Glenfinnan Viaduct Viewpoint

The Glenfinnan Viaduct carries the West Highland Line’s Mallaig extension across the head of Glen Finnan in 21 concrete arches, reaching 30m high and 380m long. Built at the turn of the 20th century, it’s one of the earliest large structures in Britain built from mass concrete, and it owes its fame today to two things that have nothing to do with engineering: it’s a regular backdrop for the Jacobite steam train, and it appears repeatedly in the Harry Potter films as the route of the Hogwarts Express.

Next to the Glenfinnan Monument, a tower commemorating the raising of the Jacobite standard by Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 1745, the National Trust for Scotland runs a visitor centre. The monument, the viaduct and Loch Shiel are all visible from around the visitor centre and the shore nearby without any serious walking, and paths of varying length climb the hillside above for higher, more distant views back along the curve of the viaduct.

Glenfinnan sits on the railway, roughly halfway between Fort William and Mallaig, so it’s reachable by ScotRail as well as by road on the A830. Timing a visit to coincide with a train crossing, the seasonal Jacobite steam service or a regular ScotRail train, takes some planning and isn’t guaranteed, since operating days and timetables vary. The viaduct and the view are worth the stop regardless of whether a train happens to cross while you’re there. It suits anyone driving the Road to the Isles, anyone travelling without a car, since the train stops here, and a family whose day needs one certain thing in it. It does not suit anyone whose whole visit depends on photographing a steam train, because the timetable and the weather can each undo that on their own. If the day is fixed and the crossing is not, Steall Falls is 30 minutes back towards Fort William and delivers regardless.