Blue Clipper Traineeship 3 BC030823

Getting Here

The most convenient way to travel to Mallaig is by train, taking the train from Glasgow, via Fort William.  This is a spectacular train journey, one of the best in the country.

Perhaps the most impressive moment in the journey to Fort William is just north of Tyndrum station, where the railway describes a horseshoe curve beneath the immense Fujiyama-like shape of Ben Doran while crossing two curved viaducts, the scale of the landscape making one feel very insignificant.

On the Mallaig line the highlight is undoubtedly the northbound climb to Glenfinnan station across the famous viaduct, set in an amphitheatre of mountains and overlooking the Glenfinnan Monument, erected in 1815 to mark the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745.

The journey time between Glasgow Queen Street and Fort William is about 3¾ hours, between Fort William and Mallaig just under 1½ hours.

You could choose to fly into Glasgow before you embark on the train journey to Mallaig or take the time-saving and still romantic way to reach the Highlands on the Caledonian Sleeper from London, alias the Deerstalker; the moment of raising the blind in the morning to the sight of mountains when the previous view was the bowels of Euston station is an uplifting contrast. It is also miraculous and heartening that some of the most desolate platforms in the world can still be connected to a capital city by sleeper train.

Prices

Advance fares for Glasgow–Mallaig start at £15.70 each way, so the cheapest return is £31.40. The Jacobite adult day return fare is £33, child £19 in standard class, £56 and £31 in 1st class. Prices on the Caledonian Sleeper start at £19 for a single journey.