Didn’t think this part of Scotland was all that busy with tourists until we turned up at the Glenfinnan viaduct at 10am. The place was heaving! Long queues for the car park payment machines.
And all because of the Jacobite Steam Train set to arrive on the viaduct at 10.45am. This is the train that played the Hogwarts Express in the first Harry Potter movie.
And the hordes at the Glenfinnan viewing area must be attracted by the Harry Potter angle.
I took some drone photos of the viaduct — sans train — and we left, with the A830 (or “Road to the isles”) almost completely empty of motor traffic en route to Fort William.
We soon turned off our the road running south of Loch Eil — Ben Nevis capped with clouds under Fort William — and continued through to the free ferry at Corran. Free for cyclists and pedestrians, that is. For motorists it’s a £10 but quick crossing.
The A82 Glen Coe Road was awfully busy but there was a roadside cycleway/footpath. Still, it wasn’t a pleasant ride.
That all changed at Ballachulish and the start of this part of the Caledonian Way, a branch of the former Callander and Oban railway, closed in 1966.
What a wonderful route! There was a hairpin section that Jude wasn’t too keen on but I flew the drone to get some stunning zig zag shots.
We passed the spectacular Castle Stalker, a majestic sea castle and which starred in the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Soon afterwards — crossing the Jubilee wooden pedestrian bridge — we arrived at our destination: the wonderful Pierhouse at Port Appin. This small hotel — with 11 very cute rooms — is also one of Britain’s best seafood restaurants.
For some reason unfathomed, I’ve always loved the name ‘Ballachulish’. Maybe from using the wee ferry?