottish NPS races it is recommended you book in advance. For a full list of accommodation visit www.visitscotland.com. They can search and book accommodation for a fee of £3 Stg, alternatively just contact the accommodation yourself and save yourself £3!

When your not biking:

Fort William, being at the foot of Ben Nevis provides a great starting point for hillwalking. Each years thousands of people track to the top of Ben Nevis .

If this doesn’t take your fancy there are numerous clubs, bars and restaurants throughout the village of Fort William .