After our first few nights visiting Loch Lomond, Glen Coe and Oban we based ourselves in Fort William. Fort William isn't a spectacularly exciting town but it is great location to explore the Nevis Range and is known as the 'Outdoor Capital of the UK' - the area was full of hikers and and adventurous types looking to make the arduous journey to the top of Ben Nevis.
I'm way too inexperienced (lazy) to climb Ben Nevis (Pen Y Fan is much more suited to my ability) and Coco has tiny little legs and would need to be carried up a mountain so we took the easy option and took the nevis Range mountain gondola up to Aonach Mor. The Nevis Range in Fort William is home to the UK’s only mountain gondola.
On our last trip on the gondola back in February Martyn and I were treated to loads of snow on the mountain but there was very little visibility. Luckily this time the sky was perfectly clear and we had fantastic views of the Great Glen, Ben Nevis and the surrounding areas. Once at the top there are some easy trails you can follow which are under an hour return and a cafe to get a hot chocolate to warm up.
Coco absolutely loved his trip on the gondola and running around and exploring on the mountain. We stayed up there for hours enjoying the views and the sunshine after a few grey days.
We spent a lovely night at the Glen Nevis Caravan & Camping park eating some of our wedding cake and reading. Yes, we took the entire top tier of our cake and scoffed the lot in the first week. The park had everything you could need including spectacular views, a dog walking area, fully serviced pitches and spotless washroom facilities. We loved the campsite so much we decided to stop there on the way back to Wales after we had completed the NC500 route around the north of Scotland.
After a hearty breakfast which included Scottish square sausage we made our way to the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Both myself and Martyn work in the railway industry and are total train geeks. We spend lots of our days off going to railway museums and heritage railways - the viaduct was an obvious place of interest to add to our itinerary.
I got my times mixed up and we arrived way too late to make our way to a good viewing point to see the Jacobite steam train go over the viaduct (you may recognise the train and the location from the Harry Potter films). By the time we parked up we had to dash across a muddy field to get a glimpse of the train with the dog running behind us. I'm really annoyed with myself for getting this one wrong but the viaduct is impressive with or without the Hogwarts Express running over it.
Whilst the Glenfinnan Viaduct is free to access there is a fee for parking in the National Trust visitors centre. There is a small free car park slightly further along over the bridge just after the centre but this gets busy very quickly and you're unlikely to get a space unless you arrive well in advance.
The spectacular 21-arched concrete crescent is still in use today and forms part of the West Highland Railway line between Fort William and Mallaig which was constructed between 1897 and 1901. The Jacobite steam trains only operate during the summer months but ScotRail diesel multiple units run there all year round.
After our brief stop at the viaduct we pushed on with our journey to the north coast towards Gairloch and Ullapool which will feature in my next post. I can't wait to share my photos of the stunning Scottish coast!
If you want to view our North Coast 500 route stops and campsite follow the link.
9 comments
Perfect Gem! Sounds like a dream honeymoon. You look so happy x x x
ReplyDeleteOh I do love Scotland. This is the perfect honeymoon Gem :)
ReplyDeleteFabulous photos. It's such a beautiful place. I would love to go back to Scotland.
ReplyDeleteHa, I don't blame you I wouldn't climb it either. It looks gorgeous there and perfect for a honeymoon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place to visit and your photos are stunning. It looks like you had such a wonderful time x
ReplyDeleteI love that you took your wedding cake with you!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a honeymoon for one reason or another x
In the UK we forget sometimes what beautiful countryside we have, I especially love Wales and Scotland. That caravan park looks idyllic, what a lovely area to explore.
ReplyDeleteI went to Fort William many years ago and loved it. It’s such a beautiful place - we loved the cable car too.
ReplyDeleteScotland is so gorgeous, I've only done cities there but I'd love to explore more of the country. Also, squealing at how cute Coco is!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving a comment, feel free to ask me any questions here or on twitter- @Gemma_DS.