First look at ‘world class’ Ben Nevis visitor resort

This is the first glimpse of how a £25 million “world class” visitor resort planned for the Highlands could look.

The masterplan for the leisure and tourism complex in the shadow of Ben Nevis will be presented to the public next month.

It shows it could include a five-star hotel and spa, a bunkhouse, up to 50 lodges and a campsite set in 7,300 acres of national forest land next to Britain’s highest peak.

The Nevis Forest and Mountain Resort could create scores of jobs and underline Lochaber’s status as the UK’s outdoor capital.

The area around Fort William also includes the access road from the A82 Inverness-Glasgow road to Nevis Range resort, which attracts thousands of visitors every year for winter sports, mountain biking, climbing and hill walking.

The joint Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise development is being viewed as a 20-year scheme, but the project team is hoping to be able to apply for planning permission in summer next year.

Councillor Thomas MacLennan, chairman of Highland Council’s Lochaber area committee, said: “I welcome this proposed development for Leanachan Forest, which is a tremendously underused resource.”