Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain - 1,345 m by the Ordnance Survey's 2016 re-measurement - a hulking collapsed volcano whose whaleback bulk above Fort William hides its best face: the north side drops in a mile-long wall of ridges and gullies, some of the tallest cliffs in the country and a shrine of Scottish mountaineering in both summer rock and winter ice. Most of the 100,000-plus who climb it each year take the Mountain Track from Glen Nevis, a relentless engineered stone staircase of about 17 km round trip and 1,300 m of ascent, typically seven to nine hours. The summit plateau carries the ruins of the Victorian weather observatory, staffed year-round from 1883 to 1904, whose records still inform how grim the top can be - the summit spends most days in cloud, and snow lingers in the gullies deep into summer.

What you actually see

• The summit plateau - observatory ruins, trig point and cairns at Britain's highest ground.
• The north face - the mile of cliffs best seen from the CIC hut approach.
• The Mountain Track - the engineered stone staircase from Glen Nevis.
• Glen Nevis - waterfalls and gorge scenery framing the start.

When to go

June to September for the least snow and longest days; even then pack for winter above 1,000 m. Outside high summer the plateau is serious mountain terrain requiring navigation skills.

Honest expectations

This is a long, punishing walk, not a stroll - 1,300 m of ascent on ankle-testing stone, with weather that swings from t-shirt to storm in an hour. The summit is in cloud more often than not, so banking on a view is optimism. In poor visibility the plateau's cliff edges make accurate compass work genuinely safety-critical.

Nearby

Fort William's outdoor-capital services, Glen Coe down the road and the Glenfinnan railway country west.