The “Jacobite” connecting the Scottish villages of Fort William and Mallaig has always been regarded to be one of the most beautiful rail routes in the world. However, the Harry Potter movies gaves this steam train ride the ultimate boost, as the route and the train has been used as “Hogwarts Express”. Definitely a reason for my wife (and me) to do the trip.
The Jacobite – Route Classes and Pricing
The distance between Fort William and ;Mallaig is some 65kms. The train used to run once a day, but during peak season, two daily steam trains are running on the route. The morning service leaves Fort William at 10:15 and arrives in Mallaig at 12:25, departing for the inbound ride at 14:10 and arriving at Fort William at 16:00. The afternoon service is having roughly four hour later times, leaving Fort William at 14:30 and being back there at 20:31. Both services take a some 25 minute break at Glenfiddan on the outbound route. While the train carts have been used in the movies, the original locomotive is not in use for the Jacobite service – you may see it in the Harry Potter Studio Tour near London.
Pricing is a bit complex: first of all, single and return pricing is the nearly the same – a first class adult return is 59 GBP, while the single is 54 GBP. There is also a Harry Potter alike First Class compartment – unfortunately, due to the 2018 summer heat, this cart had to go to maintenance unexpectedly and we had an ordinary plushy first class compartment (without table). The less comfortable Standard Class return is 35 GBP for adults, kids pay 20 GBP. You can order additional services like champagne, high tea or order meals and snacks either from a trolley or from the menu, depending on the carriage you are in. Each wagon has sanitary services, there is even a rolling souvenir store in the train.
By the way, if you just want to enjoy the beautiful route and are neither in steam trains nor in Harry potter, there are four daily services operated by ScotRail in modern trains. The off-peak return is less than 15 GBP, kids go free.
The Jacobite – Fort William
Fort William just has some 10,000 inhabitants, but is called the “Outdoor capital of the UK“. The West Highland Way, which is a very popular hike in summer, ends here. Furthermore, it is the hub city to climb Ben Nevis, the British Isles highest peak (some 1,300 metres) or to explore it by cable car. Thus, the city feels very vibrant in summer, with a lot of pubs, beds and breakfast, outdoor equipment stores. The city center is really picturesque as well as its location embedded in hills is. Definitely a nice stay.
The Jacobite – Glenfinnan
The Harry Potter-even-more-pushed Glenfinann Viaduct and the Glenfinnan Monument give some popularity on this place, which is about one hour rail ride away from Fort William. The stop is mainly motivated by the small station museum and two old carriages, one dining car and a sleeping car nextby. The dining car has been turned to a nice cafe.
The Jacobite – Mallaig
The official population of Mallaig is less than 1,000 – and honestly, this harbor town, which is most popular for the ferry to the Isle of Skye and a couple of other islands, feels a bit like a very functional place. The train crew recommends to take the one hour cruise around the harbor area (which is of course perfectly fitting to the rail schedule…) and grab a bite thereafter – and that’s more or less all you may do in Mallaig in two hours. There is also a tiny and narrow Harry Potter souvenir store. My favorite place has been the rural bakery The Bakehouse, which offers some lovely and fair priced snacks. You may also head to a local Heritage Center, which has very average reviews, though. We had a quick walk around, grabbed some snacks and enjoyed how the steam train is put to the other end of the Jacobite, before we counted down to go back to Fort Williams.
The Jacobite – On Route
From Fort William, the first sight on route is Neptune’s Staircase, a series of watergates as part of the Scottish Channels. The tracks then more or less run at the coast of Loch Eil, which is just a lovely scenery, before the route becomes more hilly. The Glenfinnan Viaduct is definitely the highlight of the trip. The more the steam train needs to pull the carts uphill, the more there is smut coming through the window. I can either recommend to close the window (which is worse for taking pictures) or at least not to wear too light-colored clothing, as the smut will be everywhere in the cabin. In case of rainy conditions, we have been told that the visibility through the window is very limited – you sometimes see that when you passed a longer tunnel.
Loch Eilt, which is on the right-hand side of the route (outbound), is another beauty. Loch Ailort and Loch Nan Uamh already tell you that you are getting closer to the Atlantic Ocean. There is a short stop at Arisaig, the Westernmost point of the trip (just operational, no boarding / unboarding), before you enter Mallaig.
The train is really popular – more or less all the route, when the tracks are close to the (mostly parallel-running) A 830, people are taking pictures and waving to the train. The most popular spot, of course is the viaduct, where we had easily 200 people on the outbound route. It might have been even more on the inbound one, as both services meet (and pass) at Glenfinnan, so that you can spot both services in that area within less than a quarter of an hour.
The Jacobite – My View
I am not too much into Harry Potter, but riding The Jacobite was a really great experience. Steam trains are just very special, but even more special is the lovely scenery on the two hour ride. There are some reasons why I do not call it a “Top Pick!”, though: the most important one is the long stop in Mallaig, which felt too long to me. Though pricing for food was really reasonable, you sometimes felt like in a Ryanair plane when they told you where to spent your money best on the two stops in Glenfinnan and the ferry town. Apart from that, the toilets did not look too clean already short after Fort William. Nevertheless, it is an amazing trip – if you are around Fort William, you should go for this one!
The Jacobite – Full Gallery
I created a some 220 picture gallery of the trip in an additional gallery:
I took few of the pictures, esp. of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the day before the trip already.
Postings with Gallery
Here are all Flyctory.com postings, which come with a larger size picture gallery:

Home Free (20th September 2023, Hamburg)

CC 2024: SV Wiler-Ersigen – FbS Bohemians 5-3 (1-1, 2-3, 3-0) – Showdown 1-x

CC 2024: Floorball Köniz Bern – Tatran Stresovice 2-5 (1-1, 1-1, 0-3)

Randall King (15th September 2023, Cologne)

#TrueAthletes Classics Leverkusen 2023 – Track Events

#TrueAthletes Classics Leverkusen 2023 – Field Events

Ben Zucker (28th July 2023, Monheim)

German Athletics Nationals 2023 – Day 2 Track (9th July 2023)

German Athletics Nationals 2023 – Day 2 Field (9th July 2023)

German Athletics Nationals 2023 – Day 1 Field (8th July 2023)

German Athletics Nationals 2023 – Day 1 Track (8th July 2023)

Seepark Biker Days Pfullendorf 2023 – Day 3 Concerts (2nd July)

Seepark Biker Days Pfullendorf 2023 – Day 2 Concerts (1st July)

Seepark Biker Days Pfullendorf 2023 – Day 1 Concerts (30th June)

Rock of Ages UK Tour – A Personal Farewell and Thanks

The Deslondes (6th June 2023, Cologne)

Puffin Watching at Hafnarholmi in Northeast Iceland

Saturn Oil Open 2023: R. Ramanathan (IND) / N. Zimonjic (SRB) – D. Brown (JAM) / T. Sandkaulen (GER) 4-6 7-6(4) x-1(9-11))

Kip Moore (14th May 2023, Cologne)

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Reprise)

Walking the City Walls of Dubrovnik

The Longest Johns (21st April 2023, Cologne)

Dümptener Füchse – ETV Lady Piranhhas Hamburg 7-4 (3-0, 1-0, 3-4)

Rock of Ages Opening Night – Red Carpet Impressions

SSF Dragons Bonn – Red Devils Wernigerode 5-4 (2-2, 0-2, 3-0)

Matthias Reim (24th March 2023, Oberhausen)

Weird Al Yankovic tours Europe 2023 – My Reprise

Mitchell Tenpenny & Morgan Evans (3rd March 2023, Hamburg)

Weird Al Yankovic (19th February 2023, Tilburg)

Julian Taylor (15th February 2023, Cologne)

ISTAF Indoor Duesseldorf (29th January 2023)

Kane Brown (27th January 2023, Cologne)

Red Devils Wernigerode – Berlin Rockets 8-11 (1-2, 2-6, 5-3)

Red Devils Wernigerode – UHC Weissenfels 6-5 (2-3, 3-1, 1-1)

Brett Young (19th November 2022, Cologne)

Milky Chance (18th November 2022, Cologne)

Alexander Ludwig (2nd November 2022, Cologne)

Five Weird Al Yankovic Shows in Florida – Some Concert Pictures

Davis Cup Norway vs. India: Norway seals the Victory in doubles already

Davis Cup Norway vs. India: Norway in the Lead after Day 1

Davis Cup: Norway vs. India – Preview

Carly Pearce & Sarah Darling (12th September 2022, Hamburg)

Lindsay Ell (with Kyle Daniel & Shy Carter, 23rd August 2022, Cologne)

Gipsy Kings & More Than Words (11th August 2022, Cologne)

KölnTriangle Cologne View – a great View of Cologne

German Floorball Under 15 Girls – Final: Red Devils Wernigerode – Dümptener Füchse 5-4 SD (1-1, 3-3, 1-x)

German Floorball Under 15 Girls – P3 Match: SG Weissenfels/Jena – FBC Havel 6-9 (1-5)

German Floorball Under 15 Girls – P5 Match: FC Stern Munich – Sportvg Feuerbach 11-1 (2-1)

Johnossi (12th June 2022, Cologne)

Kicking Off The Weird Al Yankovic Tour 2022 (Day 5, 29.4.2022)

Kicking Off The Weird Al Yankovic Tour 2022 (Day 3, 27.4.2022)

Grand Ole Opry Show (18th March 2022)

The F35 Kjölur-Route in Iceland

KEC “Die Haie” Cologne – ESC Planegg-Würmtal 1-6 (1-2, 0-1, 0-3)

SSF Dragons Bonn – ETV Piranhhas Hamburg 4:6 (1:3, 0:3, 3:0)

Flying Norlandair from Akureyri (AEY) (not) to Grimsey (GRY)

German Cup: DJK Holzbüttgen – PSV 90 Black Wolves Dessau 14:1 (4:0, 4:0, 6:1)

F-Liiga Women: SB-Pro Nurmijärvi – TPS Turku 2-5 (1-3, 0-2, 1-0)

F-Liiga Women: EräViikingit – SSRA 7-2 (3-1, 1-0, 3-1)

F-Liiga Women: FBC Loisto – SB-Pro Nurmijärvi 4-6 (3-1, 0-2, 1-3)

F-Liiga Women: EräViikingit – Classic 3-1 (1-0, 1-0, 1-1)

Davis Cup Finland vs. India – Some Practice Session Views

Davis Cup Finland vs. India, Day 2: “Suomi” advances after Doubles

Davis Cup Finland vs. India: Finland in the lead after Day 1 Singles

Flying the PAD Aviation Embraer Phenom 300

MeerExpress – Flying the Air Shuttle to Norderney & Juist

Aviodrome Lelystad (Netherlands)

“Zärtliche Chaoten II” – exploring Gran Canaria 32 years later

Venice City Sightseeing by Vaporetto

bett1HULKS Championship 2020: Alexander Zverev (GER) – John Millman (AUS) 6-0 3-6 6-3

bett1HULKS Championship 2020: Sharan (IND) / Sandgren (USA) – Marach (AUT) / Pavic (CRO) 4-6 2-6

bett1HULKS Championship: Egor Gerasimov (BLR) – Daniel Altmaier (GER) 6-1 6-0

bett1HULKS Championship: Jordan Thompson (AUS) – Gilles Simon (FRA) 3-6 5-7

bett1HULKS Championship 2020: Sumit Nagal (IND) – Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 6-3 (4)6-7 1-6

bett1HULKS Indoors 2020: Davidovich Fokina / Verdasco (ESP) – Masur / Molleker (GER) 3-6 6-1 10-8

bett1HULKS Indoors 2020: Gonzales (MEX) / K. Skupski (GBR) – Nielsen (DEN) / Puetz (GER) 4-6 6-1 10-5

bett1HULKS Indoors 2020: Sharan (IND) / Withrow (USA) – Herbert / Mahut (FRA) 3-6 3-6

Imperial War Museums Duxford

Arcen Castle & Garden

Vliegtuigsuite Teuge (NED) – Sleeping in an Ilyushin IL-18

Frankfurt Airport during Covid-19

Planespotting at In-N-Out Burger Los Angeles Airport

C2C Country To Country Berlin – Day 3 (08.03.2020) – The Main Stage

C2C Country To Country Berlin – Day 3 (08.03.2020) – The Side Stages

C2C Country To Country Berlin – Day 2 (07.03.2020) – The Main Stage

C2C Country To Country Berlin – Day 2 (07.03.2020) – The Side Stages

C2C Country To Country Berlin – Day 1 (06.03.2020) – The Main Stage

C2C Country To Country Berlin – Day 1 (06.03.2020) – The Side Stages

De Havilland Aircraft Museum (London Colney)

Olivia Lane (8th February 2020, Hassocks / Brighton)

Brett Eldregde / Lauren Jenkins (29th January 2020, Amsterdam)

Brandy Clark (29th January 2020, Amsterdam)

Brett Eldredge / Lauren Jenkins (24th January 2020, Cologne)

SB-Pro Nurmijärvi – Classic Tampere 4:2 (0:1, 4:1, 0:0)

SB-Pro Nurmijärvi – Koovee Tampere 7:2 (2:1, 3:1, 2:0)

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

Mount Washington and the Pittsburgh Inclines


Noah Guthrie (9th December 2019, Cologne)


Sharjah Al Mahatta Historic Airport Museum


James Barker Band (20th November 2019, Zurich)


Mrs. Greenbird (Frankfurt, 7th November 2019)


Ben Zucker & Van De Forst (6th November 2019, Cologne)


Willie Jones & Tyler Rich (29th October 2019, Cologne)


Dusseldorf Airport Photo Tour


Logan Mize (26th October 2019, Cologne)


Scotty McCreery (24th October 2019, Cologne)


Andy Clark (19th October 2019, Dusseldorf)


Sarah Darling, Kenny Foster, Robert Counts (13th October 2019, Frankfurt)


SSF Dragons Bonn – MFBC Leipzig/Grimma 0:3 (0:1, 0:0, 0:2)


DJK Holzbüttgen – SSF Dragons Bonn 9:8 (2:4, 3:2, 4:2)


Rock of Ages (Zons / Germany, 28th Sep 2019)


Loganair From Glasgow To Barra Airport (BRR)


Exploring Barra With Barra Island Tours


Lauren Jenkins & Austin Jenckes (16th September 2019, Amsterdam)


British Country Music Festival – Day 3 (15th Sep 2019)


British Country Music Festival – Day 2 (14th Sep 2019)


British Country Music Festival – Day 1 (13th Sep 2019)


Sound of Nashville Press Event & Logan Mize Concert (11th Sep 2019, Cologne)


Jillian Jacqueline & Lauren Jenkins (9th September 2019, Cologne)


Thompson Square (5th September 2019, Cologne)


Eric Paslay (3rd Sep 2019, Aschaffenburg)


Flugausstellung Peter Junior (Hermeskeil)


Wade Bowen (6th August 2019, Cologne)


SV Menden – 1. FC Köln 3:5 (0:3) (31st July 2019)


Weird Al Yankovic, Strings Attached Tour (Bank of NH Pavilion, Gilford, 18th July 2019)


Elvis Presley’s Graceland – The Exhibitions


Elvis Presley’s Graceland – The Mansion


Maren Morris & RaeLynn GIRL Tour 2019 in Amsterdam (22nd May 2019)


Two Light Shows at Marina Bay


Visiting the Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace


National Emergency Services Museum Sheffield


UHC Laupen U21 – Red Ants Rychenberg U21 7:1 (2:1, 4:0, 1:0)


SSF Dragons Bonn – TV Schriesheim 5:8 (1:1, 3:1, 1:6)


Country 2 Country in London 2019


“Sound of Nashville” in Cologne (6th March 2019)


Country 2 Country 2019 in Berlin


Flying with Southern Airways Express


Dubai Miracle Garden – A flowerful Wonderland


Danielle Hope at “The Crazy Coqs” (London, 17th Feb 2019)


WFCQ 2019: Germany – Russia 8:4 (4:1, 3:3, 1:0)


WFCQ 2019: Finland – Austria 37:0 (12:0, 10:0, 15:0)


WFCQ 2019: Hungary – Netherlands 4:1 (1:1, 1:0, 2:0)


WFCQ 2019: Slovakia vs. Latvia 5:3 (2:1, 3:2, 0:0)


WFCQ 2019: Netherlands – Latvia 2:11 (1:5, 0:2, 1:4)


WFCQ 2019: Slovakia – Hungary 12:1 (3:0, 5:1, 4:0)


WFCQ 2019: Russia – Finland 1:18 (1:2, 0:13, 0:3)


WFCQ 2019: Austria – Spain 5:5 (2:0, 3:2, 0:3)


WFCQ 2019: Austria – Russia 4:13 (1:3, 1:5, 2:5)


WFCQ 2019: Netherlands – Slovakia 2:8 (0:1, 1:5, 1:2)


WFCQ 2019: Spain – Germany 3:6 (0:1, 1:3, 2:2)


Red Lions Frauenfeld – Kloten-Dietlikon Jets 3:12 (0:4, 1:5, 2:3)


Floorball Riders DBR – UH Appenzell 5:4 (3:2, 2:1, 0:1)


Täby FC – Pixbo Wallenstam IBK 7-0 (3-0, 2-0, 2-0)


FBI Tullinge – Hagunda IF 4-5 SD (0-1, 1-2, 3-1, 0-1)


CC 2019: Men’s Final: Storvreta IBK – SC Classic 3-10 (1-3, 1-3, 1-4)


CC 2019: Women’s Final: Vitkovice – IKSU 3-8 (1-2, 2-4, 0-2)


CC 2019: Men’s Place 3: Florbal Mlada Bolesav – Floorball Köniz 2-9 (1-4, 1-3, 0-2)


CC 2019: Storvreta IBK – Florbal Mlada Bolesav 10-5 (2-0, 3-3, 5-2)


CC 2019: Women’s Place 3: SB-Pro Nurmijärvi – Piranha Chur 5-3 (2-1, 0-1, 3-1)


CC 2019: IKSU – Piranha Chur 11-5 (6-1, 1-1, 4-3)


CC 2019: SB-Pro Nurmijärvi – 1. SC TEMPISH Vitkovice 4-5 SD (2-0, 1-4, 1-0, 0-1)


CC 2019: SC Classic – Floorball Köniz 7-1 (3-0, 1-1, 3-0)


Speyer Technology Museum


Emirates National Auto Museum


Red Ants Rychenberg – UHC Waldkirch-St.Gallen U21A 4:3 (2:1, 1:1, 1:1)


Red Ants Rychenberg – UHC Laupen 2:4 (2:1, 0:3, 0:0)


Finnish Aviation Museum (Suomen Ilmailumuseo)


SB-Pro Nurmijärvi – Koovee Tampere 11-3 (4-0, 3-2, 4-1)


Catherine McGrath at Arts Club Loft Liverpool


Davis Cup Serbia vs. India: Day 3


Davis Cup Serbia vs. India: Day 2


Davis Cup Serbia vs. India: Day 1


Davis Cup Serbia vs. India: Preview


Floorball Bundesliga: DJK Holzbüttgen – ETV Piranhhas Hamburg 2:7 (1:3, 0:4, 1:0)


US Open (Tennis) – 1st September 2018


US Open (Tennis) – My Day – 31st August 2018


Casa Loma (Toronto)


CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada


Bata Shoe Museum


SV Menden – 1. FC Köln 0:1 (0:1) (2018 pre-season)


Willemstad – the Colorful Capital


Kura Hulanda Museum – Not just about Carribean Slavery


Curacao Ostrich Farm


One Day in Bonaire


Visiting the Home of the Curacao Liqueur Factory


Willemstad – Maritime Museum and Harbour Tour


Finnish Superfinal (Men): Classic – Happee 6:2 (0:2, 4:0, 2:0)


Finnish Superfinal (Women): Classic – SB-Pro 2:3 (0:0, 2:2, 0:1)
“Rides on Rail” Postings
Here is everything about trains, trams and other rail vehicles:


SkyTrain Dusseldorf Airport


Riding the Heathrow Pod


Southern Florida Regional Train Rides with Tri-Rail


Great Western Railway First Class Lounge London Paddington


Food I Had Onboard IX (Mid-May 2023 til June 2023)


Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (Wuppertal Suspension Railroad)


Heathrow Express – The Fastest Rail to the City (Business First and Express Class)


Northern Trains Class 331/0 from Manchester Airport to Blackpool North


Travel all Germany for 49 EUR a Month? The New Deutschland Ticket


Riding the Heidelberg Funiculars


Dutch Railway Museum Utrecht


German Rail (Deutsche Bahn) Lounge Hamburg – Premium Area


Union Pearson Express Toronto – The Airport Express Rail


Thumb Up or Down? A Personal View on my Loyalty Program Portfolio


Food I Had Onboard VII (mid-February 2023 til March 2023)


Cyprus Railways Museum


Five Years of Flyctory.com – My 20 Most Popular Travel Posts (so far…)


Riding the TransPennine Express Nova 2 / CAF Civity First Class


Food I Had Onboard VI (December 2022 til mid-February 2023)


German Rail (Deutsche Bahn) Premium Lounge Berlin Main Station


All German States (and the Eleven Biggest Cities) on one Rail Ticket – Part 2


All German States (and the eleven biggest Cities) on one Rail Ticket – Part 1


Riding the TECO Line Streetcar in Tampa


Brightline Premium Lounge West Palm Beach


Flyctory.com Best Ones 2022


ICE 3neo High-Speed Rail First Class (Pictured Story)


Riding Flixtrain trains in Germany


German Rail Museum (DB Museum) Nuremberg


High-Speed Train Rides in Florida with Brightline


Dutch Open Air Museum Arnhem (Openluchtmuseum)


Brightline Premium Lounge Miami


Food I Had Onboard IV (May 2022 til August 2022)


Riding the Kansas City Streetcar


Traveling Avanti West Coast Railways Pendolino First and Standard Premium Class


Riding the WeGo Star – Nashville’s only Mass Transit


Avanti First Class Train Station Lounge London Euston Station


Halton County Radial Railway / Streetcar Museum


From Heathrow Airport to London with the Elizabeth Line


Riding the Stadler FLIRT Train of Swiss Südostbahn (IR 26 Treno Gottardo)


Food I Had Onboard II (Nov 21 til Mar 2022)


DB Lounge (German Rail Lounge) Stuttgart


Exploring Munich With Tram Line 19


Stuttgart Funicular (“Standseilbahn”)


Lokwelt Freilassing


Riding the Berlin-Warszawa Express Train (EC 40 to 48)


Flyctory.com Best Ones 2021


The Berlin Tränenpalast (“Palace of Tears”)


Riding The Malpensa Express


Schlossbergbahn Graz


VIA Rail Business Class Train Ride from Ottawa to Toronto


Riding the Express InterCity Premium (EIP) in Poland


Graz Fairy Tale Train (Grazer Märchenbahn)


German Rail Lounge / DB Lounge Frankfurt Airport (FRA)


The Venice / Mestre Tramway – The Alternative Connection to the Lagoon?


My Full Tour With The Palm Monorail (Dubai)


The Eschede Derailment Memorial


Tranvia de Soller – The Very Special Tram on Mallorca


Flyctory.com Best Ones 2020


Riding Italo Rail Club Executive Class


The train to Hogwarts? King’s Cross, Platform 9 3/4 (Pictured Story)


FRECCIALounge Milan


Frecciarossa 1000 Executive Class


ALPEN-SYLT Nachtexpress – A New Night Train Crossing Germany


ECE 451 – The Non-Stop Train from Frankfurt To Milan


Nightjet Night Train – Single Deluxe Class


Four Countries, Four Trains – A Trip on Tracks (Day 4, 10th August 2020)


Four Countries, Four Trains – A Trip on Tracks (Day 2, 8th August 2020)


Four Countries, Four Trains – A Trip on Tracks (Day 1, 7th August 2020)


Traveling Through Germany at Covid-19 Times – A special Trip Review


Flyctory.com Best Ones 2019


Pittsburgh Light Rail – It’s (partially) for free!



Mount Washington and the Pittsburgh Inclines


Riding the Arlanda Express


Madrid Railway Museum


Lookout Mountain Incline Railway (Chattanooga, TN)


Platform 0 Chamberí – A Madrid Metro Ghost Station


Bergisch Historic Trams Wuppertal

