Even on a rainy day the West Highland Way from Glasgow to Mallaig is one of the prettiest runs in the country. Of course this aqueduct, made famous by the Harry Potter movies is announced buy the train crew so folks can get a picture.
At one of the stops along the way is a dining car fitted out as a permanent restaurant outside the station.
Established as a fishing port in 1840, Mallaig was the busiest herring port in all of Europe in the 1960’s. The combination of the railroad and ferry terminal to the small islands of Eigg, Muck, Rum & Canna along with the passage to Armadale on Skye helped the community when the herring disappeared. You pretty much have to pick an island to visit as the schedule only allows time to actually set foot on one island a day.
The Jacobite Steam train shares the main track from Fort William to Mallaig and is frequented by railroad buffs.
The island of Eigg was the on the schedule for me so off I went.
I don’t actually know what I was expecting of Eigg but it wan’t dramatic cliffs.
There is about a 2 hour window between ferries and so I went for a wander. Apparently there is a doable way to climb An Sgurr, the 393m volcanic plug but not in 2 hours! The plug that burst forth during the eruption a few million years ago is now the island of Rum.
The braken is dying but the path was clear. I suddenly realized that I had gone a wee bit too far and the circular road I had seen on the map had long since disappeared so I figured that if I didn’t want to be trapped for the night with no accommodation and an empty room back in Mallaig, I’d have to take Miss Lucy’s advice and cut across Shorty. Thankfully it was mostly down hill and a couple gates to pass allowed me to forego clambering over the barbed wire fencing to return to the terminal in time to quench my parched throat with a pint of the local micro brewery Laig Bay’s Cleadale 80/.
Back in Mallaig I wanted to capture the memorial to those lost at sea.
And sunset from my hotel window wasn’t half bad.
Leaving Mallaig to Skye
The disadvantage to public transport is that in the more remote areas there is often a very long wait for the next bus. This was the case in Armadale, Skye. Over 2 hours so I just enjoyed the sunshine. The jellyfish and barnacles on the rock next to it gave some nice color contrasts.
And like most of the Northwest coast the basalt crumbles to give the shoreline it’s drama
Looking back to the mainland the cloud gave this ancient volcano the appearance of being live.
Next stop on the bus was Broadford where it looked like not only would there be another couple of hours wait but I would miss the train from Kyle of Lochalsh to Plockton. And the elderly woman who walked by the bus stop didn’t help when she told me service was sketchy on the island and she hoped one might come. The Cullen Mountains looked impressive against the blue sky.
Saved! The Plockton HS bus was heading to exactly where I needed to get. Since it was going to pick up students it was empty and the driver put on some highland music for us. His job as he wound his way through Drumbuie and Duirinish must be a daily stress as the road is tight, narrow and winding to the extreme.
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