The Glenfinnan Viaduct on our Drive to the Isle of Skye

February 25^th, 2026

It was a rainy day as we set off from Glencoe, driving along a big lake called Loch Leven and passed through Fort William, a town where we will stop for a night on our return from the Isle of Skye.

Our bleak, but beautiful breakfast scenery.

Enya seemed like appropriate music for the drive along Loch Leven (it may not play for some of you thanks to copyright issues).

Near Fort William.

Our first stop of interest of the day was the Glenfinnan Viaduct.  Built between 1897 and 1901, the curving bridge is 380 meters long, 30 meters at its highest point and is comprised of 21 arches.  It’s a super cool looking structure and has even been featured on some Scottish banknotes but it’s popularity as a tourist attraction has skyrocketed thanks to being featured in a Harry Potter movie, so much so it is often referred to as “The Harry Potter Bridge”.

The viaduct in the distance.

Starting our wet walk to the bridge.

My Harry Potter impersonation turned into Mary Poppins.

We lucked out and a train passed over the bridge!  Of course a steam engine train like in the Harry Potter movie would have been better...but we'll take it.

A Scottish guy offered to snap a photo for us...Naomi couldn't understand what he was asking thanks to his Glaswegian accent.

Getting closer...

See the spots on this cool tree trunk?  They are coins and/or metal bits that people have jammed into it over time.

The rain just brought out the Mary Poppins in me.

Not quite the superstructure of the Millau Viaduct that I visited in France earlier this month ...but considering it was built a hundred years earlier, very impressive.

Climbing up the hill on one side.

A photo I took of a postcard in the gift shop of a bird's eye view of the bridge.

Glenfinnan is also a place of some Scottish history.  During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the rebellion was launched with the raising of the Royal Standard (the flag).  The small force of Highlanders began their march here towards Edinburgh in an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart.

Back on the road towards the Isle of Skye...stopping by another loch.

Our rental, a new Vauxhall Grandland.  Pretty good car, the first one I've driven with "heads up display" at the bottom of the windscreen.

Water gushing down the mountains thanks to the abundant rain.

Misty mountains.

Our late lunch stop.

The place had a nice bar.

A hairy coo on the wall.

Post lunch.  My pulled chicken tacos were super tasty.

That's one way to sit at the bar.

Yeehaw! (yup, you can tell she's not from cowboy country...)

Eilean Donan Castle.  We decided that we would visit it on our return trip after a couple of days on the Isle of Skye.

The sky created a mystical aura around the castle.

That's the Isle of Skye in the distance on the left.

Crossing the bridge to the Isle of Skye.

A cool metal silhouette on a pole outside someone's house.

Naomi thought this was the Mt. Fuji of the Isle of Skye.

The tide was out.

Sheep grazing by the ocean.

The lovely mountains of the island.

Nice waterfall!

Our spot for the next two nights, the charming Cullin Hills Hotel.

You can see the colourfully painted houses of the town of Portree in the distance.

Our lovely room.

Naomi loved the view out of our room.  It wasn't until the morning that we were leaving that we found out that there are snow capped mountains in the distance!

The cosy lounge, complete with a fireplace.

You know you're in a good spot when the Scotch cabinet is this big...and there are so many bottles that they have stocked them alphabetically!

Despite the weather, it was a beautiful drive to the Isle of Skye.  Both of us were happy to make it to Portree and excited to have two nights in a row at the same place, the one time this will happen on our quick road trip to Scotland.  We will explore the island tomorrow if Mother Nature allows it.