I have visit Scotland in Sept., alone, and base out of Glasgow or Edinburg; ancestral research and sight-seeing. I am active, 65 yr.old female who would travel alone. Would it be insurmountable to think of riding the West Highlands train line utilizing the Jacobite Steam Train, from Ft.William to Mallaig? Perhaps stay one night in Mallaig, then am very eager to see Isle of Skye..Remember, I won't have an auto....Would appreciate any comments on how feasible or difficult this might be, and once ferry landed on Skye: Could anyone suggest an nearby B&B, or even a local Skye touring company which would make my wandering about do-able? Thank you for input and suggestions?
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5837 posts
I can only attest to the Ft William to Glasgow train being as scenic as described:
http://www.seat61.com/WestHighlandLine.htm#.VaGslijn9Ds
Daytime trains will get you from anywhere in Britain to Glasgow. From
Glasgow's Queen Street station, three trains a day (one on Sundays)
wend their way up the West Highland Line to Fort William on the same
route taken by the sleeper, continuing to Mallaig. It's not fast:
Glasgow to Ft William takes 3 hours 45 minutes stopping at all the
wayside stations, so there's plenty of time to enjoy the scenery.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
There are buses on Skye. You would take the Ferry to Armadale and there you can catch a bus. Here's a link to the Stagecoach website. The main issue with taking the buses is the schedule. They don't run as often as one would like. :) I would advise going to Portree. From there you could take other public buses or take some day tours. There is a Tourist Information Centre in Portree. You could contact them in advance and ask what tours are available.
Also, you might get more replies if you put this in the Scotland Forum. This section is more for reviews of places.
Pam