No doubt you’ve heard of Ben Nevis, even if you haven’t climbed it (yet!) – it is, after all, the most iconic mountain to be found in Scotland. The country is home to some incredible landscapes but if you’re after a true-blue Scottish walking holiday, Ben Nevis has all you’re looking for and more.
Found in the north-west Highlands as part of the Grampian Mountain range, near the town of Fort William, Ben Nevis attracts thousands of walkers each and every year. It was actually once a huge active volcano, which exploded millions of years ago and fell in on itself – evidence of which can be seen at the summit in the form of light-coloured granite.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s an easy stroll to the top, however, and you’ll need a lot of hillwalking experience in order to make it up there in one piece, as well as having a good level of fitness and navigation skills like reading a map and using a compass… although, of course, you can get around this if you decide to book yourself on Ben Nevis walking holidays, as you’ll have a guide with you to lend a helping hand.
There is a so-called tourist trail – also known as the mountain track – that’s four miles each way and which will take you up to the top in around five hours or so. This is the only path that novice walkers should attempt and you’d be wise not to do the climb between November and May, or if the weather is inclement.
In actual fact, this path was carved out of the mountain in 1883 for a scientific expedition by the Scottish Meteorological Society, which decided to build a weather station at the summit of the mountain. On a trial run, one rather adventurous society member trekked their way up to the top every day for four months to take measurements at the peak.
Between 1883 and 1904, team members lived all year round in a little stone hut, taking recordings each and every hour of everything from wind speed and rainfall to humidity and atmospheric temperatures, making nearly 1.5 million observations.
To help them do their job in such an extreme environment, the weathermen came up with all sorts of ideas, such as building a wooden tower so they could crawl out onto the observatory roof, tied to a rope, so they could take instrument readings.
Treacherous mountain paths, blizzards, lightning and more made their lives interesting over the years – with the observatory struck by lightning on several occasions, once coming down the chimney and setting the wooden lining of the building on fire!
You can find out all about this on your walking holiday and a whole lot more besides… so if you’re interested in Scottish history and exploring the beautiful countryside, make sure you head north of the border sooner rather than later.