Boat Trip Fort Willaim/ Oban

[Andrew Oasis]

Helo All,
Wow! Everyone is so friendly and helpful on WAB it’s overwhelming! I have just been having a good look around some of the posts as we are off to Fort William soon, and was doing a bit of research. There’s toms of info already that I’ve gleamed from WAB, so a big thank you to everyone who’s posted info about the area.
There was one thing I couldn’t find information on though, sorry if I’ve missed it, but if anyone has any information then I’d be really grateful.
My girlfriend and I are actually arriving by train to Corrour on a Monday morning (8th September). Then we are walking in to Fort William (thinking this might take us 4 days with all our gear, but we will see!)
I hope we’ll see lots of wildlife on the way, but was trying to plan something special for the Friday (we’ll be getting the train back south on the evening of the Friday). Originally, I had planned to do a boat trip from Oban (with a company called SeaFari). Its around 2or 3 hours and heads out to Corryvreckan and around.
It seemed a good way to hopefully see a fair bit of wildlife. It seemed that going further south from Fort William would be a good idea to have a better chance of seeing more wildlife.
But having read all the brilliant posts, I am wondering if we are better off just sticking to land, and either doing a day trip to Mull (possible with a guide), or driving to some sites in the mainland. As we will be short on time, I’m keen to get it right!
So I was wondering if anyone had any advice about the boat trips, whether they might be our best bet or not. Especially as getting to Oban from Fort William will be a three hour drive there and back anyway. Or if anyone had any better boat trips to reccommend?
Any advice greatly appreciated, and thanks again to everyone for all the information on the site. Happy Wildlife spotting to you all!

[snowdrop]

Can't help you there I'm afraid, sorry.

I just wondered if you are thinking of posting any pics taken and maybe a few words describing your travels?

It would be much appreciated Andrew. Cheers.

[big bill]

Hello Andrew welcome to the site ,you will see plenty of wildlife over on that side of the country the person you need as its in his neck of the woods is Seamus,he works over that side of Scotland for the Forrestry so will be able to advise you alot more if you look for is
seamusagleann send him a PM and he will tell you what you need
There is a lot of wildlife up this end and your trip to Mull would be good as well have a nice time and watch out for the dreaded Midges

[ron1863]

Good luck with the trip and if you go down to the pier there are several boat trips available but I'm sure Seamus will give you lots of info

[seamusagleann]

hi andrew and welcome to wab!! the walk from corour to the fort should be ok . after about 7 k you will come to stonaig bothy ,if you choose to stay there or meannach bothy,which is 10 k from the station it will save you pitching a tent at least for the first day . both are owned by the mountain bothys association and are free. next day should see you in glen nevis with plenty of wild camping spots along the banks of the river. once you reach fort william an alternative route would be the road to the isles ,the A830 to mallaig ,there is boat trips from arisaig and mallaig
Outdoor activities, walking, boat trips & places to visit on the Road to the Isles, Scottish Highlands
both these places can be accessed by either train or bus ,you can get details from fort william bus/train station . mallaig the furthest is about 45 min away.
whatever you decide it will be a wonderful trip and i hope i've been of some help and if you need any more info just pm me

[larachmor]

Hi Andrew - If you're around Fort William take a trip to Glenfinnan. (I have mentioned this before elsewhere) From the Glenfinnan Hotel they do wildlife cruises along Loch Shiel - some go the full length to Acharacle and return, whilst there is a choice of a shorter cruise which takes you as far as "Gaskan" which was the lochside home of wildlife writer Mike Tomkies for many years (named "Wildernesse" in his books.)
They pride themselves on their wildlife and historical commentary and you are very likely to see golden eagles, and possibly black-throated divers. The scenery is stunning. Highly recommended - you won't be disappointed.
Link to their website:

Wildlife and Historical Cruises on Loch Shiel, from Glenfinnan and Acharacle in the Scottish Highlands

[Andrew Oasis]

Hi Everyone,

Snowdrop, Yes will definitely put up a trip report and some photos, as long as I can work out how, (I'm not too tecno-savvy!) Hopefully there will be lots of wildlife pics included, though we're not very good photographers so bear with us!

Big Bill, thanks for the tip regarding Seamus, who has kindly got in touch, brilliant. Yep a trip to Mull is defintely on the cards now, especially as from what Seamus says it seems it might take us less time than I thought to walk from Corrour to Fort Willaim, allowing us more time to do tjhings once we are there. Am definitely going to watch oput for the midges, we've got head nets on their way, and some DEET, and I'm going to try and get some of the Avon stuff that some people swear by. Was thinking of doing an experiment, seeing as there are mixed opinions about THE Avon product versus DEET. Shorts and a t-shirt, then one half of me covered in DEET, the other half in AVON, and see what happenns!! Probabaly not a good idea.

Ron1863, Thanks for the wishes, and seems like there are a lot of options, think we will be spoilt for choice probably!

Larachmor, Thanks very much for the info. I actually am considering staying at the Glenfinnan Railway Carriage, right next to the train station there. It looks quite a fun place. So I will definitely check out the link you sent, the trip there sounds great. I've never seen a golden eagle before, getting very excited about the thought.

Seamus, thanks for the information, it's really helpfull. From what you say, I think that the walk might take less time than I thought. I've given it four whole days, but though we're not super fit, looks like three is pretty feasible (especially if we cheat and hitch from Glen Nevis!) Thanks too for the info about the bothies, I have had a look on the MBA website, they do some great work keeping those places maintained. I've heard that bothies can get quite busy sometimes! Once we get to F.W. I'm definitely thinking to stay somewhere out on the road to the Isles, as you and Larachmor have suggested. I will definitely PM you in a bit once I've done a bit more planning. Thanks again.

Its getting close now, am working our what food to buy and all of that now. Thanks heaps for all your advcie everyone. From what you all say it sounds like its going to be great whatever we do! Will keep you all posted.

One more question I did have, that I can't find too much info on. Generally, is it OK to drink water straight from the Highland streams? I can take water purification stuff if necessary, or extra gas to boil water for 10 mins, but didn't know what most people did? I'd like to keep things as simple as possible, but don't want to be stupid or reckless. Of course, any advice given appreciated, and I won't complain if I get a stomach bug or something after advice that it was OK! Not sure if its over cautious to treat/boil all water, or defintely necessary.

Right, back to more panning. Hope it stops raining before September (but bet it won't)

[seamusagleann]

the water should be ok to drink on the walk across from corrour ,but i would boil it just in case ,no point in taking the risk of ending up in the belford hospital ,not a venue i recommend!!! . when travelling from the fort to oban ,a slight detour of 5 miles or so will take you to glen coe ,stunning!! especialy if visited mid week when its quieter.

[zan]

Hiya,

Just come across this thread after spending the weekend up in the Sound of Mull \ Oban

I used to work as a guide on a wildlife boat (Sealife Adventures) based in Balvicar (SeaFari go from Easdale, just another mile down the road), and I can't recommend it highly enough if you're interested in seeing a *lot* of wildlife! The area has golden and white-tailed sea eagles, porpoise, feral goats, gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, minke whales, common and grey seals to name a few off teh top of my head, and this year has apparently been great for the whales. I'm off up there this weekend for a whale watching trip after speaking to my old boss - sounds ace.

You'd need to get a bus down from Oban to Balvicar \ Easdale (depending whose trip you want to do) which takes about 45 mins, so make sure you leave plenty of time If you need more info, send me a PM and I can get you contact details, and advise on the 2 companies (no bias - the companies tailor for 2 different groups of customer, and you're better getting the one you want).

zan

[Andrew Oasis]

Thanks Seamus, am gonna boil the water as you say, just to be safe!