6/12 Jacobite Steam Train & Ferry to Isle of Skye

The train that was used for the Harry Potter movies was the real Jacobite Steam train that regularly travels from Fort William to the small town of Mallaig, Scotland.  Mallaig is where there is a ferry to the Isle of Skye, although there is also a bridge to the island further north.  But the train passes a lot of gorgeous scenery, some of which is recognizable from the movies.  

The train carriages are exactly the way they were in the movies, except that the real train has a couple of first-class cars that were never used for the movies--obviously kids on their way to school do not travel first-class!!

Also, the train engine never really existed as you see it in the movies.  It was a real engine, but was repainted and modified just for the movie.  The engines that are used on the Jacobite train are old ones that have pulled the carriages for almost a hundred years.  

If you remember from the second movie, the kids got stuck behind the station wall barrier and borrowed the dad's magical flying car to get to Hogwart's but along the way, they rode partly on the tracks and almost got run over on a curving viaduct.  That was the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct and you can stop at a nearby visitor station and walk up close to the track.   

Tip: If you ever try to go here to watch the train, make sure you get there early because the parking lots were both fill to capacity, and i had gotten there 45 minutes early.  Here are some photos of people waiting for the train in constant rain.  (You can walk up closer to the track, but few people wanted to because it was so cold and rainy.)

These diehard people had not only walked up to the tracks, but also walked up the incline on the part of the track towards Mallaig. 

When the train did come by I focused on just taking this a video:  https://youtu.be/vccOCewiMuI 

Then, a visit to the visitor center and onward north to Mallaig to catch my ferry. 

Had I had time, I could have waited for the train to come by here.  It travels pretty slowly, so it is easy to catch up with it and get more photos. 

Now, I have taken ferries in Scotland before, to Orkney and to Islay, and they always were really big with comfortable seating, a dining room, and heat.  I was NOT expecting this tiny ferry.  It had a very small indoor seating space, but there was no heat, no comfortable seating, and no food at all!!

Tomorrow I plan to drive around one half of the Isle of Skye and then do the other half the next day.  

One last photo for the day--a square toilet in my B&B bedroom!  Obviously, some bathroom fixture designer got creative, but I have no idea what the advantages are of this shape! 

I mostly just did a lot of driving today, but I did walk around the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and tonight, for dinner, I drove to a nearby town and did some walking there.  Total steps today was 6,334 and distance was 2.48.