West Highland Museum

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Cameron Square, Fort William & Lochaber, Scotland

Category:
Museums
Hours:
June, Mon.-Sat. 10-5; July and Aug., Mon.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. 2-5; Oct.-May, Mon.-Sat. 10-4 Close
Price:
£3
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Pictures of Ben Nevis Summit Photo - West Highland Museum, Fort William, Scotland

User Reviews

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Lovely little museum

by PeaceLoveTravel

Hull, England

July 1, 2013

Best of IgoUgo The Scottish Highlands are one of my favourite places in the UK. This area combines stunning scenery with interesting history and tasty food – what more could you possibly ask for? Accessible via car, train or bus Fort William tends to be the main ...Read more
The Scottish Highlands are one of my favourite places in the UK. This area combines stunning scenery with interesting history and tasty food – what more could you possibly ask for? Accessible via car, train or bus Fort William tends to be the main tourist point in the area. Fort Williams in the Scottish highland is the gateway to a myriad of people climbing Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, every year. The town itself is rather small and clearly here to support the lucrative tourist trade. Almost every house offers a few B&B rooms for hire and the high street is filled with hiking stores. Throw in a couple of pubs and tour agencies and you have the perfect tourist town. But there is only so much hiking that you can do and sometimes you just need to relax and do something a bit different. There is not too much to do here that doesn’t involve a long drive or at least a fair amount of entrance fees. So we were absolutely delighted when we found the West Highlands Museum. This little gem is located off the High Street in a small little house and the entrance is free. However, please leave a donation to support this lovely place and the nice ladies that work there.

When you get in you are greeted at a reception area and a member of staff explains you the layout of the museum. To be honest, it is rather small so there is not too much chance of getting lost. Downstairs is also a small but well sorted gift store selling tasteful souvenirs and lots and lots of history books. Everything here is really reasonably price and if you are on the hunt for souvenirs buy them here rather than the overpriced and rather tacky tourist stores. They sell these tiny cook books for £1.50 that are great little gifts for anyone back at home. If you are a real history buff don’t forget to browse through the book isle too.

The first room that you enter is a temporary exhibition space. Currently there is an installation about the local involvement in the Second World War. The pictures and letters on display are very moving and we spend rather a lot of time in here. The documentary that is shown on repeat is quite interesting too and definitely well worth watching. Clearly whoever designed this area knew how to balance historical information with just the right touch of emotional stuff. I am not sure how often exhibitions change but I’m sure that the next one will be just as interesting.

As we progressed through the different rooms we were continuously impressed by the collection of artefacts displaying the history of the area. Everything is very tasteful and if you expect to see tartan pattern everywhere you will be disappointed. The historical information is well presented but what I prefer the most is that you got a real feel for the area and the people living here. I loved the old style kitchen equipments and the books on display. The natural history room was definitely one of the highlights as I am a biology student. The things they have on display are a bit on the random side but very interesting to look at. When you are in that room check out the wall display about life on St. Kilda. The pictures and descriptive texts are simply haunting and you should definitely take the time to read through it all.

Going upstairs the highland wars are covered in detail. Looking at the battle maps is surprisingly interesting and I felt that the information was delivered in an interesting way without being overly biased. One flight of stairs further up you can see a display of more modern but not any less interesting items. I would recommend spending a good hour in this lovely little museum, leaving yourself enough time to take in the wealth of information presented. The last room might be the most interesting one for most visitors as it describes some of the hiking history surrounding Ben Nevis and some stunning pictures of the summit.

The museum is quite busy but if you get a chance have a chat with the ladies working at the reception. They were happy to share their wealth of knowledge with us and even pointed us in the right direction of possible afternoon activities and decent places to eat. So, definitely go to this little gem and enjoy an insight into the local history. Don’t forget to tip and have a great time.

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From journal Ben Nevis

The West Highland Museum

by kimmsw

Sparks, Nevada

June 30, 2000

This museum - not the stuffy type at all - is full of historical and folk exhibits. There are several Jacobite items and local history items (along with locals to tell a more detailed local history). There are several 'the way it was' exhibits and ...Read more

From journal My top Scottish pick -

West Highland Museum

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Lovely little museum

The West Highland Museum