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[[File:Fort_Augustus_(6194579565).jpg|260px|thumb|right|Locks on the [[Caledonian Canal]] in Fort Augustus, looking towards [[Loch Ness]]]]
[[File:Fort_Augustus_(6194579565).jpg|260px|thumb|right|Locks on the [[Caledonian Canal]] in Fort Augustus, looking towards [[Loch Ness]]]]
'''Fort Augustus''' is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of [[Loch Ness]], [[Scottish Highlands]]. The village has a population of around 646 (2001).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.highland.gov.uk/plintra/iandr/cen/sz/fortaugustus.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041220234212/http://www.highland.gov.uk/plintra/iandr/cen/sz/fortaugustus.htm|url-status=dead|title=highland.gov.uk|archivedate=20 December 2004}}</ref> Its economy is heavily reliant on [[tourism]].
'''Fort Augustus''' is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of [[Loch Ness]], [[Scottish Highlands]]. The village has a population of around {{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Fort Augustus}} ({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}}).<ref>{{Scottish settlement population citation}}</ref> Its economy is heavily reliant on [[tourism]].


==History==
==History==
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[[File:Invergarryrailway.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Section of dismantled railway south of Fort Augustus]]
[[File:Invergarryrailway.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Section of dismantled railway south of Fort Augustus]]


Some historians like G. Mcdonalds -after the finding of a roman coins hoard in 1767 near the city's ancient benedictine abbey- wrote about the possibility that Fort Augustus was built on a roman small fortification built under [[Diocletian]] rule<ref>"A letter from an officer at Perth, dated May 2, 1767 says: "Last week I was out with a command to Fort Augustus, where some part of the fortifications are repairing. Whilst there, some labourers in digging a trench, found an earthen urn, of a blue colour, with about 300 pieces of coin, of mixed metal, some a little larger than our halfpence, and the others the size of farthings. They appear to me to be all of the Emperor Dioclesian" ([https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG2612])</ref>
Some historians like G. McDonalds -after the finding of a hoard of Roman coins in 1767 near the city's ancient Benedictine Abbey- wrote about the possibility that Fort Augustus was built on a Roman small fortification built under [[Diocletian]] rule<ref>"A letter from an officer at Perth, dated May 2, 1767 says: "Last week I was out with a command to Fort Augustus, where some part of the fortifications are repairing. Whilst there, some labourers in digging a trench, found an earthen urn, of a blue colour, with about 300 pieces of coin, of mixed metal, some a little larger than our halfpence, and the others the size of farthings. They appear to me to be all of the Emperor Dioclesian" ([https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG2612])</ref>


The [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] name for the modern village is ''{{lang|gd|Cille Chuimein}}'' ({{IPA|gd|ˈkʲiʎə ˈxumɛɲ|}}) and until the early 18th century the settlement was called '''Kiliwhimin'''. It was renamed ''Fort Augustus'' after the [[Jacobite rising of 1715]]. The accepted [[etymology]] is that the settlement was originally named after Saint [[Cumméne Find|Cummein]] of [[Iona]] who built a church there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ambaile.org/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=18212|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311123811/http://ambaile.org/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=18212|url-status=dead|title=am baile – Fort Augustus|archivedate=11 March 2007}}</ref> Other suggestions are that it was originally called ''{{lang|gd|Ku Chuimein}}'' after one of two abbots of Iona of the Comyn [[Scottish clan|clan]], whose badge ''{{lang|gd|Lus mhic Chuimein}}'' refers to the [[cumin]] plant,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/atoc/cumming2.html|title=Clan Comyn, Cumming|website=electricscotland.com}}</ref> or that it was called ''{{lang|gd|Cill a' Chuimein}}'' ("Comyn's Burialplace") after the last Comyn in [[Lochaber]].<ref>[http://www.cameron-site.com/Private%20Site/macmillan3.html MacMillan 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928164056/http://www.cameron-site.com/Private%20Site/macmillan3.html |date=28 September 2007 }}</ref>
The [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] name for the modern village is ''{{lang|gd|Cille Chuimein}}'' ({{IPA|gd|ˈkʲiʎə ˈxumɛɲ|}}) and until the early 18th century the settlement was called '''Kiliwhimin'''. It was renamed ''Fort Augustus'' after the [[Jacobite rising of 1715]]. The accepted [[etymology]] is that the settlement was originally named after Saint [[Cumméne Find|Cummein]] of [[Iona]] who built a church there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ambaile.org/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=18212|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311123811/http://ambaile.org/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=18212|url-status=dead|title=am baile – Fort Augustus|archivedate=11 March 2007}}</ref> Other suggestions are that it was originally called ''{{lang|gd|Ku Chuimein}}'' after one of two abbots of Iona of the Comyn [[Scottish clan|clan]], whose badge ''{{lang|gd|Lus mhic Chuimein}}'' refers to the [[cumin]] plant,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/atoc/cumming2.html|title=Clan Comyn, Cumming|website=electricscotland.com}}</ref> or that it was called ''{{lang|gd|Cill a' Chuimein}}'' ("Comyn's Burialplace") after the last Comyn in [[Lochaber]].<ref>[http://www.cameron-site.com/Private%20Site/macmillan3.html MacMillan 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928164056/http://www.cameron-site.com/Private%20Site/macmillan3.html |date=28 September 2007 }}</ref>


===The fort===
===The Fort===


In the aftermath of the [[Jacobite rising of 1715]], [[George Wade|General Wade]] built a fort (taking from 1729 until 1742) which was named after [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland|Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]]. Wade had planned to build a town around the new barracks and call it Wadesburgh.<ref>Caledonian Mercury 1 August 1727</ref> The settlement grew, and eventually took the name of this fort. In December, 1745, during the [[Jacobite rising of 1745]], a force of 600 men from the recently formed [[Independent Highland Companies]], formed to support the British-Hanoverian government, [[Siege of Fort Augustus (December 1745)|laid siege and liberated the fort]] from the Jacobite [[Clan Fraser of Lovat]] after a small skirmish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Peter |year=1996 |title=The Independent Highland Companies, 1603–1760 |location=[[Edinburgh]] |publisher=[[John Donald Publishers]] |pages=132–133 |isbn=085976432-X}}</ref> From 22 February to 1 March 1746, the Jacobites [[Siege of Fort Augustus (March 1746)|laid siege to the fort]] and the government garrison surrendered.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duffy |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Duffy |year=2007 |title=The '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising |page=452 |isbn=978-0-7538-2262-3}}</ref>
In the aftermath of the [[Jacobite rising of 1715]], [[George Wade|General Wade]] built a fort (taking from 1729 until 1742) which was named after [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland|Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]]. Wade had planned to build a town around the new barracks and call it Wadesburgh.<ref>Caledonian Mercury 1 August 1727</ref> The settlement grew, and eventually took the name of this fort. In December, 1745, during the [[Jacobite rising of 1745]], a force of 600 men from the recently formed [[Independent Highland Companies]], formed to support the British-Hanoverian government, [[Siege of Fort Augustus (December 1745)|laid siege and liberated the fort]] from the Jacobite [[Clan Fraser of Lovat]] after a small skirmish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Peter |year=1996 |title=The Independent Highland Companies, 1603–1760 |location=[[Edinburgh]] |publisher=[[John Donald Publishers]] |pages=132–133 |isbn=085976432-X}}</ref> From 22 February to 1 March 1746, the Jacobites [[Siege of Fort Augustus (March 1746)|laid siege to the fort]] and the government garrison surrendered.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duffy |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Duffy |year=2007 |title=The '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising |page=452 |isbn=978-0-7538-2262-3}}</ref>
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{{see also|Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway}}
{{see also|Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway}}


The village is served by the A82 road and lies approximately midway between Inverness (56&nbsp;km) and Fort William (51&nbsp;km).
The village is served by the A82 road and lies approximately midway between Inverness {{convert|35|mi|km|abbr=on|0}} and [[Fort William, Scotland|Fort William]] {{convert|32|mi|km|abbr=on|0}}.


The village was served by a [[Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway|rail line]] from [[Spean Bridge]] to [[Fort Augustus Pier railway station|a terminus]] on the banks of Loch Ness from 1903 until 1933, built by the [[Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway]] in the hope of eventually completing a line to Inverness and latterly operated by the [[North British Railway]] and its successor, the [[London and North Eastern Railway]], but initially operated by the [[Highland Railway]]. The [[Caledonian Canal]] connecting Fort William to [[Inverness]] passes through Fort Augustus in a dramatic series of locks stepping down to Loch Ness.
The village was served by a [[Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway|rail line]] from [[Spean Bridge]] to [[Fort Augustus Pier railway station|a terminus]] on the banks of Loch Ness from 1903 until 1933, built by the [[Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway]] in the hope of eventually completing a line to Inverness and latterly operated by the [[North British Railway]] and its successor, the [[London and North Eastern Railway]], but initially operated by the [[Highland Railway]]. The [[Caledonian Canal]] connecting Fort William to [[Inverness]] passes through Fort Augustus in a dramatic series of locks stepping down to Loch Ness.
Line 71: Line 71:


==Climate==
==Climate==
As with most of the [[British Isles]] and Scotland, Fort Augustus has an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfb'') with cool summers and mild winters. Like a lot of the surrounding area, sunshine levels are low at around 1,000 hours per annum and temperatures are unpredictable – Fort Augustus holds the UK's joint lowest May temperature record of {{convert|-9.4|C|F}}.<ref>{{Cite web | publisher = [[TORRO]] | url = http://www.torro.org.uk/site/mintemps.php | title = May Temperature | access-date = 2 November 2011 | archive-date = 5 February 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150205110642/http://www.torro.org.uk/site/mintemps.php | url-status = dead }}</ref> This is the latest point in the run-up to summer that such a low temperature has been recorded, suggesting it can become a frost trap on calm clear nights due to its valley location. That same low-lying topography can also give rise to some high temperatures on occasion – Fort Augustus held the UK daily high temperature record for 16 December for almost 80 years.<ref>{{Cite web | publisher = [[TORRO]] | url = http://www.torro.org.uk/site/hightempsyear.php | title = 1893 Temperature | access-date = 2 November 2011 | archive-date = 24 August 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150824032720/http://www.torro.org.uk/site/hightempsyear.php | url-status = dead }}</ref>
As with most of the [[British Isles]] and Scotland, Fort Augustus has an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfb'') with cool summers and mild winters. Like a lot of the surrounding area, sunshine levels are low at around 1,005 hours per annum and temperatures are unpredictable – Fort Augustus holds the UK's joint lowest May temperature record of {{convert|-9.4|C|F}}.<ref>{{Cite web | publisher = [[TORRO]] | url = http://www.torro.org.uk/site/mintemps.php | title = May Temperature | access-date = 2 November 2011 | archive-date = 5 February 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150205110642/http://www.torro.org.uk/site/mintemps.php | url-status = dead }}</ref> This is the latest point in the run-up to summer that such a low temperature has been recorded, suggesting it can become a frost trap on calm clear nights due to its valley location. That same low-lying topography can also give rise to some high temperatures on occasion – Fort Augustus held the UK daily high temperature record for 16 December for almost 80 years.<ref>{{Cite web | publisher = [[TORRO]] | url = http://www.torro.org.uk/site/hightempsyear.php | title = 1893 Temperature | access-date = 2 November 2011 | archive-date = 24 August 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150824032720/http://www.torro.org.uk/site/hightempsyear.php | url-status = dead }}</ref>


{{Weather box
{{Weather box
Line 78: Line 78:
| single line = yes
| single line = yes
| location = Fort Augustus ({{convert|23|m|abbr=on|disp=or}} asl, averages 1991–2020)
| location = Fort Augustus ({{convert|23|m|abbr=on|disp=or}} asl, averages 1991–2020)
| Jan record high C = 15.6
| Feb record high C = 14.4
| Mar record high C = 21.1
| Apr record high C = 23.4
| May record high C = 27.4
| Jun record high C = 30.0
| Jul record high C = 29.7
| Aug record high C = 30.6
| Sep record high C = 26.9
| Oct record high C = 22.8
| Nov record high C = 17.2
| Dec record high C = 15.0
| year record high C = 30.6
| Jan high C = 6.3
| Jan high C = 6.3
| Feb high C = 6.9
| Feb high C = 6.9
Line 90: Line 103:
| Nov high C = 8.8
| Nov high C = 8.8
| Dec high C = 6.5
| Dec high C = 6.5
| year high C =  
| year high C = 12.2
| Jan mean C = 3.7
| Feb mean C = 4.0
| Mar mean C = 5.5
| Apr mean C = 7.8
| May mean C = 10.4
| Jun mean C = 13.0
| Jul mean C = 14.8
| Aug mean C = 14.6
| Sep mean C = 12.5
| Oct mean C = 8.9
| Nov mean C = 5.8
| Dec mean C = 3.6
| year mean C = 8.7
| Jan low C = 1.0
| Jan low C = 1.0
| Feb low C = 1.1
| Feb low C = 1.1
Line 103: Line 129:
| Nov low C = 2.8
| Nov low C = 2.8
| Dec low C = 0.8
| Dec low C = 0.8
| year low C =  
| year low C = 5.2
| Jan rain mm = 190.6
| Jan record low C = -17.2
| Feb rain mm = 132.5
| Feb record low C = -13.9
| Mar rain mm = 112.2
| Mar record low C = -12.2
| Apr rain mm = 66.8
| Apr record low C = -6.7
| May rain mm = 68.4
| May record low C = -5.0
| Jun rain mm = 67.4
| Jun record low C = -2.8
| Jul rain mm = 71.3
| Jul record low C = 1.6
| Aug rain mm = 93.2
| Aug record low C = -0.6
| Sep rain mm = 104.9
| Sep record low C = -3.3
| Oct rain mm = 140.3
| Oct record low C = -6.7
| Nov rain mm = 136.1
| Nov record low C = -12.2
| Dec rain mm = 175.8
| Dec record low C = -16.7
| year rain mm =  
| year record low C = -17.2
| unit rain days = 1 mm
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan rain days = 18.5
| Jan precipitation mm = 190.6
| Feb rain days = 16.6
| Feb precipitation mm = 132.5
| Mar rain days = 16.6
| Mar precipitation mm = 112.2
| Apr rain days = 13.7
| Apr precipitation mm = 66.8
| May rain days = 13.4
| May precipitation mm = 68.4
| Jun rain days = 13.0
| Jun precipitation mm = 67.4
| Jul rain days = 14.3
| Jul precipitation mm = 71.3
| Aug rain days = 14.8
| Aug precipitation mm = 93.2
| Sep rain days = 14.3
| Sep precipitation mm = 104.9
| Oct rain days = 18.4
| Oct precipitation mm = 140.3
| Nov rain days = 17.4
| Nov precipitation mm = 136.1
| Dec rain days = 18.6
| Dec precipitation mm = 175.8
| year rain days =  
| year precipitation mm = 1359.4
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 18.5
| Feb precipitation days = 16.6
| Mar precipitation days = 16.6
| Apr precipitation days = 13.7
| May precipitation days = 13.4
| Jun precipitation days = 13.0
| Jul precipitation days = 14.3
| Aug precipitation days = 14.8
| Sep precipitation days = 14.3
| Oct precipitation days = 18.4
| Nov precipitation days = 17.4
| Dec precipitation days = 18.6
| year precipitation days = 189.5
| Jan sun = 26.2
| Jan sun = 26.2
| Feb sun = 54.5
| Feb sun = 54.5
Line 143: Line 183:
| Nov sun = 27.1
| Nov sun = 27.1
| Dec sun = 18.5
| Dec sun = 18.5
| year sun =  
| year sun = 1005.0
| source = [[Met Office]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gfhtjdb28 |title=Fort Augustus UK climate averages |publisher=Met Office |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>
| source = [[Met Office]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gfhtjdb28 |title=Fort Augustus UK climate averages |publisher=Met Office |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>
}}
|source 2 = Starlings Roost Weather<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roostweather.com/ukobs/temp_station_extreme_map.php|title=Monthly Temperature Extremes}}</ref>
|date=October 2025}}


==Notable people==
==Notable people==

Latest revision as of 08:54, 16 November 2025

Template:Short description Template:For-multi Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place

File:Fort Augustus (6194579565).jpg
Locks on the Caledonian Canal in Fort Augustus, looking towards Loch Ness

Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around Template:Scottish locality population (Template:Scottish settlement population citation).[1] Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

History

Early history

File:Invergarryrailway.jpg
Section of dismantled railway south of Fort Augustus

Some historians like G. McDonalds -after the finding of a hoard of Roman coins in 1767 near the city's ancient Benedictine Abbey- wrote about the possibility that Fort Augustus was built on a Roman small fortification built under Diocletian rule[2]

The Gaelic name for the modern village is Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "IPA".) and until the early 18th century the settlement was called Kiliwhimin. It was renamed Fort Augustus after the Jacobite rising of 1715. The accepted etymology is that the settlement was originally named after Saint Cummein of Iona who built a church there.[3] Other suggestions are that it was originally called Script error: No such module "Lang". after one of two abbots of Iona of the Comyn clan, whose badge Script error: No such module "Lang". refers to the cumin plant,[4] or that it was called Script error: No such module "Lang". ("Comyn's Burialplace") after the last Comyn in Lochaber.[5]

The Fort

In the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1715, General Wade built a fort (taking from 1729 until 1742) which was named after Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Wade had planned to build a town around the new barracks and call it Wadesburgh.[6] The settlement grew, and eventually took the name of this fort. In December, 1745, during the Jacobite rising of 1745, a force of 600 men from the recently formed Independent Highland Companies, formed to support the British-Hanoverian government, laid siege and liberated the fort from the Jacobite Clan Fraser of Lovat after a small skirmish.[7] From 22 February to 1 March 1746, the Jacobites laid siege to the fort and the government garrison surrendered.[8]

A hoard of Roman coins was unearthed in 1767 near the ancient Benedictine abbey that are thought to be from Roman to Late Iron Age - 79 AD to 560 AD.[9]

In 1867, the fort was sold to the Lovat family, and in 1876 they passed the site and land to the Benedictine order. The monks established Fort Augustus Abbey and later a school. The school operated until 1993 when it closed owing to changing educational patterns in Scotland causing a decline in enrollment. The monks employed Tony Harmsworth[10] to devise a rescue package which saw the site converted into the largest private heritage centre in Scotland which operated between 1994 and 1998;[11] however, the heritage centre failed to generate sufficient profit to maintain the buildings. In 1998 the monks abandoned the site, and it reverted to the Lovat family which in turn sold it to Terry Nutkins. He also owned The Lovat Hotel[12] that stands on the site of the old Kilwhimen Barracks, one of four built in 1718. This site houses the west curtain wall of the old Fort, intact with gun embrasures. The Lovat was originally built as the local Station Hotel. Template:Multiple image

Infrastructure

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

The village is served by the A82 road and lies approximately midway between Inverness Template:Convert and Fort William Template:Convert.

The village was served by a rail line from Spean Bridge to a terminus on the banks of Loch Ness from 1903 until 1933, built by the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway in the hope of eventually completing a line to Inverness and latterly operated by the North British Railway and its successor, the London and North Eastern Railway, but initially operated by the Highland Railway. The Caledonian Canal connecting Fort William to Inverness passes through Fort Augustus in a dramatic series of locks stepping down to Loch Ness.

The village is served by the Cill Chuimein Medical Centre.[13]

The village has both a primary school and a secondary school – Kilchuimen Primary School and Kilchuimen Academy – which share a campus.

Climate

As with most of the British Isles and Scotland, Fort Augustus has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) with cool summers and mild winters. Like a lot of the surrounding area, sunshine levels are low at around 1,005 hours per annum and temperatures are unpredictable – Fort Augustus holds the UK's joint lowest May temperature record of Template:Convert.[14] This is the latest point in the run-up to summer that such a low temperature has been recorded, suggesting it can become a frost trap on calm clear nights due to its valley location. That same low-lying topography can also give rise to some high temperatures on occasion – Fort Augustus held the UK daily high temperature record for 16 December for almost 80 years.[15]

Template:Weather box

Notable people

  • Guy Prendergast (1905–1986), explorer and soldier. Buried in Strathoich cemetery.
  • Alexander Fraser (1789-1872). Soldier and hero of the Battle of Stoney Creek in 1813 (War of 1812) who captured the two American commanding generals on the battlefield.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project

Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ Template:Scottish settlement population citation
  2. ↑ "A letter from an officer at Perth, dated May 2, 1767 says: "Last week I was out with a command to Fort Augustus, where some part of the fortifications are repairing. Whilst there, some labourers in digging a trench, found an earthen urn, of a blue colour, with about 300 pieces of coin, of mixed metal, some a little larger than our halfpence, and the others the size of farthings. They appear to me to be all of the Emperor Dioclesian" ([1])
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ MacMillan 3 Template:Webarchive
  6. ↑ Caledonian Mercury 1 August 1727
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Loch Ness, Nessie & Me (2011)
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ ICSH – Home Template:Webarchive
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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