page_title: A82 road
section_title: Fort William – Inverness
hierarchical_section_title: A82 road / Route / Fort William – Inverness
caption_attribution_description: English: Rainbow Warriors (2) - Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge, near to Highbridge, Highland, Great Britain.
context_page_description: The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it as an important link from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands and beyond. The road passes close to numerous landmarks in the Highlands, including; Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, the Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle.
  The route is derived in several places from the military roads constructed through the Highlands by General George Wade and Major William Caulfeild in the 18th century, along with later roads constructed by Thomas Telford in the 19th. The modern route is based on that designed by Telford, but with a number of improvements primarily dating from the 1920s and 30s. These include a diversion across Rannoch Moor and another around Loch Leven, which was subsequently replaced by the Ballachulish Bridge.
  Several travel guides have praised individual parts of the road, such as the section from Tyndrum to Glencoe across Rannoch Moor, as providing memorable driving experiences.
context_section_description: North of Fort Willam, the A82 runs alongside the West Highland Railway through Leanachan Forest towards Spean Bridge. It crosses the River Spean at a bridge constructed by Telford in 1819, but the village is named for the earlier "High Bridge"' constructed in 1735–36 by George Wade about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the west. There is a junction with the A86, which runs eastwards towards Newtonmore and the Cairngorms. The Commando Memorial, a 5.2-metre (17 ft) high structure dedicated to the original Commandos in World War II, who used the local area as a training ground, is located just north of the village at a junction with the B8004 to Gairlochy. This memorial provides one of the best viewpoints of the Highlands that is close to the A82.
  The A82 then follows the eastern shore of Loch Lochy up to Laggan. The village has no clearly defined centre but broadly follows the course of the A82 over 1.2 miles (2 km), from the Laggan Locks on the Caledonian Canal to the swing bridge that separates the canal from Loch Oich. This bridge is close to the "Well of the Seven Heads" monument, which allegedly contains the heads of seven men involved in the murder of Alexander MacDonald, Chief of Keppoch, and his brother, on 25 September 1663.
  The A82 runs towards the centre of Loch Oich, passes Invergarry Castle, and crosses the River Garry. Just after the bridge, the A87 heads west towards Skye, while the A82 continues along the western shore of the loch up to the Bridge of Oich at its northern end. This bridge was constructed in 1932, bypassing the 1850s Bridge of Oich, a Taper Suspension Bridge built by James Dredge. The A82 continues along the general line of Wade's Military Road up to Fort Augustus, crossing the canal at a swing bridge next to the locks in the village.
  The final 36 miles (58 km) from Fort Augustus to Inverness is mostly on the alignment of Telford's Road, running along the western shore of Loch Ness. This is on the opposite side of the loch to Wade's Military Road, because Telford wanted to connect the various communities along the western shore. Construction of the road started in 1805 but was delayed in 1807, when the building contractors abandoned the work with seven bridges yet to be completed. It was mostly complete by 1809 at an estimated cost of £5,800 (£424,000 as of 2019).
  Because the A82 is a main through route, tourists are suggested to use the older Military Road instead, so as to avoid the coach and HGV traffic. Cyclists and walkers can use the Great Glen Way between Fort Wiilam and Inverness. This is part of National Cycle Route 78 (The Caledonia Way) from Campbeltown to Inverness.
  There is a short diversion from the loch at Invermoriston, where the A82 crosses the River Moriston and the A887 provides another route back to the A87 and Skye. Telford's original stone bridge over the river, constructed in 1813, was replaced by a more modern structure as part of an overall improvement to the A82 undertaken in the 1930s. Between Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit, there is a roadside memorial to John Cobb, who was killed on the loch attempting to beat the water speed record. As the A82 approaches Drumnadrochit, it passes Urquhart Castle before turning inland, away from the loch shore, to approach the village.
  The A82 continues at the north end of the loch, along the western edge of the River Ness, which runs parallel alongside the canal towards Inverness city centre. Immediately after entering the urban area, the road crosses the canal at the Tomnahurich Swing Bridge. Now inside Inverness, the road passes Queen's Park stadium and heads towards the city centre. It crosses the Ness at the Friar's Bridge, bypassing the city centre to pass through the docklands and associated industrial estates as an urban dual carriageway. The road ends at a roundabout with the A9 just south of Kessock Bridge.
caption: The Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, with the A82 in the background
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