The Fort William Mountain Festival (FWMF) organisers are delighted to announce a packed line-up of events and adventure activities for the 2025 programme, being staged in Fort William and across Lochaber, the Outdoor Capital of the UK, from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 February 2025. See FWMF website for full programme details.
The 2025 festival programme is bursting with inspirational speakers, creative workshops, guided outdoor activities, thought-provoking films, competitions and awards, and the adventure-themed interactive Festival Hub. Pulled together by a dedicated team of volunteers, this is the most diverse programme since the inaugural festival in 2004 and showcases outdoor adventures of all shapes and sizes and for all interests and abilities. ‘Join us to be inspired and discover your adventure’.
Discovery sessions have been specially curated to bring festivalgoers a varied programme across all outdoor disciplines. Drop in for bike trail route inspiration from the founder of Bikepacking Scotland, Markus Stitz; explore the best mountain running in the UK with the launch of Northern Horizons, a new book from adventurer Will Herman; learn from renowned Sports Dietician Renee McGregor; cosy in for Bothy Tales with author, podcaster and storyteller John D Burns; escape to the Lakeland Fells with a unique and poetic spoken word performance piece, Dreamtime Fellrunner, by Dr Julie Carter, and much, much more.
Headline Events fill the evenings with more in-depth explorations through discussion, film and legendary speakers. Lineup highlights include record-breaking mountaineer Anna Wells, The Martin Moran Foundation, bike adventurer Lee Craigie from The Adventure Syndicate, a brand new musical collaboration between The Storylands Sessions and Scottish Mountaineering Press, and the hugely popular BANFF mountain film festival world tour. The full programme can be seen here: Events – Find out what’s on at the Fort William Mountain Festival
The Nevis Centre in Fort William will be transformed into the interactive Festival Hub, packed with outdoor organisations, brands, and creators keen to share their stories with festival event audiences. Visitors will be able to grab a coffee and some delicious grub before heading into one of the inspiring talks, film screenings, and workshops happening each day between 11:00 and 22:00.
Explore Events bring a huge opportunity for some hands-on learning with the experts. These take place both indoors at the festival hub and outdoors across Lochaber. The festival is extremely proud to be able to work with such a diverse range of local activity providers who will showcase the amazing landscapes of the region first-hand and what it offers for outdoor enthusiasts across a range of disciplines and abilities. Outdoor events include mountain illustration, nature writing, geology, wild swimming, trail running, mountain biking, adaptive cycling, winter skills, mountaineering, and skiing. Indoor events include British Sign Language, mountain weather with MWIS, bike maintenance, and adventure filmmaking. Discover the full programme here: Explore Events – Fort William Mountain Festival
No Festival would be complete without awards recognising the phenomenal effort and talent that goes into adventure filmmaking and photography. The specially curated International Film night will showcase the best entries to the festival’s competition and award presentations.
The Scottish Awards for Excellence in Mountain Culture, recognising both adult and youth categories, will also be presented. Since the inception of the awards in 2008, the Fort William Mountain Festival has proudly celebrated remarkable individuals in the outdoor world through these prestigious honours. The esteemed members of the Excellence in Mountain Culture Hall of Fame are a rare breed—exceptional individuals who stand out, inspire us to strive for our best, and embody the pinnacle of personal achievement.
The overriding aims of the Fort William Mountain Festival are to encourage everyone to be inspired by, respect and protect our natural landscape. By curating a programme that truly offers people from all walks of life the opportunity to come along and get involved, they are confident that any visitors who take part will leave feeling motivated to do just that.
The Fort William Mountain Festival is made possible thanks to the support of our sponsors: Outdoor Capital of the UK, Ellis Brigham, Patagonia, Montane, Alvance & Jahama Highland Estates, UHI North, West & Hebrides, and the Highland Bookshop.
Anna Danby, Co-ordinator for the 2025 festival, said: “2025 will be my third time coordinating this brilliant, community-minded festival and it’s always a joy to see how it grows and develops year on year.
“The programme for 2025 has a fantastic array of events across all areas of mountain culture. There will be plenty of opportunities for people across different interests and abilities to get involved, exploring the landscapes of Lochaber and to be inspired through talks and films.”
Graham Smyth, Chair of the Highland Mountain Culture Association, said: “The Fort William Mountain Festival is entirely organised and run by a dedicated group of volunteers who generously give their time to make it happen. United by a deep passion for the outdoors and the mountain environment, their enthusiasm and commitment shine through their exceptional work to create this unforgettable long weekend of events that will be sure to inspire all who are in attendance.”
Ends
If you are keen to attend activities and events at the 2025 Fort William Mountain Festival for a commissioned travel feature focusing on the festival and the Outdoor Capital of the UK, or an adventure/activity feature, please contact Paddy Cuthbert to discuss a supported trip – E: [email protected]
Website – https://mountainfestival.co.uk
Instagram – @mountainfestival
Facebook – @mountainfestival
YouTube – @fortwilliammountainfestiva7043
Images
For a large selection of downloadable Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 images go to https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/cf49q8fpkmno1lktlooal/AEh7PtuAqMRUy026566RdRY?rlkey=tp1y6sssa5vyv12hkynpjzd1s&st=190cutjg&dl=0
Notes to Editors:
The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 runs from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 February 2025.
The main events will be staged at The Nevis Centre, with other events at satellite venues in and around the bustling Highland town of Fort William, at the heart of the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’. Satellite venues include The Highland Cinema and Three Wise Monkeys indoor climbing centre. The Festival Launch Night will take place at the Highland Cinema. Venues for the Explore Events can be found on the website.
The Festival attracts up to 1500 people over four days and takes place each February in and around the town of Fort William.
The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 tickets can be bought online. Please go to https://mountainfestival.co.uk/tickets/events/ for the full programme. Festival tickets can sell out in advance, particularly for the popular nights.
The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 is sponsored by Outdoor Capital of the UK, Ellis Brigham, Patagonia, Montane, Alvance & Jahama Highland Estates, UHI North, West & Hebrides, and the Highland Bookshop, with many and varied local friends and supporters.
Festival organisers – The Highland Mountain Culture Association Limited, is a not-for-profit organisation, that promotes the understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain places and people, by creating opportunities for people of all ages to share their mountain experiences, ideas and visions. To showcase these ideals, it stages annually a programme of events within the Lochaber area including the Fort William Mountain Festival and the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. The Festival is organised by a dynamic organising committee, who are all volunteers and made up of a team of hard-working local outdoor enthusiasts.
The Outdoor Capital of the UK is Lochaber Chamber of Commerce’s tourism brand, promoting adventure for all! The Chamber publicises, sponsors and promotes Fort William and Lochaber as the best place in the UK for everyone to experience the outdoors; develop local jobs and wealth and encourage sustainable economic growth. This is done through a range of collaborative marketing initiatives and activities. The organisation currently has a wide selection of member businesses ranging from accommodation, food and drink and activity providers to non-tourism-focused businesses that support the aims of the Lochaber Chamber of Commerce and acknowledge that tourism is crucial to the local economy. Many of these businesses are SMEs and by pulling resources and working as a team the Lochaber Chamber of Commerce achieves the positive results that individually the members couldn’t otherwise reach. The Chamber also produces the Outdoor Capital of the UK website, the go to site for local events, outdoor activities and visitor accommodation in the area. www.outdoorcapital.co.uk / www.lochaberchamber.co.uk.
