Riding the Real Hogwart's Express :: The Jacobite, Fort William toMallaig

The sun has found Scotland, so despite the inevitable sunburn (even after only two hours in the sun, whilst wearing a factor 40 sun cream which promised protection for 6hrs), I am happy. Especially because it meant a perfect day for Half Pint and I to take a steam train trip on the Jacobite rail route, completing goal #06 of my 101 things in 1001 days!

The real Hogwarts Express

The Jacobite is the route between Fort William and Mallaig, which is best known (at least in certain circles) for the fact that it features as the route to Hogwarts. In particular the Glenfinnan viaduct, which in the film features a flying car chase or something. Sorry for the vagueness but I've never read a Harry Potter book nor watched a HP film...I'm sure any Potterphiles will know what I'm referring to though. I had initially been under the impression that it would be the Hogwarts Express we would be on, but the movie version is tucked away in a museum somewhere. But still, it was a steam train and that was close enough for my little HP fanboy.

As is often the case with Scottish tourism, they blatantly miss a trick in not exploiting the Potter connection. I think that is a shame, as even just one designated theme-carriage would be a lot fun for those drawn to the trip mainly/purely by that link. Maybe they don't want to be accused of cashing in, but actually I think the fact that they mention HP on their website and in their gift shop but then don't make a feature of it at all on the journey is worse.

Having done my research before we went, I knew to expect simply a very scenic train ride anyway, so had armed myself with some HP printables in case Half Pint got bored. I found some puzzles and how-to-draws from Activity Village, and raided the Harry Potter Reading Group's website too. We actually barely touched them on the trip, but they're good to keep around for rainy days too.

I was very disappointed by the seats we had been allocated, as they were the only ones in the carriage without a table. There had been no mention of this difference in our booking email so that was really quite annoying. Thankfully some other passengers in our carriage wanted to swap as they had dogs with them, and we lucked out because their table was on the opposite side of the train, the side which gets the best views! The downside of that was sitting in direct sunlight, which made for a sweaty journey given that these trains probably pre-date air-con. The seats were comfortable and had good leg room, but sharing a table with a couple who PDA'ed and spoke in baby voices for a large portion of the journey was pretty damn excruciating.

Despite the flaws inside the carriage, there was really very little to fault what was going on outside it. The claim that this is one of the greatest rail journeys in the world isn't hard to believe. Even as someone who lives on the border of a beautiful Scottish national park and who has travelled through many other areas of the country famous for their scenery, I was still taken aback. Some of the sights on offer are the sort of views you usually have to hike up a hill for, and the landscape totally made the trip worthwhile for me. The only grumble I have is about the sheer number of trees that line the track, which block out those fantastic views quite a bit. 

Making our way over the Glenfinnan viaduct

Not long into the journey, the train passes over the viaduct the route has become famous for. It's a very special moment in the journey, as the way the viaduct is curved means that you can see the rest of the train stretching round it ahead of or behind you. It was almost a spiritual moment for the Harry Potter fans - although you couldn't tell who was a fan just by looking at them, you knew instantly as we went over that viaduct! Half Pint seemed almost teary, it was very cute.

Mallaig harbour

The train makes a stop at the Glenfinnan station after that, though I'm not entirely sure why other than to bring in money for the little museum and café. There are walking routes pointed out, but the train doesn't stop long enough for you to do any of them. From there it's straight on to Mallaig, where we were met at the station by a young boy playing the bagpipes. He was actually very good, and he must rake in a fortune from the tourists if he does that twice a day all summer! There was enough time in Mallaig to wander about the village and have some dinner, and we also found time to visit the great second hand bookshop across from the station too.

The journey back was much better than the journey out. When we boarded, we found that the smoochy couple had taken our forward facing seats (we had backwards facing ones on the way out, but this was to switch for the return journey). One of the train staff saw that we were unhappy with this and so let us in on a little secret - a nearly empty carriage with no pre-booked seats! This meant we could move about to really get the best of the views, and it also meant I could lean right out to get decent pictures of the viaduct (above) and also this video [warning: keep your volume low, as there is a lot of outside noise going on]:

Unfortunately, because at times my life plays out like a comedy of errors, the engine broke down about 15mins away from Fort William! We were stranded for a long time while they shifted it and got in a replacement. Ordinarily I'd crack up at that sort of thing, but as I was too busy enjoying a rare day just me and Half Pint it wasn't a problem as it meant more time to hang out. The printables kept us busy!

The Kid's Harry Potter

So, on the whole we had a pretty good day and I would recommend the route to anyone who either loves beautiful scenery or Harry Potter. But there are some things I wish I'd known before I had booked our tickets. Firstly, it would probably be better to do this trip on a bright and crisp late autumn day when the trees will be bare but the views still clear. Secondly, make your booking over the phone because you might get more opportunity to have a say in the type of seat you end up with. Another tip would that if you get to choose, sit on the side of the train nearest Morrisons in Fort William for the journey out and then the side furthest away from Mallaig centre on the return journey - this will mean you'll get the best views. Lastly, if travelling by steam isn't a big pull factor for your trip (and to be honest, apart from the occasional flurry of coal dirt through the open windows, I couldn't tell the difference from a regular train), there is a Scotrail service which follows the same route but for much cheaper. Maybe one day I'll take that service to make a comparison, as I would welcome any excuse to do the trip again!