C1162 (Highland)
C1162 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Nevis Bridge (NN111742) | |||
To: | Steall Gorge Car Park (NN166690) | |||
Via: | Glen Nevis | |||
Distance: | 6.4 miles (10.3 km) | |||
Meets: | A82 | |||
Former Number(s): | A82 | |||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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For other roads numbered C1162, see C1162.
The C1162 is perhaps much better known as the Glen Nevis Road in Fort William. Almost all visitors to the town will take a walk or drive up the Glen, whether to start the climb of Ben Nevis or the Mamores beyond, or just to enjoy the scenic splendour of one of the Highlands most accessible Glens. Those who reach the end will almost inevitably take the scrambly path through the Steall Gorge to the upper glen beyond, which is lush with meadow flowers in the spring, and has the dramatic Steall Falls, complete with rope bridge!
The road itself starts at the Nevis Bridge Roundabout on the A82 in Fort William, and heads east up the glen. At first it is a wide, level S2, leading past Visitor Centre, Holiday Park and Youth Hostel, along with forestry car parks and other tourist attractions. Beyond the Youth Hostel, however, the road starts to undulate and twist, wildly at times, as nature fights the engineers who tried to provide a decent road. Another large car park is reached at the Lower Falls, where the road crosses the River Nevis right above the dramatic falls.
From here on, the road is reduced to single track, and a narrow one at that. The width restriction is no joke - at one point the road squeezes between a large boulder and mature tree trunk, so the gap is incrementally reducing year on year! The road widens out at the end into an often full car park area, from where the path, complete with warning signs, heads up the gorge to the upper glen.
The first couple of dozen metres of the road were once, briefly, part of the A82, prior to the new Nevis Bridge being built in the 1930s. The old bridge still stands, pedestrianised.