We woke to drizzle this morning and a forecast of rain all day. So we had a leisurely, generous breakfast at our Forest View guest house and spent some time speaking with our hostess, Liz.
Like Alston, where we stayed the previous night, Kinlochleven was a boomtown during the industrial revolution and is now dotted with converted and abandoned factories. The industry here was aluminium manufacturing. A huge scar slashes down the mountain on the other side of the lake, resembling a bare earth ski slope. The works have long been removed, but it used to hold 6 parallel tubes a meter each in diameter, bringing filtered water down to the plants.
View from our window, with an aluminium (NOT aluminum) plant in the foreground.
There was a trail down the road from our B&B that led to Grey Mare's Tale, a waterfall supposedly named by Edward VII because it reminded him of a favorite horse. The woods are the lush green of a temperate rain forest, wet and moss covered.
Liz had told us about another walk down to the old wharves for the factories. We had the area pretty much to ourselves, a benefit of the weather. There were reports of a stag sighting yesterday, and sometimes otters and a lonely old seal. We had to content ourselves with 3 swans, a heron and some ducks. But the views around the misty Loch were gloomy and wonderful.
We said goodbye to Kinlochleven and drove to Fort Williams along the Loch, stopping to explore the graveyard at a roadside church.
Once in Fort William, it was all aboard the Jacobite Steam Train, aka the Harry Potter Express.
Fort William's main drag felt like Diagon Alley.
We were supposed to be sharing a table for 4, but our coach had magically morphed into one with compartments. We found ourselves sharing with a delightful family of 4 from a coastal town west of Glasgow...near the village of Fairlie!
The 42 mile line to the fishing village of Mallaig, intended to help open up the remote villages of west Scotland, has been operating since 1901. The coal powered steam train has been running on the West Coast Railway line since 1984.
The highlight of the ride is crossing the Glenfidden viaduct, which is featured in several Harry Potter films. Its 21 concrete arches each span 15 m (almost 50 feet) as the viaduct curves up to 30 m near Loch Shiel. As we approached, we could see dozens of people who had hiked out to watch the train pass.
For the true HP fan, they also pointed out Dumbledore's final resting place.
But most of the journey was just enjoying the misty moors, rugged landscape and the chugging train. And occasionally a stag or red deer.
We had a two hour layover in Mallaig, which still has an active (though greatly reduced) fleet of fishing boats that catch herring and white fish. There were several boats in dry dock, a variety of "working" boats and a small marina.
We spotted our B&B for tonight across the little bay, and knowing we'd be getting back to Mallaig late this evening, walked over to check in before catching the train back to Fort William.
We got back to our car around 9 pm, where we ate our grocery store carry out dinner before starting the drive back to Mallaig. It was a bit of an adventure: dark curvy roads with posted warnings similar to yesterday, constant reminders to watch out for stags, heavy rain with puddles, and of course the bit about driving on the left. And I couldn't figure out how to turn on my headlights until we stopped at a petrol station for help.
But here we are, safe and sound in Mallaig and ready for the ferry to Skye in the morning.
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