Train Spotting

Look familiar?

Yesterday we drove from Inverness down to our cozy cabin in the woods at Ballachulish. On the way, we made a brief stop in Fort William to check out the town, but the pouring rain dampened any ambitious plans and we settled for a stop in the West Highlands Museum. This is another very outdoorsy area, with lots of mountain biking and hiking. Ben Nevis just out of town is the highest mountain in the British Isles, at 4413 feet.

Our two bedroom cabin is a very comfy spot with large windows looking out on the surrounding trees and scenery. It feels a lot like home. We are sitting inside listening to the rain fall on the roof. The wood stove is the perfect touch.

Cooked dinner in last night, may do the same tonight.

Today’s adventure was the ultimate train spotting experience as we went to Glenfinnan to watch the Jacobite Train cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct on its way from Fort William to Mallaig. Otherwise known as the Hogwarts Express! The rain was coming down steadily as we joined the line of Harry Potter fans trekking up the path to find good vantage points above the viaduct.

Coming up to the famous trestle

There were many nationalities represented and drastically varying degrees of preparedness for the drippy, mucky, steep trail up the hillside. And then we all stood and waited.

Quite the crowd waiting in the rain, cameras at hand

Standing in the muck

Trains aren’t always on time, and we did have to wait for a while, but just as the rain let up we heard a blast from the steam engine and spotted the train approaching the viaduct. Cameras clicked all around us and we joined in. As the train rounded the curve of the viaduct towards us it gave a nice big blast of steam and was quickly past on its way to Mallaig. We waved to the passengers who were all waving back at us, and then made our way back to the car park to get out of the weather. What a fun experience!

Classic view

Back in Fort William we stopped at the Ben Nevis Distillery for their tour and tasting. Although it was founded in 1825, it is really just getting going again after being taken over by new owners so they have limited whiskies available now. We brought back a few samples that we plan to compare this evening.

Whisky barrels

Pot still

There were some car issues to deal with, however. Driving back from the train spotting, our driver side mirror got taken out by an RV going the other direction. It was a major bang that got all of our attentions. It took a few seconds to figure out what had happened. Given how narrow the roads are, it is almost surprising it had not happened before. When we called it in to the rental company they told us that it would not be legal to continue to drive the car, so even though we only had the drive to Glasgow/Edinburgh left, we would have to get it towed to Inverness and pick up a new car there. Julie and Lisa volunteered to go with the tow truck driver while Tami and Mike would find another way back to our cabin in Glencoe.

Walking into Fort William, we walked by the Inverlochy Castle, which is in ruins but picturesque. A taxi got us back to Glencoe.