I will come clean, the reason i went to Fort William was to take the Jacobite Steam train from Fort William to Mallaig the following morning. The reason I wanted to do this was because (a) it was rumored to be so breathtaking and beautiful, but mainly because (b) it allows one to see Glenfinnan (that now famous viaduct/bridge featured in the "Harry Potter" movies). Thus, I basically went so I could ride on the real-world equivalent of the Hogwarts' Express. I am a book-nerd at heart, so there is no use denying just how excited I was to do this. The train ride from Fort William to Mallaig was more beautiful than the one from Glasgow to Fort William (something I hardly thought possible the day before), but most of my excitement came when the Glenfinnan came into view.
I came well prepared in to be my book-nerd-self: I read from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" as we went, including the passages describing the Hogwarts Express journey, and I listened to the movie theme song as I went across, very much caught up i the moment. It will sound ridiculous to those of you who do not like the series or who do not get caught up in books as I do, but that one moment was one of the best travel moments I have ever had.
Well, now that you all know that I am more of a nerd than you had first expected, you can see pictures of both train rides below. After those come pictures of Fort William which is a great little town.
Even if you don't like Harry Potter, I really recommend going to Fort William. It has a very small town feel, for those of you who have been to Big Bear it is a lot like that, except Scottish. Europeans flock there for the summers to go on hikes and to bike, there are tons of trails around. I hope to go back someday to do some hiking or biking there myself, but beware: book early as when i was there, there were absolutely no vacancies not even at B&Bs or hotels.
Mallaig is nice to visit, but I would recommend staying in Fort William and then spending a few hours in Mallaig just to walk around and get a bite to eat. Mallaig is basically a port town, but the fish and chips there seemed to be quite popular.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF FORT WILLIAM/MALLAIG: Going over Glenfinnan (the viaduct/bridge from the "Harry Potter" movies) while listening to Hedwig's Theme and reading from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", basically getting lost in a world of one of my favorite authors.
Guide to Pictures:
-First 3 are from the train ride Glasgow-Fort William
-Next are 6 pictures of Fort William
-The following 6 are from the train ride from Fort William to Mallaig, and the 7th one is of Mallaig itself
-Finally, the last three are of Glenfinnan and the steam train (aka: Hogwarts Express, well close :)
2 comments:
I love the 12th picture down. That little bundling of trees? Great shot.
This is a great idea, Jamie. I'll have to study these pages for when I go to Spain!
i was going to comment on the same picture! my dad used to tell us stories when we were little about ring forts and faries, and that is what i always picture. Magical! i am so jealous of you and your Harry Potter fest!
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