Cow Hill – A Dog Walk Above Fort William and Pizza After
About 7 miles on foot.
Cow Hill is the wee hill right behind Fort William, and its paths make a grand morning's walk with a dog.
They climb through birch woods and onto open heather, round the old Peat Track with its views of Ben Nevis, and up to a cairn looking over Loch Linnhe and the town. It starts and ends on foot from the station, finishing at a bar in an old church where dogs are welcome and the pizzas come out of a wood-fired oven.
- Time
- About three hours: about 9 km from the Lochaber Leisure Centre round the hill and up to the top.
- The path
- Tracks and paths with long steady climbs, rough and muddy in places, and a stile.
- Where to start
- None needed: 7 minutes' walk from Fort William station along Belford Road to the path behind the Lochaber Leisure Centre. By car, Forestry and Land Scotland's Braveheart car park in Glen Nevis is the other start: £1 for up to an hour or £3 all day.
- When to go
- The paths are open ground all year, best in daylight; the Black Isle Bar opens from noon, with its winter days to check before going.
- Dogs
- On a lead if you meet sheep, and close on blind corners where mountain bikers come down; a big dog may need a lift at the stile.
- Children
- A long walk for small legs; mountain bikers on the paths.
- Toilets
- None on the hill: public toilets in the town, and the Black Isle Bar's for customers.
- Before you set out
- Paths shared with mountain bikers; a stile at a metal gate on the way to the top.
The walk
From Fort William station it's 7 minutes' walk east along Belford Road to the Lochaber Leisure Centre. The path up Cow Hill starts behind it, beside an information board. The waymarked paths climb through birch woods, with a short spur to a bench on Sugar Loaf Hill for the view over the town and Loch Linnhe, then curve round towards Glen Nevis, past the Braveheart car park.
From there the old Peat Track climbs through the forest, and the open hillside above it has the best views of Ben Nevis. On the top a cairn behind the transmitter looks over Loch Linnhe, Loch Eil, the town and Corpach, and the paths lead back down to the leisure centre. It's about 9 km in all; allow three hours.
There's a stile at a metal gate on the way to the top, so a big dog may need a lift. If you meet sheep, put the dog on a lead, and keep it close on blind corners, where mountain bikers come down.
If it rains
In rain the woods give some shelter, but the top is open and the views go: turn back at the Peat Track and come down for an early lunch. The Black Isle Bar is warm and dry, and dogs are welcome inside.
Afterwards
17 min on foot
Black Isle Bar
Lunch
From the leisure centre it's 17 minutes' walk down into town to Gordon Square, for lunch at the Black Isle Bar, a craft-beer bar in an old church. It serves wood-fired pizzas and the brewery's own beers from noon, walk-in only, and children and dogs are both welcome. It's said to be step free. In winter, check its days before you go. If it's full, the Grog & Gruel and the Ben Nevis Bar on the High Street also welcome dogs. The station is 10 minutes' walk away.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Woodlands Glencoe, 10 miles away. Sleeps 2.
Where to eat
Lime Tree Hotel, restaurant with an art gallery.
The Wildcat, a café in Fort William.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Gemma via Google