Bunoich, Fort Augustus Pier And Pier Railway Station

The site is at the W end of Loch Ness and at the NE end of the old railway line from Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus. The pier was built for the Invergarry – Fort Augustus trains to meet the Loch Ness steamer. The railway was opened in 1903, but this short section of the line north of the main Fort Augustus station (on the south side of the canal and the river) was closed for passenger trains in 1906; it continued in use for goods trains until 1924.

The pier is a concrete L shaped structure, c.3m high above the water and in a poor condition with several large cracks. It has 2 sections;

Section 1 - the long upper section allows access from the bank; it is a total of 37.1m long with 7.3m of grass at the W end and 29.8m of a hard gravel surface which has grassed over, it may have extended further onto the shore it is 5.5m wide. The concrete sides of the pier are higher by up to 0.75m forming a wall above the surface of the pier with ‘scarcements’ on both sides which suggest there were further structures (fencing perhaps) along the walls above the present level. At the E end the wall has been widened into a triangular platform across the N corner to provide the base for a metal bollard c.0.5m high, a similar square platform lies 5.8m W of the end of the pier on the N side provides the base of a second metal bollard c.1m high. At the E end of the pier there are 5 metal bolts secured in the concrete which again suggests there were other structures attached to the pier. There is a modern flag pole towards the E end of the pier and 2 movable picnic tables. A lower section immediately to the S of the main pier is now accessed by a modern wooden walk way which is close to water level.

Section 2 - An “arm” extends to the S at the east end of section 1; it is 9m SE-NW by 13m NE-SW but there is no access to the top of this section of the pier. There are concrete overhanging projections on both sides of this area 1.84m above the floor, the overhangs are c.1m high. These may have supported some kind of bridge to allow access to the south part of the pier but there is no indication of this at present. The S upper level 2 is similar to the main section with concrete sides extending slightly above the presently grassed surface; 3 metal bollards and a growing tree are visible on the top. A modern metal walkway has been constructed along the W side of this part of the pier.

The station has been extended since it's conversion to a domestic residence. All evidence of the rails has been removed with the majority being removed during WWII. The platform and other sections of the railway were broken up and used to support the bank of the loch to the SW of the pier.