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Best way to see Glenfinnan Viaduct travelling solo?

Posted by on

Hi all, I'm visiting Scotland for the first time solo in about 7 weeks (eek!)

I had been thinking I would stick to England, but I do think I really should take the time to see Scotland. I have about 13 days to play around with in Scotland and London, which should be OK (I have been to London once before). As a big Potter fan, I do want to see the few places I should in Edinburgh, and while I 100% want to go see the beautiful highlands, lochs, and Nessie, I also would love to be able to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct. I've heard too much about the Jacobite train so I don't think I'd need to try to grab a ticket on that. Just go up the trail and view it with my own eyes. But as a solo traveler, I'd definitely feel more comfortable going in a tour!

I've looked at the Rabbie's and Heart of Scotland tours, and I'm torn! HoS has a 2-day and a 5-day tour that includes the Viaduct, and it's just a question of timing I guess. 5 days seems like quite a bit, and means that I probably wouldn't want to linger in Edinburgh. 2 days does seem a bit fast-paced, and doesn't include the Eilean Donan Castle, which hasn't necessarily been a must-see, but I just look at the pictures and feel that I'd like to see it. Rabbie's has only 1 tour that includes the Viaduct that I can tell, but it doesn't include Loch Ness.

So if anyone has advice on prioritizing, or if anyone knows whether any of the other tours would add in the Viaduct if it weren't on the itinerary (I have no idea whether this would be possible, just throwing it out into the universe just in case), or other suggestions that might help, please chime in! Thank you!!

Posted by
3123 posts

Personally I've had great times traveling solo by train and bus -- you just have to be a bit forward in striking up a conversation, and of course maintain enough reserve that people don't think you're trying to arrange (ahem) "something more" than a few minutes' chat. Scotland has a robust network of bus routes in addition to the trains, but Isle of Skye is one place where public transportation is rather inadequate.

Eilean Donan Castle is a modern rebuild ca. 1920s, so yes it's very scenic from the outside but the interior is not authentic, if that matters to you.

Two places near each other on the north shore of Loch Ness are worth visiting: Urquhart Castle and the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition.

Posted by
459 posts

Maggie I'm not sure if you are going to be driving or not but if you are driving the viaduct is very easy from Ft. William. The hike up to a spot above the viaduct is easy and parking is also a breeze. I have included a link to the hike https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fortwilliam/glenfinnan.shtml that helped us to the viaduct so we could see the train chug past. Give the web site a look. We also found a bunch of literature on the train and Glenfinnen at our B&B at Ft. William. You will need to check the schedule for the train and time your drive/hike to catch the train either going to coming back. I have not seen any of the Harry Potter stuff but watching the train from above was pretty cool. My wife is a Potter fan and enjoyed it. We also took a hike guided by a girl down in GlenCoe, she worked for the http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/Glencoe-and-Dalness/ and she showed us a location where "Hagdrid's Hut" was erected and filmed, no hut there now but they pointed out the location on the guided walk. It seemed significant to my wife but I'm not all that familiar with Hagrid! I hope these links help you, we loved that area of the highlands.

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