Ben Nevis (original) (raw)

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles (1,344 m or 4409 feet). It is situated in the west of Scotland, close to the coastal town of Fort William, and it forms part of the Nevis range.

There is a relatively simple route to the summit known as the 'Tourist Route' that begins at the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre about one mile from Fort William town centre.

The origins of the name of the mountain are unclear. The word ben is certainly the Gaelic for peak. However several possibilities for the meaning of nevis have been suggested. This include 'venomous','burst' or 'flow' (from neb) and 'brow of keen air' (from neamh meaning 'keeness of air' and bhathais meaning 'brow'). Finally a locally popular suggestion is that the name derives from naomh meaning 'heaven'. However this etyomology is rejected by linguists.