A very wet train journey through the West Highlands of Scotland. Part Two.

Day 2: Spean Bridge.

The Commando Monument just north of Spean Bridge is an impressive bronze statue commemorating the service and sacrifice given by thousands of Allied troops during the Second World War.

During that time the Commandos had their main training camp at Achnacarry castle, part of Cameron of Locheil's Lochaber estate. When new recruits for the Commandos arrived by train at Spean Bridge, they then had to march seven miles to Achnacarry.

In 1952 the Queen Mother unveiled Scott Sutherland's magnificent memorial to the commandos at this, the most scenic point of their journey with views to Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr. The monument overlooks the rugged terrain upon which the Commandos did their training.

 In recent years the memorial has taken on a new meaning. People who had no connection to the Second World War Commandos travel to Spean Bridge to leave a tribute to their own fallen soldier. A memorial garden has been built nearby for these small tributes for men who died in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, or men who served for many years as a Royal Marine Commando and have recently passed away.

 

The remoteness and beauty of the site and the surrounding landscape adds to the emotional impact of the memorial. A reminder, should we need one, of the hardships endured by many of our ancestors for all of our sakes.

More about the Commando Monument here...

Day 3: Fort William to Lancaster.
Once again the weather was against us. I more or less gave up trying to take photos. Instead I just sat back, had a glass of wine or two and enjoyed the journey.

 Cheerio for now Scotland. Please have kinder weather in store for our trip to Skye, later in the year!

Thanks for visiting, hope you've enjoyed the photos. 

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A very wet train journey through the West Highlands of Scotland. Part One.

Day 1: Lancaster to Fort William.
We had looked forward to this train journey for months. I'd imagined taking dozens of fantastic photos to share. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and the skies steadily darkened as we made our way northwards on our journey to Fort William.
Things looked promising at first, as we climbed up over Shap ...

 

... but by the time we reached Penrith and Carlisle, the weather had taken a distinct turn for the worse!

 

Unfortunately the weather didn't improve much over the course of the following three days, so a lot of my photos are a little blurry to say the least! 

From Carlisle we headed for Glasgow, skirting the Western edge of the city along the banks of the River Clyde. Passing Dumbarton we then began the steep climb to Helensburgh Upper. Visibility continued to be poor, so we could barely make out the docks at Faslane, nor the nuclear submarine base near Garelochead.

The sky brightened somewhat as we left Gareloch behind and headed for Loch Long,

crossing the Mause Viaduct before reaching Crianlarich, via Arrochar and Tarbet.

Darkness was falling by the time we were crossing Rannoch Moor, so we tucked into our picnic basket as the train continued its journey towards Fort William where we would spend the night.

Day 2: Fort William to Glenfinnan

If anything, the weather was even worse on the second day of our journey. Ben Nevis was barely discernable through the heavy cloud. 

Passing Loch Eil we could see that it would certainly be beautiful on a clear day! 

Passing over the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct, we could barely make out the Glenfinnan Monument which commemorates the raising of the standard in 1745 by Bonnie Prince Charlie as he returned from France to head the second Jacobite Rebellion. The figure on top of the monument is a symbolic Highland Chieftan, dedicated to those who joined the Jacobite cause in 1745.  (Yes, I'm aware that's a dreadful photo!)

Pressing further north, towards Mallaig, we passed the small Catholic church of Our Lady of the Braes. The church was featured in the Burt Lancaster film "Local Hero".

Arriving in Mallaig we detrained for a while, to stretch our legs.

 

Mallaig is a busy fishing village and ferry terminal, operating year round Caledonian McBrayne services to Skye and other Inner Hebridean islands.

Eigg and Rhum, from Mallaig

Mallaig is the terminus of the West Highland Railway, so we returned to Fort William via the same route. The weather had eased up a little, allowing us to enjoy some of the scenery we had missed on the outward journey.

Deer galore!

Loch Shiel

Lochaber hydro electric and smelting plant, beneath Ben Nevis

"Neptune's Staircase" on the Caledonian Canal at Benavie

 




Returning to Fort William in the afternoon, we had some free time to explore. We caught a bus to the Commando Monument at Spean Bridge which will be in the next blog post. Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoyed the photos! (If you click on a photo, it should come up full-size.)