This was the day Amie and I had been anticipating since we planned this trip - our visit to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the train used in the 2nd and 3rd Harry Potter movies! We got up and headed for the ferry, thankful for sunshine and brilliant blue skies. The water was an amazing turquoise color this morning.
After another ferry ride from Mull back to the mainland, and a couple of hours of driving, we made it to Glenfinnan, which is located on the lovely Loch Shiel. There is a monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie there at the edge of the loch, but we were far too interested in the train to visit the monument! We did take a few pictures of it though.
We walked up the hill to the recommended viewpoint, staked out the best place to watch the train, and settled in to wait. We were soon joined by several other Harry Potter enthusiasts who wanted to watch the train as well. The viaduct, with its 21 arches and curved concrete railway, is impressive in its own right, but we were determined to see the Jacobite Steamtrain cross the viaduct. 
After another ferry ride from Mull back to the mainland, and a couple of hours of driving, we made it to Glenfinnan, which is located on the lovely Loch Shiel. There is a monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie there at the edge of the loch, but we were far too interested in the train to visit the monument! We did take a few pictures of it though.We walked up the hill to the recommended viewpoint, staked out the best place to watch the train, and settled in to wait. We were soon joined by several other Harry Potter enthusiasts who wanted to watch the train as well. The viaduct, with its 21 arches and curved concrete railway, is impressive in its own right, but we were determined to see the Jacobite Steamtrain cross the viaduct. 
Finally we saw puffs of steam off to the left and heard the whistle. Oh, it was so cool to watch that red and black train cross the viaduct. It was just like in the movies! The engineer even let out some steam for us part of the way across the bridge. It was DEFINITELY worth the wait and the detour to Glenfinnan!
The weather cleared for us as we made it to Mallaig, the starting point for our final ferry ride, to the Isle of Skye. Skye is the largest of Scotland's Hebrides islands, and where we spent most of our time on this trip. The ferry to Skye presented us with beautiful views of other islands, the mainland, and the ocean.
Once on Skye, we headed for our hostel in Carbost. The view from the hostel was lovely, and after dinner we had an amazing sunset, this time with more vibrant colors. Amie and I walked down to the loch to enjoy it (Laurie went to bed early).
1 comment:
Katherine says, "Lucky..."
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