21st July, 2025

Possibilities

A thought for your day, with my good wishes to all …

Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.

— J. K. Rowling

This shot, and the photos and videos below: memories from travelling on Scotland’s Jacobite Steam Train one day a couple of months ago, and then – from the following day – a look at the Glenfinnan Viaduct over which the train travels.

While I enjoy travelling by train, and have now been to Scotland more than a handful of times, May 2025 marked the first time I’ve taken a ride on this famous route. The train ride from Fort William to Mallaig and back was both a day trip and a triple treat. This is a historic route featuring gorgeous scenery, and it was also special for Harry Potter aficionados such as yours truly. The staff aboard the train were wonderful, and I had a lovely day with seatmates from England and New Zealand.

You begin your ride in Fort William, close to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland. You ride over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and can catch sight of the Glenfinnan Monument by Loch Shiel before making a brief stop at Scotland’s most westerly mainland railway station, Arisaig. This is a compact station with a museum reflecting its 124-year history.

As if being on the “Hogwarts Express” wasn’t enough for Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling fans, we slowed down by Eilean na Moine, the island of trees situated on Loch Eilt, in Lochaber. That gorgeous site was chosen as the film location for Dumbledore’s grave. Whether or not the Harry Potter stories mean anything to you, the views are lovely.

There’s a longer stop once you reach Mallaig, where I enjoyed great meal and service at a small seafood restaurant called The Crab & Creil, aka The Cabin. The Jacobite Steam Train is incredibly popular, and so I booked my ticket through Westcoast Railways months ahead of time, once tickets opened up for the 2025 season.

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All images © 2025 Shelagh Donnelly. All rights reserved.

If you’d like to see more of my travel videos and pics, you’re welcome to join me on Instagram and YouTube , and you don’t need your own accounts to access these accounts.