I may be a muggle - but I've rode the train to Hogwarts! Or... something like that. I'd like to tell you I'm not really a muggle and my Hogwarts house is Hufflepuff... I guess my owl got lost along the way? Who knows? I do know that on Saturday, July 10th I rode the Jacobite Train from Fort William across the Glenfinnan Viaduct to the coastal town of Malaig and that's as close as I'll ever get to the Hogwarts Express!
The Jacobite is a restored steam train that makes the trip twice daily from Fort William (the station was less than 2 miles from our AirBnB) to the coastal town of Malaig and along the way, the train crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct - which now has an iconic place in movie lore because of the Harry Potter films. The train made a short stop at Glenfinnan Station before moving on and the conductor announced loud and clear "we are now approaching the viaduct".
It was amazing because as we crossed the viaduct you could spot people dotted all over the hills around the viaduct, watching the train as it crossed - snapping pictures, cheering and waving to the people on the train. It was definitely a unique experience. Another unique experience the train offered was that a trolley came through selling all sorts of treats - just like in the Harry Potter films - and of course we partook! We got some Chocolate Frogs (none jumped out the window, thankfully) and a small bag of Jellie Slugs to share - delicious!
The train rolled into the coastal town of Malaig around lunch time and with only an hour and a half to spare - we sought out some lunch pretty quickly. We found sandwiches at a café just around the corner from the train station and I ordered what I thought was a cheese & onion toastie... but I guess I forgot to mention the "toastie" part - and this is how I ended up eating shredded yellow cheese & raw onion on wheat bread as a sandwich. *face palm* Always say "toastie".
We also had crisps and some desserts to share - a divine cream puff, a strawberry tart and some Isle of Arran ice cream in Scottish Tablet flavor. If you've never had Scottish Tablet, it's similar to fudge but a bit sweeter and more crumbly... in short - it's divine! The ice cream had a light and creamy flavor with pieces of tablet scattered throughout and I sure wish I could find it in the US! We perused the coastline after lunch, snapped some pictures of the brightly colored boats in the harbor and Lindsey and I checked out a shop devoted to all things Harry Potter. I even had to grab a pair of sunglasses at a souvenir shop (tartan plaid - of course) because the sun had come out with a vengeance!
The return trip had us sitting on the opposite side of the train, so there was plenty to take in as we made our way back through the countryside. Lindsey noticed an island of small trees situated in a loch on the way up and as we passed it on the return, we were able to confirm our suspicions: it was used in the Harry Potter films (HP is all over Scotland y'all - all over it) as the burial location for Dumbledore. There were beautiful lochs, rugged mountain terrain and fluffy clouds that gathered as we got closer to Fort William. On our return, we snapped a few more pictures with the train before making a stop at Lidl and heading to the house to chill a bit.
We grabbed dinner a bit earlier on Saturday evening - walking to a pub in Fort William for a really delicious meal - before hopping into the car and heading back to the Glenfinnan Viaduct. We knew the second train of the day would come racing across that viaduct around 7:45 and we wanted to be some of the people on the hillside, waving and watching from a different angle. The glen itself was lovely - it had a small stream trickling through it and a field that stretched toward the viaduct and beyond, toward the mountain peaks.
My parents stayed in the midst of the field but Lindsey and I made our way up a trail to the hillside so we could stand near one end of the viaduct to wave, snap pictures and take it all in. There were other people hanging out along the trail... all waiting for the train to come chugging along and in the quiet, Lindsey said "I think I hear something..." and sure enough - you could hear the wheels whirring along the track, the horn sounded and the next thing you knew - the train barreled around the corner and along the viaduct. It was such a cool thing to experience and I loved waving to all the people hanging out the train!
We decided to walk across the street quickly to see the Jacobite Monument and can I tell you - I've never been so glad in all my life that we made that choice because we found ourselves on the banks of Loch Shiel and I feel certain it was one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever been blessed to see. Standing on this quiet loch shore, listening to the water lap on the bank with blue skies, green rolling hills and fluffy clouds... I was certain Scotland is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
I sent the above picture to my fiancé and jokingly told him "let's sell everything we own and just move here - we can live by the loch and have this view forever"... of course - he agreed immediately. I hope the people who get to see this stunning view daily are always as in awe of it as I was as a visitor to this glorious country. I also feel that after being in Scotland and seeing the rolling mountain peaks, the gentle streams and the verdant fields - I understand my love for the mountains of the United States. It's bred into me through my Scottish ancestors.
We finally bid the loch adieu around 8:45 and headed back to the AirBnB in Fort William for our final evening. I tried to capture a picture of Ben Nevis - but it's the tallest peak in the United Kingdom and not as easy to photograph as you might think. It's the peak to the left of the light poles in the picture below - but the picture doesn't really do it much justice... granted - I don't know that any of my pictures do Scotland justice - but I sure tried.
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