Travel · 8 April 2023 · 1 min read

Glenfinnan Viaduct

Right on time for the single morning crossing we stand at the Glenfinnan Viaduct as the Jacobite Steam Train, the Hogwarts Express, steams across, even stopping specially in the middle. We stay the whole day: Loch Shiel aka The Black Lake, drone videos, and in the afternoon the train's return journey from the other side.

We get up quite early and have a typical British but vegetarian breakfast, with fried eggs, beans and of course toast. Immediately afterwards we head off in bright sunshine to Glenfinnan Viaduct, where the Hogwarts Express passes over. As it only passes one way once a day, we have to be on time. The journey takes a good two hours by car, so of course we are a bit tight. But we barely make it and get the last parking space. Without wasting any time, we quickly rush to the viewpoint, where a lot of other spectators are still waiting. We set up our cameras and soon the Jacobite Steam Train arrives and drives over the viaduct. The locomotive even briefly stops in the middle and emits an extra load of steam - the perfect photo backdrop, very impressive. Enthusiastically, we take photos of the imposing viaduct afterwards as well. After an extensive visit to the gift shop (with Harry Potter corner), we walk to the nearby Loch Shield, aka The Black Lake from Harry Potter. The view over the lake is beautiful. We decide to stay here all day and wait for the train on the way back, this time from the other side of the viaduct. We spend some time at a lookout point with the lake on one side and the Glenfinnan Viaduct on the other. Of course, we couldn’t resist taking a few drone videos from here. This place is truly magical, we will certainly be back! In the evening we drive to our next accommodation in Fort William.