pepememe

2 adults, 2 children (9 & 11). Leaving London May 31 for Edinburgh. We have to do the hogwarts train thing (Fort William to Mallaig and back). My question is what would be the most efficient way to do this in terms of time. We will be flying out of EDI June 3 and want a couple of days there in the city, so trying to get way over there to the potter train and back in 1 day. Is it too much to ask? I loked at train schedules, and looks tight (and a long day). Also thought maybe renting a car for a day if the driving is not too difficult and would be quicker. Your thoughts, please.

meks

If you intend taking the Steam Train from Fort William - Mallaig - Fort William then the only way to do it in a day from Edinburgh is by car.

The train timetable www.steamtrain.info/timesetc.htm
shows that there is only one train available and to get that you need to leave Edinburgh relatively early to travel the 125 - 130 miles to Fort William. This will take 3 - 4 hours as you will have to initially travel during the morning rush hour traffic.

Travel out the A8 from Edinburgh to the Newbridge Junction Roundabout, there take the 4th exit to join the M9 Motorway with signs to Forth Bridge, Stirling. Travel for about 28 miles before exiting the M9 at Junction 10 (signposted Stirling, Callander, Crianlarich) and then at the roundabout take 2nd exit onto the A84 (signposted Callander).

Drive along the A84 for approximately 28 miles before joining the A85 in the town of Lochearnhead and drive for another 16 miles to Crianlarich where you bear left to join the A82. Stay on the A82 road and follow signs for Fort William to take you through the mountains (over the summit of Rannoch Moor!) and after a distance of 52 miles you will arrive in Fort William.

You may find that the hire companies at the airport are better suited to unusual hours both pick ups / drop offs but please confirm before arranging the hire car.
Alternatively your car hire may have to be over 2 days as the hire car operators elsewhere may not be open early enough in the morning to give you time to complete the paperwork and drive to Fort William in time to catch the steam train. If that is the case the you may have to hire the car the night before but this does not help you returning the car as the train only arrives back in Fort William at 4p.m and then at that time of night you will have about a 4 hour drive to Edinburgh to drop off the hire car.
The train journey is good and I know it is a must for a lot of children interested in Harry Potter, but as you are already aware, you will be pushed for time

Ackislander

You can do this whole trip by train, changing in Glasgow and Ft William. The West Highland Line from Glasgow to Ft William is one of the most famous rail journeys in the world, and you will enjoy the view a lot more if you are not driving a car. Yes, it will be a two day commitment, but it will be worth it.

hetismij

Would it not be better to get a train from London to Fort William, stay there, do the Mallaig trip and then go onto Edinburgh if you really have to do it?
If you ar travelling from London on 31st and fly out on the 3rd you only have two clear days, so you need to decide which is more important - the Harry Potter thing or Edinburgh.

janisj

Trying to do that in one day is nuts - sorry, but its true.

Can you leave London a day earlier? How were you planning to travel to Edinburgh - plane or train? The suggestion of the train all the way up from London to Ft William makes it doable (though still rushed). Take the sleeper on the 30th, take the steam train on the 31st and continue by train on to Edinburgh. You'll arrive in Edinburgh Sat. night and have all day Sun/Mon for the city.

Barbara_in_FL

I agree that doing it in a single day would be challenging and perhaps not as much fun as breaking your journey. Even driving, it would make for a very long day. It's not a difficult drive, just a long one. But we took the Mallaig-Fort William train last year and the kids (then 8 and 2 1/2) absolutely loved it. We will be going to Skye next spring and they have already asked if they can go on the train again.

So...if I were trying to avoid renting a car, I would resign myself to a two-day trip and take the train, as suggested. If that is not possible, maybe you should get a car as soon as you get to Edinburgh, drive to somewhere near Fort William, spend the night there, and take the train the next day, driving back to Edinburgh the night of the 1st. That would give you a full day in Edinburgh on the 2nd and part of the day, depending on your arrival time, on the 31st.

We took the train on almost exactly the same dates when we were there -- if you decide to do it, I would also suggest getting tickets in advance. We got "standby" tickets (miscellaneous leftovers handed out on the quay) but it was a bit stressful to be there with two boys and not be sure we would all get on the train.

I remember Mallaig was quite windy and chilly, so be sure to take something warm, just in case.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

sheila

This doesn't work any way you look at it. The 31st is a Saturday. The Jacobite doesn't run on Sundays in June. So, my advice would be to go to Edinburgh on the 31st, and spend the 1st there. Take an evening drive or train to Fort William, and do the trip the next morning. Take and evening train/drive back to Edinburgh on the 2nd.

Actually, if you were going to do that, I'd go all the way to Mallaig by train and only get the Jacobite back, but, obviously, it's up to you.

pepememe

Thank you all for the information. I'm glad I was reminded about the train not running Sunday. I guess I will plan a 2 day trip. How much time would i save if we flew to Glasgow first, did the potter train,stay overnight in the area (any suggestions on accomodations, perhaps near the Jacobite steamer?) then go spend our time in Edinburgh. Either way, this website has been a big help in planning our trip. Tkanx again for your help.

pepememe

Barbara,

Just a question, as some people brought up. Since you have been on the train with the children, is a one way trip satisfactory, or did they really enjoy going roundtrip. Hopefully I can get away with one-way. Thanks.

sheila

Clarify for us, please? Fly into Glasgow when?

pepememe

OK. After much reading and deliberation, this is what I came up with. Please speak up.

First, we arrive at 7 am at Gatwick.

British Airways to Glasgow at 15:45 arriving 17:10. Overnight in Glasgow (hopefully near Glasgow Central Station).

Train to Mallaig at 07:51 arriving at 13:31.

Jacobite Steamer (Potter) train from Mallaig at 14:10 to Fort William at 16:00.

Overnite train back to London from Fort William at 19:50. This is a sleeper train. Does that require a first class ticket? Can you comfortably sleep in standard class?

This seems to me to be what will work, allowing the kids to rest after a long trip from Honolulu.

I had looked into going straight to ft. william or mallaig, but the reviews i read for hotels close to the train station were dismal. Anyway, what do you all think?

Barbara_in_FL

What dates are you looking at -- are you skipping Edinburgh altogether, or just separating those parts of the trip? To come from Honolulu to London, then to continue on to Glasgow in the same day, seems like a lot to me -- but your kids are older than mine, and that makes a difference.

To answer your other question, I think a one-way trip would still be a lot of fun. Our kids enjoyed the trip both ways(and of course we noticed scenery coming back that we did not see on the way up, just because of where we were seated) but I think they would have gotten a huge kick out of it even if we had only taken a one-way trip. If you are just taking the train from Mallaig back to Fort William, try to sit on the right-hand side of the train for the best views of Glenfinnan Viaduct.

janisj

do I understand you are flying in from HI, hanging around LGW for 8 hours, flying up to GLA in the late afternoon, next morning taking the train from Glasgow to Mallaig and back, and then taking a sleeper back to London??

Harry Potter or no Harry Potter - this is insane. Why the mad dashing about? Where is the rest of your itinerary taking you? Can't you schedule a few more days in Scotland instead of traveling the length of the country twice in 2 days?

pepememe

janisj,

thank you for your concern about my sanity. i assure you i am quite sane. we are not going non-stop from HI, so we will be a bit rested. and if i could catch the 10:45 flight from lgw to glasgow, i would. but do you think i would be able to clear immigration/customs and get to the flight in 3 hours?
also, we are staying overnight in glasgow, so the kids will get plenty of rest for a long train trip. if i could avoid it, i would, but this will be done for reasons i will not get into. once that is out of the way, we can spend most of our trip leisurely in London, and end up in Edinburgh for a couple of days. believe me, janisj, i hope my sanity will stay intact if i do this. the rest of the trip is quite planned out already....this bump was layed out in front of me before i could swerve to avoid it.

Barbara_in_FLA
thanks for the info on the train. did you get tickets from the website or called for them?

sheila

Why not ticket yourselves right through to Glasgow, and do Customs and immigration there? (Or, bettter, fly into Glasgow or Edinburgh).

Then take the train up to Fort William. You're right, there are few fantastic places near tehstation, but you have some lovely ones only few miles away- Taxi distance for sure. Inverlochy is seriously high end. The Old Pines at Spean Bridge is very child friendly (It's recently changed hand, but I'm told is still very good); or go further out the line and sat at Glenfinnan House, Arisaig House or Arisaig Hotel- according to your tastes and budget.

janisj

I used "insane" in the nicest possible way. I didn't mean you - I meant the plan. But w/ your added info it really is nutty - honest. London > GLA > Glasgow central > Ft William > Mallaig > Ft William > Glasgow > London > Edinburgh!

How long are you spending in London? It can't be long if you are still flying out of EDI on 3 June. Or has that bit changed as well?

Give us your actual itinerary (not just the train part) and we probably can help you.

But Sheila is 100% correct - arriving in Glasgow would be much better, and staying near Ft william much better still.

pepememe

The thing is, our flying itinerary is pretty much set in stone. i used mileage to get the tickets and the only way to get the dates i needed was into lgw and out of edi. i did previously check into the option sheila mentioned by flying into gla, but not available. so unless something opens up, it is what it is.
that steamer not running on weekends kind of balled it up a bit.
the reason i thought a sleeper out of ft. william to london would work out was we have to stay in a hotel anyway, so the traveling is a moot point since hopefully we will get some sleep (is there something evil i should know about those sleepers?)

that gets us back to london for the full 5 days i wanted there. then early to edi june1, basically giving us 2 days there. i really had no plans for edi this trip but the flight plan pushed me into it a bit.

sheila,
thanks for the info on the ft. williams accomodations. i might try to re-work things to stay up there. since the plane tickets were cheap, i planned on being able to spend a bit more on other things.

of course, i'm still crossing my fingers i can skip this part (don't tell my granddaughter's mom)....

pepememe

London > GLA > Glasgow central > Ft William > Mallaig > Ft William > Glasgow > London > Edinburgh!


janisj, the way you wrote this makes GLA > Glasgow central look like a major trip in itself. is it?

rogeruktm

Why not just pay for your tickets? After all, isn't the purpose of a vacation is to do it stress free. I will never understand using mileage if it doesn't work to your advantage. Also, are you staying 8 hours at Gatewick? How crazy is that. Why not take the train up. Heck, you will be in Glasgow before your plane arrives or is it worth more stress just to use mileage? Sorry, don't get it.

janisj

no - GLA > Glasgow Central isn't a major trek - but added on to 8 hours at LGW and flight to GLA is just one more hassle to contend w/

(who promised the steam train anyway )

Why not drop a day or two in London? That would fix most of this mess. Arrive at LGW and head straight into London for 3 or 4 days. Then head north and take the Steam train. You could fly, take a fast day train, or the sleeper to Scotland. and finish up w/ 2 days in Edinburgh. This would save a TON of hassles and travel time/expense.