Day 31 - Fort William: The Jacobite Steam Train

Internet: Described as the greatest railway journey in the world, this 84 mile round trip takes you past a list of impressive extremes. Starting near the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis, it visits Britain's most westerly mainland railway station, Arisaig; passes close by the deepest freshwater loch in Britain, Loch Morar and the shortest river in Britain, River Morar, finally arriving next to the deepest seawater loch in Europe, Loch Nevis!

GLENFINNAN

We crossed the 21-arched Glenfinnan viaduct (a location made famous in the Harry Potter films) which overlooks Loch Shiel and the Jacobite monument.

Maggie: The trip is about 2 hours each way with about 90 minutes in Mallaig. On the train you are seated on one side on the way out and the other side returning, so you can take in all the views on both sides of the train. I am not a patient person so I hung out in the doorway area, going side to side depending on the view. Plus, I could take pictures through the open window, instead of through dirty glass. There are signs on the doors saying don’t put your head out the window, and for good reason. There were points where trees scraped the train. But of course, I had to do it occasionally, for the best pictures. On the way out it was sunny, blue skies, white puffy clouds. On the way back it was overcast and a bit rainy. This contradiction in weather made the same views look completely different.

I’m going to let you enjoy the pics of the trip.

The way out:

The way in: