This last trip was my third time to Scotland!!! So, it was undoubtedly time to fit in some of the more time consuming stops into our itinerary. Like, a day trip to Orkney and a ride on the Jacobite Steam Train. AKA, The Harry Potter Hogwarts Express!!!
We spent our first 5 days of the trip attending a wedding in the borders, visiting several Outlander filming sites, a few abbeys, and a complete day trip to Orkney. You can read all about these on my previously posted blogs!!
The morning of Day 6 we awoke early and headed to Fort Williams after a quick stop at the local quick stop station for a sausage, a meat bridie, and a latte from the Costa’s machine there. The petrol stations and quick stop stations almost always have a great hot breakfast and a Costa’s latte machine. These aren’t like the typical cappuccino machines in the US that are just coffee mixed with about 40 tablespoons of sugar and flavoring. These Costa machines actually make a decent espresso or latte!
We chose to drive along the west side of Loch Ness to Fort Williams for the amazing views.
It is about an hour and a half drive from Inverness to Fort Williams. If you have time, stop at the Loch Ness Visitor Center. They have a great shop, hotel and a life-size statue of Nessie you can climb on for pictures. There is a trail that leads under the road over to the water for even more pictures and hopefully a Nessie sighting….If you are lucky.
This is such a beautiful drive. If you have time, make sure you stop at Urquhart Castle. We have done this on a previous trip. So, we kept on driving. There is a beautiful waterfall and bridge just before you get to the castle, near Abriachan. It is not marked well. But, there is a nice hotel nearby and a visitor center. Worth a stop.
Just at the bottom of Loch Ness you cross over the Caledonian Canal in the town of Fort Augustus. We stopped for a snack break and spent a half an hour watching the boats move up the canal. Just Fascinating.
We decided to also take a ride up the Ben Nevis Gondola on our way to Fort Williams. This 20 minute gondola ride takes you to the top of the tallest peak in Scotland. The views are spectacular. We had a quick lunch at the cafe at the top and then rode the gondola back down since we had a felting class to get to. There were so many mountain bikers there taking the gondola to the top and riding their bikes down the crazy high mountain!
After the gondola ride we drove about 45 minutes to Ballachulish for our felting class!!! A few months ago Debbie had ordered this wonderful piece of felted art from Artisan Felt Studio. While conversing with the artist, she inquired about classes to learn this unique form of art since we would be travelling to Scotland soon. Next thing I know we are taking a class at her home and studio!!
We had a wonderful time learning how felt. Honestly, I had never even heard of felting. I did not understand how this pile of different colors of wool was going to turn into this fabulous piece of art that is now hanging in my home. The entire process took about 5 hours when you include a little stop for refreshments and chatting. We decided to use a picture of the filming location for Craig Na Dun in the Outlander series on Starz. We actually visited this filming site a few days before!!! It was amazing. While there we gathered a few little scraps of wool to use in our art that was laying around on the ground from the all the sheep in the area.
Sara did a wonderful job of not only instructing us on the felting process. But, was very helpful in feeding our creative process and making our piles of wool turn into something beautiful in the end. If you are in Scotland, don’t miss a change to see her work in galleries in Fort Williams at the Gallery at the Fort and also in Malliag.
Can you believe I made this?
We were running a little later than planned this day. So Sara suggested this amazing seafood restaurant just across the loch.
If you are any where near here, then you need to stop! I love seafood. So, I had to try a little of everything. Oysters, clams, lobster, and scallops!!!
After the fabulous dinner, we made our way back to Fort Williams were we were staying two nights at the Distillery Guest House. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. The room was TINY for a family suite and entire room could do with a remodel. But, there wasn’t really anything else available for that price.
We did have a decent breakfast at the hotel and went exploring on High Street before catching the train to Malliag at 12:13. We also decided it would be a great time to find a post office and ship a box of our wedding clothes and shoes back that we wouldn’t need anymore. Plus, a bunch of souvenirs. It was about $65 for an 4kg box. But, that’s 4 less kilograms I had to carry and I had a lot more room for more items without going over in weight at the airport!! I had packed more than I usually do for a trip like this because of the wedding attire and was happy to send it back.
There is very little parking near High Street in Fort Williams. There is one parking lot with a public toilet on the corner of Bank Street and Dudley. It is behind the Bank of Scotland and across from the church by Tesco. After much driving in circles looking for a parking spot, this is definitely the best choice. It is only a block from High Street and Fraser Square where all of the great shops and restaurants are. This is also where you will find the Post Office across from the Tesco. This isn’t what Americans would think of as a post office. To me it was more like a small gift shop/Walgreens with a little post office in the back of the store. We learned later on that the DHL is much cheaper to ship from. You can find a DHL desk at many little snack shops in town or in a petrol station.
We spent a little time wandering the shops on High Street and then made our way over to the train station. There is an underground pedestrian path over to the train station. So, you do not have to try and walk across the busy intersection.
Jacobite Steam Train
The Jacobite Steam train travels from Fort Williams to Malliag and back twice a day. This round trip lasts about 6 hours including a two hour stop in Malliag. Just enough time to get a bite to eat and shop. Malliag is on the coast overlooking the beautiful Island of Skye. The train has a morning run and an afternoon run. So, you have several options.
You must book you tickets for the Jacobite Steam Train MONTHS in advance. They rarely have tickets available that day. Put a reminder on you calendar. The run from May to October and the tickets sell out fast. If possible buy the first-class tickets (59.95£ verses 37.75£). They are more expensive. But, well worth it for the experience. The first-class cabin is decorated in a more vintage early-1900’s look. There is also cart service with Harry Potter themed snacks and drinks in the first-class car. There is no cart service in the other cars. On the ride back to Fort Williams, you definitely get better views and pictures of the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the first-class car because you will be at the back end of the train.
The other cabins are decorated and look just like a modern train cabin. Definitely, not as exciting. You can still walk up to the buffet carriage and buy the Harry Potter themed drinks like the Butter Beer and A Deathly Hallows though. Yum!!!
There is a cute little Harry Potter shop ON the train that you can visit during ride and just before and after at the train station. Cash only, FYI. Make sure you bring your Harry Potter house scarf for photos!! I brought mine all the way from the US! But, it was worth it. I had several people comment on my scarf and a few girls even borrowed it for a pictures.
We did not book out tickets earlier enough in advance. Hence, we did not get the first-class seats. We actually couldn’t even get round trip tickets!! We WERE able to get one-way tickets back from Malliag on the evening train. I had to buy two tickets together and then another one separate. For some reason it would not let me buy three together.
So, how would that work you ask? The Jacobite Steam Train runs on the same tracks as the normal ScotRail trains do. There is a train that goes to Malliag five times a day!! We decided on the 12:13 train since we would be taking the 18:38 Jacobite train back to Fort William. That left us more than five hours in Malliag for exploring. Which was WAY to much. There are only a few little shops and a few restaurants. If I had to do it again I would book the 16:19 train from Fort Williams to Malliag and only have about an hour in Malliag. The train station is only steps from the shops and right in the middle of town.
So, for the best views you want to be in the last car and on the left side of the west-bound train going to Malliag and on the right side of the east-bound train going back to Fort Williams from Malliag. Unfortunatly, you can not choose your seats when you buy your tickets. We were sitting on the wrong side. But, you can do what I did and get out of my seat and plant myself in front of one of the windows at the back of each car by the toilets and breezeway between the cars. Try and get as far back on the train as possible near the first-class cabin. This window is wide open to the fresh air and great views. But, standing there also means that you will be slightly soot-covered and may inhale a little smoke. Cough, cough… Especially when going through any tunnels, as for some reason the smoke and soot are sucked straight into this window and in your face. You need to find a spot pretty early on the train ride if you want the window and be firm about holding that spot the entire ride. Use those elbows people!! But, I did meet a few other people during that hour ride and we had fun talking about our travels. I got a great video of our time going over the Glenfinnan Viaduct if not for the man’s arm in my way with his camera.
The best time for pictures standing in front or next to the Jacobite steam engine is just after you arrive at Malliag and just after you arrive at Fort Williams. Do not delay. You will only have about 5 minutes. They back up after a few minutes and “turn the engine around” so that the engine can pull the train back the other direction. Once this is done you cannot get near the engine for pictures because the cement walkway/platform does not extend that far. The track curves in such a way that you can’t even see the engine to get pictures. In this photo we were actually just outside of the train station on the side of the building just as it started to back up.
There is a lovely fish and chip shop (a chippy as they call it) at the train station. They also have quite a large selection of gourmet cheeses, smoked salmon, and other Scottish specialties in the shop. It also says they will ship anywhere in the world! I was very tempted to take them up on this offer. Since we were in Malliag over five hours, we ate at a really good seafood restaurant, The Fishmarket Restaurant, about a block from the station when we first got off the train and then shared a piece of fish from the Chippy later.
While you are in Malliag you need to visit a tiny, little shop called Haggard’s Alley. Especially, if you are a Harry Potter Fan!! It is about a block from the train station and just past the boat dock. It is very small and only fits a few “muggles” in there at a time. But, they have a great selection of merchandise and a little room in the back with memorabilia to view. This little shop is owned by the same owners of the shop on the train and also ship around the world.
If you are not able to get tickets on the Jacobite Steam Train. Do not worry!! You may even like this option better. The train crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct four times a day. Passing times for the viaduct are: Morning Train 10:58 outbound and 15:00 return / Afternoon Train 15:13 outbound and 19:30 return. I have not had the chance to do this myself. But, from what I have found; you can walk from the Glenfinnan train station in about an hour each way, there and back. It is uphill about half the way. The trail is well marked and impossible to miss.
There are a few places to view the viaduct. The most popular is the small plateau right before the trail starts to descend downhill towards the viaduct. The other option is to walk towards the river, cross the wooden bridge, take a left, and continue hiking up the mountain on the right side. Though, from what I have read, you need waterproof wellies or hiking boots. But, the views definitely are worth the extra effort. This is on my bucket list for my next trip to Scotland.
We didn’t get back to Fort Williams until about 8:30pm and I was determined not to miss dinner again! We walked over to high street from using the underground pedestrian walkway and found a nice pub to eat at. When we walked in and inquired about food the young bartender literally said “We stop serving food in 13 seconds. So, choose fast.” He was joking of course. But, we ordered quick and found a seat in a large booth with a couple from Australia. Again, I ordered a fun, different burger. Wild Boar and Haggis!!! It was soooo tasty and paired with with my dark stout and a Auchentoshan Scotch.
After a leisurely dinner, we headed back to our tiny room at the Distillery Guest House for our last night’s sleep in Scotland. In the morning we were flying to Amsterdam for three nights and then three more nights in Germany before I had to fly home. Stay tuned for my upcoming blogs ALL about it!!!
