Day #18 – Hogwarts Express

The morning started quickly as we needed to get to Ft. William by 10, and it was at least a 1.5 hour drive away.  We scrambled to get ready, eat breakfast in the dining room (it was included in the price of the room), and head out.  Fortunately, we had only taken a small bag into the hotel with us so we wouldn’t have to repack the car!

The drive to Ft. William was beautiful.  The Scottish Highlands are dotted with lakes and mountains, so the scenery is incredible.  We arrived in Ft. William in plenty of time, parked the car and headed over to the steam train.

Perhaps Daniel Radcliffe once sat here!

We had two tables of seats, and two extra seats at a different table as there were 10 of us.  The four older kids sat at one table, the four adults sat at the other table and the two littlest kids wanted to sit at the third table which was shared with another group.  Fortunately, the other two seats were taken by a couple with a small baby, so it worked out well.

The grown up's table

Glenfinnan Viaduct

The steam train was smelly, but wonderful.  They had a dining car, a souvenir shop and a car that was probably where the interior shots of the Hogwarts Express were filmed!  We were able to lean out of the window of the train at points and get some great shots.  The Glenfinnan viaduct was where the scene was filmed where Harry and Ron are flying over the train in the car.  It’s beautiful, and we were able to get some great photos.

Ice cream in Mallaig

Once in Mallaig, we hopped off the train and walked over to the Cornerstone Restaurant, where I had reserved a table for 10.  They are known for their fish and chips, so that’s what I had. Nicola had the Monkfish which looked equally wonderful.  It was a lovely lunch, but it left us very little time to look around.  We did walk around a bit, and saw a man in a kilt playing bagpipes, but soon we were back on the train headed back to Ft. William.

Once back in Ft. William, we went to a grocery store located right next to the train called Morrison’s for some “immediate need” groceries for the castle as well as dinner for the car.  The place was packed and crazy busy, but we managed to navigate the place with all ten of us and get what we needed for a car dinner and breakfast the next morning.  It seems like we’re always buying food!

Our lovely dinner location

It took an hour, but soon we were on our way headed across Scotland towards Cupar.  I wanted to see Blair Castle just for a photo, so we stopped in front of it, right along the side of the road, took a photo, ate our dinner, and continued on.  It was quite the dinner “on the go.” 

We easily found the castle, and WHAT A CASTLE!!  It’s HUGE and amazing, with twists and turns, turrets, balconies, a dungeon, modern conveniences (I swear there is a toilet at every turn) and loads of bedrooms.  It took awhile to figure out where everyone was sleeping, but soon we had our stuff inside, beds allocated, children outside jumping on the trampoline, and kitchen stuff put away.

This is going to be an awesome place to stay for a week!

OUR CASTLE!!!