Walk: Glenfinnan whistle-stop tour

Highland | Glenfinnan | Half day walk | ★★★

[Glenfinnan Viaduct with the "Jacobite Express" crossing]

Bonnie Prince Charlie, Harry Potter, beautiful scenery - Glenfinnan brings in visitors by the bus load for a variety of reasons. The area welcomes greater numbers of tourists year-on-year, but most only walk to the foot of the viaduct; in fact, the only decent views are from above it, requiring a little more effort but worth every step. Excellent paths and tracks link all the various sights conveniently together here - if you can time your arrival at one of the various viaduct viewpoints with a steam train, even better. Train times are advertised at the National Trust visitor centre and at the station museum.

[Loch Shiel and Glenfinnan Monument, seen from the viewpoint behind the visitor centre]

📌 Walk: Glenfinnan whistle-stop tour ★★★
Start / finish at Glenfinnan Monument car park (charge, and gets full), A830 half a mile east of Glenfinnan, G.R.: NM 907807 ///hopefully.indicate.glory. Alternative start point at Glenfinnan Station, halfway along the route.

▶ 5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 170 m | ⌚ Half a day | ⬤ Moderate
Features: Glenfinnan Viaduct; Glenfinnan Station and Museum; Glenfinnan Monument, viewpoint and exhibition
Terrain: Excellent but fairly steep path between viaduct and station with only a couple of wet patches. Minor road back to start, with further good paths beyond - steep up to viewpoint.

Route & map

Car park - Glenfinnan Viaduct - station & museum - village - start - monument - exhibition & viewpoint - start


Route credit: Walkhighlands (modified)

On our visit

Wildlife: Plenty of dragonflies and butterflies beyond the viaduct.
Weather: Warm sunshine with scattered clouds and gentle breeze.

Also on this walk

📌 Glenfinnan Monument ★★★
💬 Monument to the final Jacobite rebellion, overlooking Loch Shiel. Good viaduct viewpoint behind the visitor centre and exhibition.
By the A830 half a mile east of Glenfinnan village, G.R.: NM 906805 ///havens.foggy.sprain
Monument interior & visitor centre open daily. Rest of site: always | Monument interior: £4 adult / £3 child / free for National Trust for Scotland members. Rest of site: free

📌 Glenfinnan Station Museum ★★
💬 Tiny museum on the station platform, containing interesting memorabilia about the line. Excellent sandwiches in the nearby, stationary dining car.
By the A830 in Glenfinnan village, G.R.: NM 899810 ///wizard.quickly.nudge
Open daily, Easter to October, plus some winter dates (phone to check) | £1 in 2017, or free if you purchase food in the dining car

📌 Glenfinnan Viaduct ★★★
💬 Elegantly-curved viaduct on the West Highland Line over the River Finnan. Famous for its appearance in the Harry Potter films and on some Scottish £10 notes.
Off the A830 half a mile northeast of Glenfinnan village, G.R.: NM 910814 ///perused.reactions.same
Always viewable, or take a train | Free to view

💬 If visiting the viaduct on its own, park at the walk's start and follow the first part of the route to the viaduct - approximately a 10-min walk on a level, surfaced road.

[Glenfinnan Station]

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk: Livingston's jaw-dropping waterfall

Image
West Lothian | Livingston | Short walk | ★★★ ⚠ Route currently impassable - see red text below [Linn Jaw lower falls] What springs to mind when someone mentions Livingston, West Lothian? Sprawling road junctions, retail parks, 1960s architecture... how about a splendid waterfall? Under a mile from the town's southernmost suburbs, the Camilty Water drops into a short but beautiful gorge sharply at odds with the gentleness of the surrounding farmland. Two substantial waterfalls and several smaller ones tumble into the depths; the largest is actually fed by a crumbling mill lade (the mill no longer exists) but this isn't obvious from below. Parking is limited, but the walk from the nearest road begins promisingly. The last few hundred metres of the route are however a bit sketchy: stepping stones across a side burn, and a very slippery slope to reach the best viewpoint - more details below. Important The house and gardens alongside the path are someone’s home, and alth
More

Walk: Towpath, tunnel & Colinton Dell

Image
City of Edinburgh | Slateford | Short walk | ★★★ [Colinton Dell] The southwestern suburbs of Edinburgh conceal a true wee gem. Colinton Dell is one of the most intimate and scenic sections of the Water of Leith, carved deep into the bedrock between Slateford and Colinton. Loved by locals, it's well worth a quick trip out by bus for visitors staying in the city centre. This intricate circuit by canal towpath, dismantled railway (featuring a tunnel covered in eye-catching murals) and riverside path explores the water course on two vertical levels, with options for refreshments at the halfway point in Colinton Village - from where we feature a longer extension to Torduff Reservoir and Bonaly Country Park. [Colinton Tunnel] 📌 Walk: Towpath, tunnel & Colinton Dell ★★★ Start / finish at Water of Leith Visitor Centre (street parking available to west), Lanark Road (A70), Slateford, 3 mi southwest of Edinburgh Waverley station, G.R.: NT 221707 ///tree.pulled.judges
More

Electric Brae

Image
South Ayrshire | Dunure | Road | ★★ [Electric Brae] Amongst all of Scotland's weird and wonderful places to visit, Electric Brae has to be one of the more unusual ones. A quirk in the topography around the A719 south of Dunure means that when you round the corner and begin to "descend" into Craigencroy Glen, if you pull into the signposted layby, put the car in neutral and (carefully) release the handbrake, you should find that "down the road" is actually upwards, and up is down. The name comes from the original belief that a strange electric or magnetic force was pulling vehicles uphill here. In reality it's just a clever and natural optical illusion, but fascinating nevertheless. Approach from the north side for the best effect. [Stone at Electric Brae explaining the illusion] Location & info 📌 Electric Brae ★★ On the A719 2 mi south of Dunure, G.R.: NS 254132 ///safe.outbursts.play Always open | Free [View up (or is it down?
More