All Scotland Tour (12 - 19 July)

[Gathursty]

Tomorrow I'm going to see Scotland by it's railway stations over the course of a week (except south of Ayr) by car and 2 trains. The route is attached and if any fellow forum members will be nearby and spot a grey Vauxhall Corsa in the car park or vicinity, do say hello as it will very probably be me!

I will flesh this thread out more with pictures, particularly Far North and Kyle line stations and other less well-known Scottish destinations.

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DAY 1 - 12 July (Wigan - Perth)

The week started with great weather and a quiet M6 heading north, until the rumbling in my engine forced me to make stop number 1 not Carstairs but Carnforth Truckhaven to await the AA for a sorely needed repair.

Thankfully after a dash to the other side of Morecambe and several pounds lighter, my car began the march through Cumbria along the WCML to it's junction with the ECML. I found Carstairs fairly quiet and in my 15 minute break there to consume water as today was one of many this week where the heat was very noticeable, I didn't witness any tilting action unfortunately.

Onwards and upwards to Lanark which was empty of trains and any waiting passengers were clinging to shade where they could. Here I made use of the Morrissons as I had left my sweets for my tour at home.

I won't go into much detail of the rest of the stations between here and Cumbernauld save for Motherwell as it provided me with a lunch break at McDonalds and a Body Shop to purchase sun tan lotion (yes, sun tan lotion is necessary in Scotland these days!).

I don't have much to say about suburban stations as there isn't much about them (apart from the very appropriately named Coatbridge Sunnyside) so I will move on to Skelmersdale of the North (Gaelic: Cumbernauld) Now here did remind me of home with roundabouts galore and dual-carriageways sealing housing estates entirely.

Cumbernauld marked the start of my journey beyond the central belt but my sunstroke catching up with me after not taking the heat seriously. I began to consider places to stay overnight but wanted to make more northern progress first.

Stirling with it's castles perched on promontories gave an impressive welcome to eyes that hadn't cast sight on them before, as did Stirling station with the stylish overpass. As I was looking for shade and a quiet place to calm my headache, the staircase on the opposite side of the station sufficed for a few moments until I decided that I would rather head to Perth and sleep.

On the way along the A9 was Bridge of Allan and Dunblane which rewrote my thoughts about what it looked like. I found a bench beside the river after parking at the station and watched a labrador dream of jumping in but being restrained by the owner's tight leash in the frame of the old town bridge arch throwing a long, cooling shadow over us all.

By now, I still felt unwell but was about 20 miles from Perth with Gleneagles inbetween. Thankfully the A9 here is dualled all the way. I did entertain the idea of falling asleep beside the line at Gleneagles but the horn of the morning sleeper made me move on and attempt successfully to rejoin the fast A9 at the beginning of the drive.

I happened upon a Best Western opposite the station, which I fully recommend, and took a room instantly, had a cooling bath and slept soundly until day 2...

Stations visited - 25

 

[Gathursty]

A glorious morning to wake up in Perth too.

I woke up an hour too early for breakfast so made do with watching BBC Breakfast and writing a little to-do list (petrol, hat, torch).

When 8.00am ticked, I was first to the dining room, followed by a hero. This hero was a man who was on his thirteenth attempt at walking Land's End to John O' Groats and back and had taken 6 weeks to reach Perth under his own steam. I felt a tad ashamed to say I was aiming to head there in one day using wheels but nonetheless had a good discussion with him about what to look out for. He was aiming for Dunkeld & Birnam which was my next stop too but declined my offer of a helping hand!

My trip to ASDA completed, I made for the A9 North taking in the first sights of coniferous Highlands and great mountain scenery.

I will only say it is much easier entering D&B than it is leaving the station. The A9 is fast but it is prone to alarming overtaking by some motorists!

Next was the delightful settlement of Pitlochry. Any future visits to Scotland will feature more time here but for my week, a brief stop at the station was only made as far more important was the journey due west to Rannoch along the B8019/B846 combination.

The road from Pitlochry to Rannoch is superb. Apart from the hair-raising spectacle of allowing two log-trucks to round me in a tight bend, the journey beside the shimmering lakes, cyclists, campers, foreign tourists and jeeps was unspoilt and I stopped a few times to bask in the rays. The journey to Rannoch is about 1 hour from Pitlochry and at the end is a very well kept West Highland line station and hotel with outdoor seating and leaping dog to greet anyone who makes it this far out!

After leaving Rannoch, I made for the remaining Highland Main Line stations (ignoring Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie) by driving upto Trinafour and spotting contractors for new pylons along this harsh terrain.

I made good time into Aviemore, a beautiful resort with a fine Ben Macdui Inn to eat and drink under the guise of the ski slopes in the distance.

After grazing, I seemed to join throngs of motorcyclists on their way up north but we seemed to get stuck at the only traffic I've encountered so far (The Kessock Bridge approach). Here marked a stop at Inverness and time to look at this important northern interchange. I was agog at the departure board for the Wick train and it's numerous stops but I've yet to be at Aberdeen at 8:20am. :P
I did like the station. It was quite clean and temperate compared to the stifling heat outside. This prompted me to move on again.

I wondered quite a bit over seeing the Kyle stations first or the Far North Line but my desire to see Plockton in daylight caused me to journey Beauly-Muir of Ord-Garve-Lochluichart and through a very fast, sweeping curved road through the triple A section from Achanalt to Achnashellach.

After stopping and saying hello to cyclists crossing the line at Achnashellach, it was time to descend through the woods to my car and travel on the almost single-track road to Kyle of Lochalsh via Strathcarron, Attadale, Stromeferry and a detour to the beautiful village of Plockton.

This section is quite twisty and the reduction to one lane with passing places can lengthen journey times but the scenery alone is worth it compared to the A82/A87 route.

I stayed at Plockton in the late afternoon, walking around the bay and eating in the hotel. I bought some souvenirs in the craft shop and spoke to locals before deciding to travel to at least Helmsdale before sleeping by the roadside.

I managed to arrive at Kyle before nightfall made viewing the Skye Bridge from the station difficult and had a good look at the landscape at the end of the railway pier.

I made good time returning to the Far North Line and found Conon Bridge with not a lot of difficulty and took a snap at this quite new addition to the network. Small but has more presence than Gilfach Fargoed!

At Dingwall, I found a busy bar next to the station and a Tesco to fill up and encountered a very inebriated Scot asking the lady at the counter to Kilmarnock after I asked how far the drive was to Lairg.

I still felt quite fresh and had enough Lucozade to get me through the late evening drive which cut out Alness to Tain to do on the return and so journey inland to drop down to Ardgay and follow the ever-darkening riverside to Lairg, stopping off at Culrain/Invershin and surprisingly walking over the bridge at the same time as two youths at about 10pm which would be quite late in these parts going by the remoteness. Fortunately they were picked up on the other side of the bridge and made towards Carbisdale Castle. I contemplated snoozing in a clean shelter at Culrain but thought better of it.

Lairg surprised me with the sound of a band emanating from a marquee celebrating some advertised gala by the loch. To avoid being suspected as a young driver being upto no good, I quickly finished my Lucozade here and avoided the glare of the police, parked to keep an eye on the festival and set off to Rogart which is no doubt more interesting in light than shade with a very flowery platform, memorabilia and signal box if memory serves me correct.

It was good to reconnect with the A9 at The Mound as these other A roads feel very remote indeed in the night time. I felt a bit more life in Brora and Golspie but found my phone camera's flash to struggle a little at Dunrobin Castle but found a torch to help me with the shot.

Reaching Helmsdale at 1.30 in the morning with an open public toilet and couple with a watering can for the war memorial plants was quite a picture and a relief too as I freshened up here and discussed the A897 to Forsinard. They neglected to tell me the amount of sheep and deer which did cause me some hair-raising brakes in the night causing their prediction of 30 minutes journey to be quadrupled. However the sight of animals prancing about at Kildonan, Kinbrace and Forsinard in touching distance was incredible. I did feel very out of place though and left the animals to it as I ventured finally to the north coast and stopped just short of the t-junction signalling the end of this country track and tried to sleep for an hour. With this unsuccessful, I posited that Thurso would be better until I reached the town and found several merry-makers ask me in drunken drawl to take me to addresses a taxi driver would know. A short stop at the station and perimeter walk and Dunnet Head was my penultimate stop before I fell asleep at Duncansby Head.

These noteworthy promontories are really captivating in the illuminating skies. Dunnet Head had only a camper van at the car park so I made sure to close my door quietly unlike my usual gratifying slam. Even with houses in the distance, you clearly feel very faraway from anywhere, particularly with the Orkney Islands now in plain sight. My eyes by now could really do with a break and to leave the awe-inspiring sights for another day so 25 minutes later, I switched everything off safe in the knowledge me and my car were now the most north-westerly in the UK.

 

[Gathursty]

Today would be another long day but a fruitful day. I had a half dozen of the stations on the Far North Line to complete but before then a journey to John O'Groats to see what all the fuss was about.

Arriving at about 6.30am, I found the sight of a coach load of Germans putting their blankets down on a picnic table by the jetty amusing. It was touristy and had a Norwegian look to it with brightly coloured wooden houses. There were dog walkers and other people milling about. With no food outlets open, I started the car once more to Wick, the end of the line officially, and was spooked when I entered the shed from the side and walked in and found some hoody sleeping soundly on a bench. They still had 5 hours until the train would be leaving the platform so I left him to it, took some snaps of the stabled units and made for Georgemas which was dwarfed by the crane for the Dounreay loads it occasionally handles. This would be my last usage of a main A road for quite some time as I drove through a very pretty Halkirk towards Scotscalder with it's impressive dark blue station sign and renovated clock.

I paused to look down the line to Altnabreac wishing I could attach two bogies to my car and go there and back very quickly. This would not happen and I made for this very odd location via Westerdale. There are more pictures of Altnabreac in the Infrastructure and Stations section.

I begrudgingly was made to stop by locked horse gates preventing me direct access or indirect access by car by the Lochdhu Lodge. I now was parked where the Google street view car was at the extreme of it's journey down here and was cursing at the gates for my ensuing 10.8 mile round walk to a station that really makes no sense except for a desperate last refuge for lost/tired walkers or cyclists.

The walk begins along a gravelled road. Perfect for forest JCBs and Land Rovers but my feet felt sore a long time before I reached the end of this first forest enclosure. The path to Altnabreac requires no other direction than forward. Diverging paths will be of less quality or are short stubs into the forest. You will encounter a cattle grid, brief moorland to the second, more expansive woodland and another cattle grid. These are for deer however and my first encounter was incredible. A stag with an impressive antler display was looking at me on the path ahead from a distance. Looking at each other, we were both questioning who was the alpha male and I thought I wish I was encased in my metal vehicle right now. Turning around briefly and thinking 'The only humans this stag has seen will be with guns and deerstalkers' and walking slowly towards the stag with my knapsack of water and sweets and no weapons, the stag retreated thankfully into the forest. I continued along this path which was dusty now. My feet were glad. The path had plenty of does, squirrels, otters and a bizarrely frequent dead frog collection. The path now curved and climbed to the right and wound it's way to a Scottish oasis with fishing jetties but no humans. Dead ahead was the railway on a climb out of Altnabreac which I was going to follow down towards distant cottages which would be the location of the station. A long walk indeed.

At the station, there is a shelter in the form of a shed, water tank on a big stone building, disused platform and siding opposite you and two deserted (I assume?) cottages, one with the hilarious sign 'Altnabreac DC, twinned with Washington, DC'. I did feel watched in the sense that this place looked very odd and reminiscent of 28 Days Later and any gamekeeper around must have thought me being around as very unusual indeed if they could spot me with binoculars or security cameras. Here I fell asleep for an hour, still with two hours for the only southbound train, not that it mattered for me. My car was 5.2 miles away! There was a help point phone which I was tempted to try out and say 'I've made it to Altnabreac! Where is my prize?'.

The water tank had inside a sleeping bag, cooking equipment and a heap of clothes, clearly not used in a while but I thought better to go inside as it felt a bit odd.

My quest to rejoin civilisation and this time take the route to the Central Belt via all stations to Aberdeen, Dundee and Fife grew after I spent a break here, eating drinking and allowing my feet to calm. Two hours later, I reached my car, cleaned my teeth, got changed into something less attractive to midges and turned around in the direction of the A9 South. I engineered the route to enable me to indulge in the shortcuts of The Mound, the Cromarty Bridge and Kessock Bridge with further stops at Tain, Fearn, Invergordon and Alness with a much needed Morrisons' coffee and lunch as I made my way to Nairn and Forres with it's spectacular vertical Pictish Stone, well worth a pause. Another pause I declined was Alford, Emile Sande's birthplace, as it wasn't really on the path of the railway to Aberdeen. What was along the railway were the beautiful settlements of Keith, Insch, Huntly and Inverurie. My stomach was urging me though to make for the Pewter City and eat close to the station with great recommendations from the ticket office clerk at Aberdeen. I stopped by the concourse stairs to view the East Coast, Cross Country and Scot Rail services before fetching some money and picking Pizza Hut for tonight's evening meal.

I was tempted to pick a hotel here but with 5 hours of my time spent earlier walking to Altnabreac really spurred me to get south. What I should have noticed was my battery beginning to die on my phone which would begin to limit how far I could travel anyway. No pictures of stations, no point continuing further.

I wasn't expecting anything of the intermediate stations to Dundee but I was pleasantly surprised by Stonehaven, Montrose and Arbroath for their distinctiveness and the work gone into the former.

I was definitely the ire of residents of Carnoustie in driving slowly under railway bridges and one way streets in my pursuit of Golf Street and Barry Links and the darkness didn't improve my quest. I was hoping to be here earlier but not to worry.

Balmossie station, I almost gave up on finding until I began to go street by street from the beginning of the town. Eventually and with the double arrows illuminated by my full beams, I could tick this off and whisk myself away towards Broughty Ferry and finally be a bit confused by the roadworks in Dundee by the Tay Bridge. This was disappointing as the station didn't really stand out. I knew where it was but there was nowhere really to park or any direction to alternative station entrances. I seemed to get lucky by parking up at the Tesco, a few minutes walk away and buy a phone charger for my car to keep me going to a place where I could park and sleep since it was far too late to pay a hotel a king's ransom. The Tay Bridge would lead me there and my car would drive no further than Leuchars. Inspection of the station found that the CCTV was prolific but remote in the car park and nestled inbetween a row of other vehicles, I said goodnight and dreamed of Edinburgh in the morning!

 

[Karl]

Arriving at about 6.30am, I found the sight of a coach load of Germans putting their blankets down on a picnic table by the jetty amusing.

LOL.... makes a change from their beach towels!

Excellent read so far thanks. Keep 'em coming. Loving it!

 

[Johnuk123]

Really interesting, well done.

 

[Gathursty]

I had neglected the Central Belt stations for my desire to reach the locality of Altnabreac in good weather and by doing all of the stations in the extreme north and Central Highlands, driving towards the end of the week would be less of a chore.

My route today would be less straight-forward due to the geography of the railways:
Leuchars-Dunbar-Falkirk-Alloa-Croy-Barnhill-Anniesland-Milngavie-Helensburgh-Bridge of Orchy

The aim was to take the northern route of the Central Belt lines and get a headstart on the summer traffic to Fort William and complete the second loop in the Highlands before ticking off mainly SPT area stations and completing the set of Scotland's stations.

I woke up to a glorious yellow and blue sky at around 5am and only a dog walker to question if they had indeed saw someone wake up and drive off from the station after taking a picture of the sign.

I felt very good that I was in Fife and not near Aberdeen which is a surprisingly long way away from here. I intended to add more miles by reaching Ladybank via the Simpsons' local at Springfield. I was surprised to research after my trip that this receives very few calling trains. I thought there would be more than this as it was south of Dundee but I guess for a village of this size, it was fair.

I have to say most of the places in Fife I paused at were amazing. Lovely stone houses surrounded by rolling fields and imposing hills in the background with a mostly blue sky, in particular Ladybank with a well kept station.

Beyond Ladybank was my first routing trick to drive around the Fife Circle without driving in a circle. Instead I settled for a bit of a Z shape taking in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, a move north-westerly to Cardenden and Cowdenbeath but without spotting the most famous resident, Gordon Brown. I had to make do with a dedication to another local done good, Ian Rankin.

After seeing run-down Cowdenbeath, like a typewriter resetting itself, I returned to the Fife coast at Kinghorn by way of a twisty road through the hills leading to a spectacular drop into Burntisland which looked to be setting up for a fair later that day. Tempting though the bacon rolls were, Edinburgh's Royal Mile would provide me with my big breakfast!

I was heading east and the Forth Rail Bridge was moving towards me. I stopped at Kinghorn and Aberdour longer than I would at stations of this type (big city feeders) because of the view of outlying rocks and coast at Kinghorn and the amazing work of the stationmaster at Aberdour to keep the station immaculate for users, even washing away dead leaves from the pavement into the sewers and almost cleaning my bonnet of an array of former insects from the Highlands.

One of the most amazing and man-made visions of Scotland is the famous red Forth Rail Bridge and from underneath and the footbridge of North Queensferry station, I could watch morning commuter trains take workers over it. My journey would be to the west of this bridge and into Dalmeny and the stations to the east of Edinburgh.

Driving to South Gyle, Edinburgh Park and Wester Hailes is quite fiendish with these estates seemingly appearing as large cul-de-sacs or with very few access points from main urban artery roads. I'll reserve only one sentence for the jewel in the crown which was Edinburgh Park which only requires the tram to reach here and it will become a very stylish and modern transport interchange indeed.

The tram network being built threw me and the signposted car parks did not appear but what did was my recollection of a big hotel near the EICC where I saw Alan Davies last year and an inkling that cars should be able to park in droves near there. So having found this wonderful refuge (at the swanky Sheraton Hotel) my car got rest and I got time to eat, snooze in Waverley with people who looked like me (backpacking yoofs returning from T in The Park cluttering up the station awaiting their ride home) and contemplate the rest of the journey. I didn't know I'd be driving into a golf tournament later this afternoon...

I enjoyed a wonderful Scottish breakfast at The Tron in Edinburgh and bought some more souvenirs to go with my Plockton collection and made sure I bought a big Scottish flag too! Back to the car park and a short relief at the swanky Sheraton hotel before trying to find Brunstane and avoid the tram works on Princes Street. It is quite good that Brunstane was near both Newcraighall and Musselburgh as I was quite sure I had driven round quite a bit getting to Brunstane. The rest of the stations to Dunbar were easy enough to drive to except for Drem. The Scottish Open was still two days away but the cones preventing access to the station and a local saying 'you can't park here. It's a private road.' made my temperature rise and not in a good way. After berating the council for making the only available parking space near this woman's house, I quickly moved away from Drem but hopeful I could spot a Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson as well as a North Berwick and Dunbar Station before I turned back westwards to the centre of Scotland.

It is good to be able to put your foot down instead of pottering between local stations and driving Dunbar to Linlithgow was relaxing. I began to look out for a restaurant or KFC on my way towards Falkirk and also seek out the Wheel, something I've been wanting to see for a long time. Your nearest station to the Wheel is Camelon but you wouldn't want to get off there or either of the Falkirk stations. :P

Another bonus is the Antonine Wall. I didn't know it went through Falkirk, nor be quite so close to the canal tunnel but the juxtaposition of old and new technology go together beautifully. I watched darkness creep up on me and the kayakers playing water polo in the lower canal basin. This prompted me to seek out Larbert and the Clackmannanshire Bridge to Alloa.

Alloa was awkward to fit into my route in a fluid manner. It would have jutted out into my northern leg or been a kink as I crossed over from Edinburgh to Glasgow. This choice worked to my advantage. A KFC and McDonalds in touching distance. The KFC sadly didn't do Tropicana smooth but McDonalds happily gave me 4 bottles worth to keep me going till Tulloch surprisingly. More on Tulloch later.

I continued on another medium-length trip between stations. This would be to Croy and all stations to Barnhill, deep into Glasgow before turning around and following the chain of stations in the North of Glasgow except for the Balloch branch that I would complete another day. I sometimes become disengaged with the stop and start of ticking off suburban stations but sometimes I do get a kick out of using local shortcuts and cutting out heavier-used roads to make a cross-city journey shorter and seemingly more traffic free. I remember backtracking to get Ashfield and bemoaning the amount of speed bumps to reach Westerton from the main road.

I was glad to touch the Great Western Road at Anniesland as this signalled my new direction (apart from the Garelochhead diversion) and my gradual goodbye to Glasgow, punctuated by laughing at the strange names of Yoker, Singer and Bowling as well as a break for fuel at Kilpatrick. You wouldn't want to be caught short further up the A82!

Here it started to become drizzly and my windscreen wiper needed to be swapped with the passenger side to improve my view and life expectancy (for the upcoming journey between Garelochhead and Arrochar & Tarbet)

Craigendoran gave me a glimpse of the future with lights glimmering over Gourock and Port Glasgow. Helensburgh Central was alive with overnight staff tending to stabled units. Helensburgh Upper looked lifeless in comparison (give it 4 or 5 hours till the Sleeper comes).

For some reason I found Garelochhead station hard to get to. The sign for the station is where you need to turn twice. Once to the side road and immediately on to the true route to the station otherwise you will awake half the hillside population with finding the reverse gear.

The road beyond here was rumbling as it clung to the sides of this long finger of a loch to Arrochar. A pleasure in the day, a bit of a block, bumpy hole in the rain-soaked night but with some lights of lochside houses to keep the mind focused.

I was surprised by the need to turn on to the A82 at Tarbet as opposed to needing to turn off for the A83 here. However for the sake of lorries and coaches avoiding tackling this tight section beside the ever-lasting Loch Lomond, it's probably good to send them via Inverary (with the great chip shop there) I did need to make a sudden stop for Ardlui station and tuck my car in front of the passenger tunnel to shield my car from any traffic but at 3.30am, there was nothing in either direction.

I continued to follow the mist-shrouded Loch until it became a stream guiding both the A82, WHL and me to Crianlarich which I believe is better in the day than the early morning. So I shall return to the coffee shop there again to follow up recommendations.

The need for sleep returned to me and returning to my car after bagging both Tyndrums in the cold rain made me want to reach Bridge of Orchy immedately. The temporary traffic lights on the way didn't help me but when I reached the station, I dozed off for a good 5 hours, just in time for the Caledonian Sleeper to drop off many passengers and for me to wake up after they must have walked past me. Imagine the Titanic scene with Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet in the car in the luggage hold but replace her with a sleeping bag and him with me dead to the world.

 

[Gathursty]

Another station light day but quite a few miles to tick off.

Bridge of Orchy - Oban - Fort William - Mallaig - Tulloch (for Corrour) - Blair Atholl

So yeah. Waking up realising a handful of Highland visitors saw as they emerged from the underpass was a well-travelled Corsa with a deshevelled snoozing Northerner slobbering over his sleeping bag through steamed windows was a bit embarrassing. I was a bit dazed and sought the sanctuary of the station tunnel to have a walk and wake up a bit. The caravan next to the station did have a man who engaged me in conversation for a bit until my urge to relieve myself became too great. I scouted the area and found it was him and a couple of NR staff working on the siding just out of sight of the tunnel which gave me an opportunity to grab my vanity bag and top to clean my teeth (using a bottle of water which seemed to last all of the week even though it doubled up as windscreen water as well), use deodorant and get changed a few articles of clothing at a time so as not to arouse any more suspicion about oneself.

I used my atlas to estimate I was 30 miles from Oban and a mid-morning breakfast so made use of a B-road to avoid returning to Tyndrum. What a mistake!

This road was more akin to a narrow rally track which even at a slow 40mph didn't do much to avoid my front left tyre taking the brunt of a hidden second bend after a tight right hander.

I was 4 miles from Dalmally thinking this valley has suddenly increased in size. I did try to replace my tyre but couldn't seem to work the jack. Phone signal n'exist pas in Scotland so no AA until Dalmally or so I thought until on a punt, I found a Forestry Commission 4x4 pulled up 1/2 mile ahead near a camp site by the River Orchy. An older, Scottish version of Dick Strawbridge called 'Rory' with a border collie companion 'Meg' greeted me from a wound-down window.

A trip to Dalmally was avoided by his generosity and handiwork but I made sure I drove more cautiously thereafter to Oban as by his own admission, the wheel nuts could have been tighter. I took some pictures extra to the stations but did want to make Oban fairly quickly to address my tyre. I was surprised by a First Scotrail auditor at Falls of Cruachan who didn't engage me in a hello or anything for that matter. If he thought I was a nutter, he was probably correct.

I did appear to be following a station cleaner from Taynuilt to Oban which must have been as odd for him as it was for me. At the end of this branch of the WHL, I was focused more on a mechanics than the terminus and after a couple of drives past it, I found the one-way street to a garage which gave me a new tyre and tightened nuts. Oban station ticked off and a lovely cafe on the main road used, I was heading along the Great Glen Fault to the base of Ben Nevis and something I haven't used for a couple of days, the shower, and what a wonderful shower facility Fort William station has. I could have stayed in that cubical far longer than I did but my evening plan prevented this.

Fort William station gave me other ideas too. I bought my tickets for a Tulloch-Corrour return that evening to give me 40 minutes at Corrour. This happens in the morning and in the evening, otherwise you could have about 3 hours to enjoy Corrour before a return train to Tulloch! 40 minutes is ample time to look at Corrour if you aren't planning on walking too far away from the place.

The second idea was to try to lodge at the Achintee Ben Nevis Hostel at the beginning of the footpath. When I found no room at the Inn, I decided to take the Road to The Isles and back again, see Corrour, then sleep at either Dalwhinnie or Blair Atholl.

I was very much looking forward to the Mallaig extension. It is useful to tick off and isn't a place you'd normally think of going to unless you fancied a turn on The Jacobite steam train. It is also a twisty, very long dead-end in one respect so to do the Mallaig line whilst up here was important. Plus my pictures of Banavie, Morar and Arisaig were abyssmal when taking the train up here two years ago.

The A830 is in 3 parts: A fast section up to Locheilside, twists through Glenfinnan and Lochailort and a European-funded sweeping, fast curves leading around the peninsula towards Mallaig from Beasdale. As a whole it is a fantastic journey bar a wait at Neptune's Staircase for boats navigating the Caledonian Canal.

The Glenfinnan museum is very good. There is plenty of authentic material to look at as well as old station signs. The dining car also looks great, as did Loch Awe's carriage beside the station. Both well patronised. Beasdale looked expectedly unused, possibly unnecessary but still clean enough to get a Bronze medal for tidy stations in Scotland (as did Altnabreac and every other country station in Scotland. A bit pointless when these stations won't really get dirty.)

I did like the feeling of ticking of Morar and Arisaig. Two of the most Westerly stations in our country. Plus my coverage of stations in Scotland was quickly reducing to only the SPT area and Central Belt stations and I could celebrate that most of the Highland stations were ticked off and Corrour was a drive and a train journey away.

Mallaig is small but that doesn't stop the visitors from flocking here in their hundreds every day. The Japanese man taking a picture of the steam train was good cover whilst I took a picture of the sign and then the steam train too. I'm certain this is the train that was used for the Hogwarts Express.

The lapping sea was glistening in the low afternoon sun. This was a sign that I should make haste and reach Tulloch in good time. Plus the lorry that had left a few minutes ahead of me from the harbour would surely slow me down later on through Lochailort. I also needed petrol and refreshments for the excursion to Corrour not to mention a stop at both Locheilside and Outward Bound!

I should say that Beasdale and Loch Eil OB aren't fantastic places to pull up so please be careful as there are fast vehicles very close. Banavie is also next to the Caledonian Canal crossing and when not in use is a bit hard to drive out of the small car park back on to the busy A830 here.

I was building up for visiting the second of 4 stations in Britain that I can't access by car (Altnabreac, Corrour, Berney Arms, Lympstone Commando) on my way across from Spean Bridge. I felt great that I had got there an hour early from Mallaig so just rang home and caught up with family. I had a bit of my chocolate macaroons and listened to Radio 2 (make the most of the radio when you're up here.) I had bought the Independent to read on the train and at Corrour but when the train rolls in and you're rolling along Loch Trieg, do you really want to?

I made the most of Tulloch. I took some great pictures of the surroundings and station. A local woman walked past and then a father and son entered the hostel. Presumably, just them tonight by the look of the place from outside.

20 minutes more and the Sleeper hooted and roared into sight. My fear was that it was going to roll past was almost real but these bloody locos stop just off the end of the platform to allow the four carriages to be facing the platform. Many people dropped the windows to take a picture, some focusing on me being the only one on at Tulloch tonight.

I entered the seating car to find my reservation, right at the front, seat 1A. Perfect! The guard knew I was there to tick off Corrour and said he'd see me on the return train as he was stationed at Fort William and swaps over at Rannoch. A very remote place to be caught short if you are doing such a duty indeed. Twenty minutes and a tarpaulin-covered derailed loco later, only I disembark at Corrour, again mobbed by pictures. :P Now I was taking the pictures of the place and tried to go in the hotel but it isn't open on Tuesday. **ll***s. Still the station shack is fine by me! I had water, chocolate macaroons and a newspaper but could see the hotel staff in there walking up and down. Very odd if it's shut! Still, 40 minutes soon pass by and the Glasgow to Mallaig train just about stops for me and a lovely Norfolk-sounding lady asks me where I'm off to and holds out for £2.40 back to my car at Tulloch. The train is almost full and there is plenty of drink about this long, winding trek to the West coast. The train almost plowed into a deer when stopping for me but thankfully the doe responded correctly to the horn.

It felt sad to leave the train because I was remote again, and tired, and craving a bed. I did have a car though and resolve enough to go through so-called 'Monarch (of the Glen)' Country to Dalwhinnie. The A86 is incredibly lightly-loaded for an A-road but is quite dangerous with many bends and narrow lanes. Be careful if you drive along it. The views are pristine but keep an eye on the road!

I recall a surprisingly flat plateau, room enough for a distillery and houses in Dalwhinnie and then the A9 stretching out ahead to a side road leading to impressive Scots Baronic style houses and a station behind one of them which is where I fell asleep for the night for about 4 hours.

I had now been to every station in the Highlands and had only a quarter of Scotland left unshaded. This was by far the most dense part in terms of stations, now no more than 30 miles from Glasgow were the remainder of my stations.

 

[ACE1888]

Scotland by train, tis the only way to go, spent a week last October doing the same thing. Would do it all again tomorrow

 

[Johnuk123]

You can keep Wales and the Lake District as Scotland is in another league for scenery.

Had it been blessed with better weather you wouldn't be able to move for tourists generally average weather has kept it so beautiful.

 

[Gathursty]

Waking up about 3 to 4 hours later in front of Blair Atholl station began another day's drive but this time would end in a comfortable bed as I was heading to Glasgow with a great choice of hotels to decamp at, instead of my selection of quiet halts further north.

Driving would be somewhat easier with the A9 to take me all the way to Stirling and the A814 to take me directly to Balloch station only it would if it were not for a police stop at about 5am 4 miles from Balloch!

I was informed that my head and rear light bulb had gone but was further inspected for drugs and alcohol which I was shocked by but I guess my mix of nerves and slight sluggishness would cause them to be concerned. I can't say they pulled me over for being a young driver as they wouldn't be able to tell in the dark from afar so I applaud the police for that. They were a bit inquisitive over my intentions but were pleasant enough to point me in the direction of an all-night McDonalds in town to steady my nerves. My first instance of the police was worrying but gave me the added alertness to drive into Glasgow a bit more awake than normal at this time of day.

I was eager to reach the city after ticking off Renton and Alexandria as I'd be in daylight by then and far away from those policemen. For doing all the northern belt stations previously, I just had to drive to Clydebank along the dualled A82 and take most of a dozen stations between here and Charing Cross which would be my base for the rest of the day. For me, Partick stood out for the recent update it has had and the first time I have seen the Subway up here. Anderston also stood out for it's seemingly dystopian feel under foreboding flyovers. It also reminded me a bit of New York with it's multi-layered transport corridors.

Charing Cross was home to the first car park I could find in Glasgow from the west and home to a Premier Inn which I booked in for that evening. I had to now find a way to kill time between my check-in time of 12 noon and the time now, 6am-ish.

My feet were my mode of transport but I was low on fuel. I did fancy a big breakfast but could only spot a large McDonald's. Waiting for the lights to change beside Hielanman's Umbrella, I spotted a KFC advertisement and thought to myself 'Why not?' and paid to sample their breakfast in a plastic tray. The toast was reminiscent of a scene in the film Road Trip but it genuinely was great, the scrambled eggs a highlight. Perked up now with half a coffee in my hand and plenty of time before 12 (nooo!) I decided to walk into Central, then Queen Street (amazing roof, does need a clean though), High Street, Bellgrove, Duke Street and Alexandra Parade before taking a train back and finding my way to Argyle Street and then more time killing occurred with a break for a milkshake in St Enoch's shopping centre. I had to look away when I observed a homeless man pick up chewing gum off the floor and didn't bother to find out the end of that tale. Instead I opted for a pleasant, warm walk along the River Clyde towards my hotel which was an hour away from permitting me to fall asleep for several hours. Before this got underway, an optimistic, slightly alcoholic and effeminate sounding resident shared his glee that he was moving into new social housing before asking if I liked Glasgow so far. Some more pleasantries before taking him up on his offer to take the ferry down the bank and more importantly, out of his view.

At the hotel, I slept until 6pm.

I've never slept so well all week but having now altered my sleeping pattern, I needed a shower to wake me up yet again and quickly spring me to go down to the restaurant and take the last sitting.

I highly recommend the Premier Inn here if you are in Glasgow but not that car park as I was able to cut my parking ticket in half by virtue of my stay there, otherwise it would have been £25 for 12 hours!

The evening would give me an opportunity to do what I would have liked to do during the afternoon, the Central Belt stations, starting with a south-easterly aim towards Dalmarnock. I didn't know this was the home of Celtic so spent time taking pictures for my friend who is a big fan of them. Back in the car was spent navigating through east Glasgow ticking off such fun-tastic suburbs as Mount Vernon, Garrowhill and Easterhouse. The latter being frustrating to find but adding a further complication. I had missed Stepps off my list!! An awkward drive from here which should have been done earlier in the week with either Croy or Cumbernauld. This added a bit more time on to the short hop from Easterhouse to Airdrie and places further east.

Tonight I could appreciate the difference between the electrified Airdrie-Bathgate line and the unelectrified Shotts line (after Kirknewton). Comparing petite Blackridge with a large park and ride facility to West Calder of similar size with a narrow car park wedged beside the line and main road and lack of illumination made me assume this was the poor relation.

By the time I reached another Skelmersdale of the North (Gaelic: Livingston), I was really wanting to turn back to Glasgow as the smell was very much like decaying matter, or something industrial and unpleasant.

Kirknewton could have been missed out as on entry, I encountered a NR crossing keeper guarding for the cold evening. I was able to get a good conversation out of him and double check I was on the right road, whilst turning my flash off to take a picture to keep the thin guise that I wasn't a bit nuts. I wished him well and his evening shift swift as his un-perk of the job was to not be inside the building and have to be outside all night. It is grim up north!

I have now been to every station in an unbroken line between Manea and Pembroke Dock via Kirknewton.

At Addiewell, I could make out the prison and be very thankful, I was out in the cold and not in there for quite some time. However there were more lights in the compound than outside and I would like to be in sight of Glasgow's orange glow at this time of evening. This would be achieved by using country lanes which I hoped were accessible enough to get me to Fauldhouse, Shotts, Hartwood and Cleland before my swift return to my rented bed. Some of the roads had helpful signposts but others I had to make an educated guess at the correct turn, all the while hoping the dear rabbits and foxes would get out of the road in time down these narrowing lanes with frequent brows.

Arriving back into Glasgow only 25 minutes after departing Cleland, it was bedtime, an actual bed in a room in a hotel and wake upto breakfast in the morning!

 

[Bob Ames]

Great report, thanks for sharing!

I'll be on a highland coach tour in mid-August, staying near Lower Tyndrum station. I plan to have a sneaky bash between coach excursions.

 

[Gathursty]

The sun filtered through the 12th floor window into my room, encouraging me to get up or I would have no time left to make use of the breakfast sitting at the hotel.

With the north of Glasgow all done, it left a relatively small square of Scotland to complete with a circle inside, aka the Cathcart Circle. To do this, I blustered my way to one of the stations, Pollokshields West and parked up, ready for a midday walk around a very tight cluster of stations including another rare Q, Queen's Park, and the lovely looking Maxwell Park, a far cry from Pollokshaws East.

I followed the appropriately named Corrour Road to Langside station and not too later, Cathcart.

My football geography was improved by matching up Mount Florida with glimmers of Hampden Park between the red stone houses that seem to adorn the east of the Cathcart Circle.

I did like the area between Crosshill and Queens Park but that may have been down more to knowing my car was close by.

I had a couple of stops to the east up to Cambuslang and Newton (Lanark) to tie off the final central Glaswegian stations and a highlight here was at Rutherglen. I seemed to enter Rutherglen from the furthest entrance to the platform but this extra walking time gave me the chance to see two Virgin Pendolinos passing through, reminding me of a much closer to home Wigan North Western.

My route to Lochwinnoch would take me from Newton (Lanark) to Paisley, switching back and forth to include the Paisley Canal line and then go in the direction of Port Glasgow and follow the Clyde's south shores around to the splendid Wemyss Bay station.

The uninteresting suburbs between Dumbreck and Paisley were punctuated by an unusual sighting at Cardonald station. Whilst walking back to my car two young, female Church of the Latter Day Saints members were walking, seemingly to the nearby estate to try to convert Scotland's finest. I have only seen the males on their mission, so to see two females of the good-looking variety threw me in a pleasant way.

At Paisley Gilmour Street, I stopped for food at the adjacent Wetherspoons and had a mooch around. Sadly there were ticket checks so I couldn't have a walk about that station, but I did walk down to Paisley St James in the unflinching heat and increasing emptiness towards another football stadium, St Mirren. It was going to be only me for the ~1914 back to Gilmour Street until two individuals showed up, one with Irn Bru of course. Gilmour Street is a beautiful building both inside and out.

By now I was wanting to escape the urban landscape but I almost had an issue when I read on the side street next to Paisley Canal was a residents only street. No-one minded tonight though fortunately.

With more petrol (load no. 6 or 7 by now), I could corner the south of the Clyde without perspiring for fuel in the middle of the night. I found the view of most stations very grand with the low sun alone in the sky beaming down over every halt.

At Port Glasgow I was surprised to see a member of staff (I've no idea on staffing up here) who had a short conversation with me about the evening's strange smells (a nearby barbecue and fish) and wished me a good evening.

As with Helensburgh Central and Upper, Cambuslang and Kirkhill and the Gourock and Wemyss Bay branches, I am always amazed at the height difference as you travel between both branches. I think the latter is most prominent, particularly if you are at Bogston IIRC.

The other amazement on this line is of course Wemyss Bay which I reached just in time for last orders (a driver friendly pint of Coke). After this was time to walk up and down the platforms, gaze at the architecture and the water, walk down to the terminal and ask the ticket clerk how long it would take me to Ardrossan. He initially thought I meant by rail but pretty quickly gave me about 35 minutes by car which I was relieved about. Not everywhere in Scotland is far away from each other, only in the Highlands!

It was dark again, so I was pretty eager to reach my stopping point of Lochwinnoch. I was putting a lot of eggs in the basket that this would be a very out of the way station where I could get undisturbed sleep.

Largs, Fairlie and West Kilbride soon came and went but Ardrossan seemed to take a while for a few reasons. Firstly, I got to the harbour but as it was very dark, couldn't find the station at all. The marina car park seemed to be guarded and I could see no path. I used my torch near the level crossing and eventually found my way and was surprised to see a shelter well protected against wind and rain. Tempting as it was to bed down here, I didn't want to tempt the wrath of any dock yard security guard. I thought some sea air would do me good so walked on by to Town station which would have a train calling by imminently at 0032 IIRC and when it didn't I moved onto South Beach, only for the train to whistle behind the seafront houses minutes later. The walk to Saltcoats would be longer so I did a half-turn and made for the promenade illuminated by a full moon. The rolling waves put the now-seated me in a bit of a sleepy lull but not enough to keep me there. I think the frequency of sleeping in my car in very secluded stations endeared me to keeping that trend tonight.

In 5 minutes I was at Saltcoats police station, opposite the railway station thinking to myself 'the guy in the window will think I am a nutter and will surely walkie-talkie his friends in the upper floor canteen to take note of the nutter taking a flash outside'. I can only assume the policeman was far too glued to his PC to not bother looking outside. As they continued tea and biscuits, I continued on to Stevenston.

Here I was stung by drunken louts coming in my direction, mid-picture taking. My odd hobby at such an awkward time would probably be a red rag to a bull so I drove off to wait a few minutes for them to stagger home. 15 minutes later and another station crossed off the list (I printed the list and took it with me as a basic navigation tool through Scotland.), I found myself heading for Kilwinning and trying my luck through diversions and my route ahead not too delayed by the road closures in this town.

Heading back in a Glasgow direction, Dalry and Glengarnock were two stations inbetween me and another rest for the night. I did make use of Glengarnock station's public toilet. For only 20p, I had my first usage of these odd cubicles with their pressure padded floors. I did have a bit of concern about the noise I'd make and how safe these things were as it seemed they were but a jangle away from every wall closing in on me.

15 minutes later, my gamble on Lochwinnoch being quiet and out of the way was spot-on except for the other car on the other side of the car park being there with no-one appearing to be in it or around it. It was still there when I woke up...

 

[Gathursty]

The last day of my Scotland trip began in the almost empty car park attached to Lochwinnoch station. I opened the door to a dawn chorus of birds from the adjacent RSPB sanctuary and the sun filtering through the valley.

The sun would cause me travel almost blinded through Howwood, Milliken Park and Johnstone but was suitably higher for driving through the Paisley periphery without causing too much concern for other early risers.

At Neilston, I could turn my back on the sun and Glasgow again to collect a long finger of stations between here and Newton-on-Ayr. Neilston station provided an almost Roman road to Dunlop and Stewarton with the only traffic heading to work in the big conurbation behind me. Stewarton also has a coffee-vendor with a van which I recommend. He also sold biscuits too. A very good idea for stations without permanent fixtures. I could imagine a fleet of these being useful in similar sites around the country.

Kilmaurs had signage that I hadn't seen before, the old SPT colour scheme. The large orange bridge signs gave a dash of new colour to the mainly blue hues of Scotrail and NR signage I've witnessed thus far.

Kilmarnock's one-way system took the pleasure of my tyres twice. It is quite a large one-way system in comparison with Wigan which looks geographically similarly sized. The first time around the ring gave me enough time to decide that Kilmarnock does look quite pretty; the second time around the ring sent me off in the correct direction, Irvine with the surprise of another KFC breakfast next to the station!

Viewing the sea from Irvine is harder than seeing it from Barassie footbridge but is eclipsed by the minute drive down to the beach road. My trainers are sieves for sand grains, still being this close to gorgeous blue seas and skies stretching all the way into Troon was fine consolation for me. A brief stop was at the Old Troon Golf Course for pictures for my dad.

The next stop was the last of the four stations in Scotland not under the control of First Scotrail, Prestwick International Airport. The people heading to other climes surely must be the one's out of pocket on a day like this. I did note how generous domestic rail fares could be if you made use of the airlines here. The skywalk was also far cooler than Manchester Airport's on a less warmer day which was surprising.

Two stations later I was at Newton-on-Ayr. Apart from noting the foreboding building that used to be the station, I saw funeral directors making last checks on a loved one before driving to a nearby resting place. Here I stopped to consult the atlas for Nitshill, a fair drive down the whippet-paced A77/M77 and a previously unknown steep drop down into the familiar Glaswegian skyline of towers, office blocks and steeples.

I was quite impressed with Priesthill, Kennishead and Thornliebank all being linked at the end of one road from each other. I was less impressed with the massive roadworks at Giffnock but this was the only major traffic hiccup I had encountered all week up here so just sat and waited and waited.

At Patterton, I seemed to leave a group of kids and see them again at Whitecraigs only a few minutes later. Them taking the train, me the car of course. Whether they noticed me was anyone's guess.

A bit more slow-going in the mid-morning with one final almost-entry into Glasgow being at Muirend station before coming back to Clarkston, hidden by a Brutalist concrete block of shops blighting the main road.

Thorntonhall brought a brief pause between the conurbations of Glasgow and East Kilbride and the return to more Skelmersdale-like town planning which was my accompaniment through to Hamilton. At least the roundabouts weren't bigger than any villages I had seen earlier in the week.

I had a small error of navigation to find Blantyre and return to the Clyde once more but this time to follow it on my way back to England. Blantyre again had the striking orange signs of SPT. My mind was starting to turn to mush because of the heat and realisation of what my week had consisted of to this point, exacerbated by the greenhouse effect of the gleaming Hamilton Central interchange.

Changing from a mainline to a minnow of a branch line, I was now down to three: Chatelherault with the bizarre drunken ant footpath design I has seen at Kelvindale, an aptly named Merryton to go with how I'd be feeling at the next and final break in my Scottish adventure, Larkhall.

I have gone through Scotland pretty damn fast but what I've seen will make me want to come back at a more relaxed pace and very soon no doubt. Scotland is littered with beautiful things to see and do and quite a few are near a train station!