Rule Britannia 2015

We spent over three weeks in the United Kingdom in September 2015. We went for the experience….and yes, some trains too. Here’s our trip in pictures.

Part 1 – Getting there

We took a restful daylight flight to London. On arrival, we grabbed the Tube to Russell Square for a quick night’s sleep. At noon the following day, feeling not particularly jet lagged, we departed northwards on the Highland Chieftain. This Virgin train runs from Kings Cross all the way to Scotland, one of the longest routes in the UK. It was a fast and pleasant ride. Virgin pampered us with their wonderful First Class service.

Inverness

Our Scottish adventure began at dusk in Inverness. It’s a very pretty town on the River Ness.

Our first excursion was to the Battlefield Memorial at Culloden, where in 1745 the English Army defeated the Jacobites, effectively ending the Jacobite Rebellion. It’s a very well-designed memorial, that preserves the boggy feel of the battlefield and gives an excellent narrative of what happened that very bloody day. The presentation does an excellent job of presenting both the English and Jacobite perspectives on the battle, and the entangled relations between those on both sides.

Foray to The Moray

On two successive days, we took day trips to small towns in the Moray District. This area is the home to many famous distilleries.

The first excursion took us by train to Elgin, and on by bus to Dufftown and Craigellachie.

Dufftown is the birthplace of George Stephen, one of the principals who founded the Canadian Pacific Railway. A plaque to his memory is found in the town square. At Dufftown, we toured the Glenfiddich distillery, where we sampled several of their products.

Just a few miles up the road, we made a stop in Craigellachie. The Craigellachie Hotel is a mecca for scotch lovers. It has two bars stocked with every whiskey imaginable. We stuck to the less formal lower bar, and sampled the local beer, which is also excellent.

On the second day, we checked out the town of Forres. It’s the home of Donald Smith, another founder of the CPR. There was no plaque in his honour, but the travel agency at the main intersection was titled ‘Beaver Travel’. There was a good lunch spot and plenty to see at the depot.

This was our first exposure to vintage British railroading, with signal boxes and manually-operated semaphore signals protecting movements along the single track lines. Scotrail DMU’s run east from Inverness to Aberdeen, north to Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh, and south to Stirling. Many are equipped with free Wifi, and some have a peaceful if smallish First Class section.

At both Forres and Elgin, vintage signalboxes, controlling both ends of the passing sidings, still operate 24/7. This route is operated on a token system, with each train exchanging tokens with the signal box operator before continuing its journey.

Into the Highlands

After four nights in Inverness, we boarded a Stagecoach motor coach to Fort William, following the shores of Loch Ness. No creatures were seen in the Loch. The two hour bus ride was really pretty – but this was just the beginning.

In Fort William, we connected to a southbound train on the West Highland line. We watched in the depot as DMU’s were added to the incoming train from Mallaig. There was a large crowd waiting, consisting largely of backpackers and day hikers heading into the highlands. The DMU’s on this line were a bit older and grittier – it’s a gutsy line with many grades and curves.

This was our first taste of the Highlands, and it grew more spectacular as we climbed over a curving route that heads first north, then east, then southwards.

At Auch, the railway rounds a horseshoe curve with an impressive trestle.

As we passed Bridge of Orchy, we had a great view of Ault Orrain, a peak that we would climb a day later.

By mid afternoon, we had reached Ardlui, at the north end of Loch Lomond. It was a wonderful, peaceful spot. Our room looked right down the Loch. We ate in the hotel dining room and headed back out to the lake to enjoy the moonlight.

Early the next morning, I rose early and headed to the train station – a simple whistle stop platform – to watch the Caledonian Sleeper train pass. This train leaves London every evening for the Highlands. The train splits in Glasgow, with one section heading to Inverness and the second heading to Fort William. It’s a popular way to reach the Highlands, and saves one a daylong ride. All for the price of a night in a hotel.

While waiting for the Caledonian, I marvelled at the traditional British practice of marking gradients along the line. These markers are not maintained these days – but they can be seen along the line. One in 68 = 1.47% in North American terms!

After breakfast, we left Ardlui and rode back north on the Fort William line to Corrour. They say Corrour is the most romantic place to get off a train in the British Isles. It’s also the highest point on the British rail system. And, it’s pristine wilderness.

Corrour can be reached only by train, at the north end of Rannoch Moor. There are hiking trails leading in several directions, one leading to a youth hostel on a Loch a mile to the east. The only buildings at Corrour are the station platform and a guest house with a daytime tea room. The nearest town is many miles away. We left our bags on the empty platform, and went for a long hike. It was marvellous and head-clearing.

All too soon, our southbound train arrived to take us on to Bridge of Orchy. We happily retraced the route, reaching our next stop early in the afternoon.

We left our bags in the hotel, and went for yet another walk – this one up Ault Orrain, over the mountain to Inveroran. The climb to the rock cairn at the summit is about 750 feet vertically, not that big a deal. The following morning, we took a different route to the Inveroran Hotel, where we paused for tea and scones. Our first hike was in cloud, but the second was in full sun. The different lighting gave the hills different moods.

On to Argyllshire

We could have spent a week – or longer – in the Highlands, but there were so many places yet to visit. After a second mornng of hiking to Inveroran, we caught yet another Scotrail DMU, and headed southwards along Loch Lomond to Glasgow and then on to Stirling.

The Scottish trains were always full, and the passengers were friendly. We had many interesting conversations. Throughout Britain, people take their dogs along wherever they go. We made both human and dog friends on every train.

Stirling

Stirling sits to the south of, and on the edge of, the Highlands. You can see the mountains from just about anywhere in town. There are two excellent vantage points – Stirling Castle, which sits atop the highest hill in Stirling, and the Wallace Monument, commemorating the original Braveheart – across the valley from town. Both required very spirited uphill climbs – the Wallace Monument in particular is a tough one. the views were worth the sweat.

Stirling Castle houses the museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

Fetchez La Vache!

Our first sidetrip after exploring the town itself was to find a laundromat. We found one, just two stops up the line in Dunblane, a sleepy little town just a few miles north.

After doing laundry, the second itinerary item was to head to Doune – home of Doune Castle. where many British films, including Monty Python’s The Holy Grail, and the TV series Outlander, have been filmed.

In its day, the castle was home to some important and notorious Scotsmen. The tour – with audio guides narrated by Michael Palin – were both informative and hilarious.

And, as luck would have it, we got a bit lost on the bus ride to Doune, and ended up in Deanstown…..where there is yet another distillery.

If you recognize these rooms, you spend way too much time watching Python! Welcome to Camelot.

The town’s train station is gorgeous – an example of British rail architecture at its best.

Southwards

After Stirling, we headed southwards into England. One of the speedy Scotrail EMU’s took us to Haymarket – a suburban station in Edinburgh – where we had a speedy connection with a Transpennine EMU to Carlisle.

But that’s all in Chapter Two – click here!