3. Day: Glenfinnan Viaduct
Glenfinnan Monument with a view of Loch Shiel
We used the first real day of exploring without changing accommodation or travelling for hours to visit the Glenfinnan Monument and the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This is where the famous Jacobite Train from Harry Potter (Hogwarts Express) passes over the Glenfinnan Viaduct from Fort William towards Mallaig.
You can see the full length of the train on the bridge shortly before eleven. However, you can’t be too late to catch it. The times and timetable for the Jacobite Train can be viewed online and are also displayed on a board outside the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre. When we arrived at the Visitor Centre car park around half past ten, it had just been closed due to lack of space. We drove further up the road and found another car park just two minutes away in front of Saint Mary & Saint Finnan Church. The owner of a small coffee stall told us that it would also be extremely busy here in a few minutes. So if you want to see the Jacobite Train early and, above all, get a parking space, you should definitely be there by ten o’clock at the latest.
From the car park of the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre, a circular path leads directly to the Glenfinnan Viaduct so that you can walk under the bridge pillars and climb the mountain. But we didn’t walk that far, as there were already crowds of people at the viewpoints. So we stayed on the open space along the hiking trail and watched a rather old, slow but also short Jacobite chug across the bridge in bright sunshine. The spectacle lasted about four minutes and shortly after the train had passed and disappeared behind the mountain, the crowds of visitors flocked to the visitor centre or left again by car. Only very few stayed to enjoy the view from the viewpoints or to look at the Glenfinnan Monument on the banks of Loch Shiel. But the view from the viewpoint behind the Visitor Centre towards the loch is spectacular (see picture above) and definitely worth the steep walk up.
We bought our lunch snack at the visitor centre and took it with us to the Glenfinnan Monument and Loch Shiel. There, benches invited us to linger and take a break. We then took some extensive shots at the water’s edge and observed red-breasted mergansers and other smaller shorebirds. The play of light between the mountains, sun and clouds creates fascinating patterns on the mountain slopes. Unfortunately, I really underestimated the sun. Even in May and despite the occasional heavy shade, we all got very sunburnt.
From the Glenfinnan Monument, we finally followed a gravel path on foot back towards Saint Mary and Saint Finnan Church, where our car was parked. Incidentally, the church is clearly visible from the viewpoints near the viaduct as well as from Loch Shiel beach at Glenfinnan Monument.
After dinner at our accommodation, we went on another evening tour. On the rocky shore of Caol Beach there is an old stranded cutter, which can certainly be staged in the evening light and with the silhouette of Fort William. The first test images look very promising!
