The Jacobite

Route: Fort William - Glenfinnan - Mallaig [Scotland] Length of Journey: 2 hours / 68km

Fare: from £21.50 one way

Frequency: 1 train daily (May - October)

Britain has so many scenic and classic railways, ranging from short trips to overnight journeys, traversing a varied landscape of farmlands, rolling hills, craggy peaks, lake districts and picturesque villages. The best way to-see Britain- a country with a fair share of train enthusiasts - is by rail.

The Highlands of Scotland offer some of the most spectacular scenery in the UK, from mountains to valleys and moors to the remote British Isles. The most famous railway ride in Scotland is perhaps the Jacobite - a vintage steam train that trundles from Fort William past Ben Nevis, over the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Road to the Isles to the fishing port of Mallaig. This section of the West Highland line was completed in 1901, and takes passengers past the scenes right out of Harry Potter movies. -

The line is named after the Jacobite uprising (1688 - 1746), a series of military campaigns led by the Jacobites (made up of the Stuart Kings of Scotland) to restore their thrones in England and Scotland. The Fine itself stops at 2 significant sites of the Jacobite uprising -Glenfinnan and Mallaig.

Route

The Jacobite starts at Fort William (from where there are frequent connections to Glasgow and London), near the highest mountain in Britain - Ben Nevis (1,344m). It then crosses River Lochy with its ruined Inverlochy Castle, and across the flatlands of Corpach Moss and the spectacular Great Glen valley.

Beyond are the villages of Lochailort, Arisaig and Morar. On a clear summer's day from Arisaig, you can see the 'small isles' of Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna and the southern tip of Skye. This is the most westerly railway station in Britain, with its bay and harbour.

From there, the train crosses Britain's deepest freshwater loch (Lock Morar) and Britain's shortest river - River Morar (800m) - before reaching the silvery beaches of Morar, where the white sands on a clear day offer a Caribbean-type landscape. The beaches were used in films like Highlander.

The journey ends at Mallaig, which became a major fishing port on the western coast of Britain after the line opened here in 1901. The town is also the ferry terminal for the western isles. The train makes a lunchtime stopover here before making the return journey.

After crossing the Caledonian Canal, site of the longest lock gate system in Britain, it steams alongside Loch Eli and then takes and uphill journey to Glenfinnan. To arrive at this station, the Jacobite has to cross the world-famous 21-arch viaduct, Glenfinnan that stands at 30m high and curves towards the station for 380m. It was the first concrete viaduct in the world, and has been used in the Harry Potter movies, offering spectacular views down to Loch Shiel. Glenfinnan is where Prince Charles Stewart raised the standard for the Jacobite uprising in August 1745. There is a Glenfinnan Monument in front of Loch Shiel, erected by MacDonald of Glenalladale in 1815, to commemorate the act. Every August, the Glenfinnan Highland Games is held here by the loch. The train makes a stopover at Glenfinnan before heading down towards sea level.