The Jacobite Steam Train

The Jacobite is a steam-hauled tourist service running 84 miles round trip from Fort William to Mallaig along the West Highland Line, one of the most-photographed scenic rail journeys in Britain and the closest thing the Highland west coast has to a guaranteed-busy ticket through the summer. The route crosses the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct (the segment used in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express, with its drop of 30 metres into the head of Loch Shiel), passes Lochailort and the gleaming white-quartz length of Loch Eilt, and runs along the coast through Arisaig and the white-sand bays at Camusdarach and Morar before terminating at Mallaig harbour.

The line itself is the second half of the story. The Mallaig extension of the West Highland Line opened in 1901, Robert McAlpine’s concrete viaducts and rock cuttings linking Fort William to the coast, and was the first major civil-engineering use of mass concrete in the UK. The Jacobite runs a heritage steam service on what is still a fully working passenger line, so the train shares the route with the daily ScotRail Mallaig service.

Operated by West Coast Railways from Fort William railway station. The standard pattern is a morning departure with a 90-minute layover at Mallaig for lunch and the return in the afternoon. Seasonal, typically late April to October, and advance booking is essential through the summer.

Mallaig connects to the CalMac ferry to Skye and the Bruce Watt Sea Tours boats to Knoydart. Current schedule, fares and any second-departure pattern at the Jacobite website.