Ben Nevis is the tallest peak in the British Isles. At an elevation of 4,413 feet above sea level, it sits above the charming Scottish city of Fort William, which is located just 30 minutes north of Glencoe. Given that the top of the mountain is the highest land in any direction for 459 miles, the views from the summit on the rare sunny day are famously spectacular. We were delighted to be there on such a rare day (on Angela’s birthday no less!) and decided to give a hike to the summit a go. This ended up being no easy task for our geriatric body parts. At the end of the journey, our gps tracker logged 9.6 miles of hiking, with 4,332 feet in elevation gain in 7 hrs, 50 min. Thank Cernunnos for ibuprofen!
The views from the top of Ben Nevis were as beautiful as advertised and we were greeted with a number of interesting features on the summit platform. You can still climb amongst the ruins of a meteorological observatory that was built in 1883. It was continuously staffed until 1904. To this day, it’s provided the most comprehensive data on high altitude weather for the UK!
The Peace Memorial, Britain’s highest war memorial, rests atop Ben Nevis’ summit, as well. The memorial is a 224 pound carved stone. The stone was carried to the top of the mountain on foot and imbedded into a large cairn of rocks. It commemorates the 15th of August, 1945 – VJDAY.
There are also three 6 foot tall cairns on the summit which help hikers and climbers navigate around the Gardyloo Gully. The gully stretches the entire North Face of Ben Nevis, about 4,265 vertical feet from base to summit, and provides an extremely dangerous obstacle to hikers and climbers during the frequent ‘white outs’ which surround the mountain during inclement weather. Interestingly, Gardyloo is a bastardization of the French phrase “Gardez l’eau,” which is traditionally shouted before throwing waste water from windows! 😜
Wow — lucky! And so beautiful. And Gardyloo is a worthy name.
Who knew about Ben Nevis in the snow ?? What a sight !!!
It’s always fun to find snow in the northern hemisphere on my birthday! A bit of a workout, but worth it!
Sounds like a great name for a grandchild? Gardyloo Jones 😋
Beautiful. ❤️👏👏❤️❤️
Slightly strenuous hiking, but we didn’t really feel it until afterwards because the scenery was so amazingly engaging!
Did you see the replica of the Model -T Ford at the square in Ft. William that some guy actually drove to the summit back in the day.
We saw it in Fort William, but never knew the significance until now. If it didn’t actually happen, I would have said it was not possible!! That was one crazy Scot!
On a clear day you can see for miles …. (Barbara Streisand) comes to mind. Still, awesome views, and good on you both for making it to the top (old bones and all). Personally, I think I would have opted for the whirlybird experience, since I find hiking downhill more difficult than going up.
This is quite fabulous seeing your travails throughout England, Scotland and beyond. Thank you.
Unfortunately, whirlybird’s tend to make me barf, which is usually frowned upon by the pilot and fellow passengers. I don’t think my knees would’ve minded though. Thanks for tuning in!! 😊
…. You can see forever….
Very important to get your Streisand correct 👍