Day Trip to Plockton

[clc]

One weekend next month I'm planning to take a day trip from Dingwall to Plockton. Which side of the train should I sit on for the best views? How busy are these trains - will all the best seats be taken by the time the train reaches Dingwall? I'll have a car so have some flexibility in respect of which station I go to.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[shedman]

Right hand side, direction of travel is the best side to sit. I've done the run countless times and never known it to be too busy to not get a great seat but I've always been on at Inverness. From memory you should be fine this time of year as most will be alighting between Inverness and Dingwall. If time and money permits then joining at Inverness will add a few more great sights.

Little side note, the "first class" section is declassified so try bag a seat in there and you get a plug sock to charge if you need to!

 

[clc]

Right hand side, direction of travel is the best side to sit. I've done the run countless times and never known it to be too busy to not get a great seat but I've always been on at Inverness. From memory you should be fine this time of year as most will be alighting between Inverness and Dingwall. If time and money permits then joining at Inverness will add a few more great sights.

Little side note, the "first class" section is declassified so try bag a seat in there and you get a plug sock to charge if you need to!

Thanks for the info.

 

[davetheguard]

One weekend next month I'm planning to take a day trip from Dingwall to Plockton. Which side of the train should I sit on for the best views? How busy are these trains - will all the best seats be taken by the time the train reaches Dingwall? I'll have a car so have some flexibility in respect of which station I go to.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Be aware that Plockton village is probably a mile or so walk from Plockton station; you'll see the village across the bay from the right hand side of the train as you run through or stop at Duncraig request halt.

The village is well worth the walk though. There's two pubs in the village in the Good Beer Guide; both do food to go with the real ale. In the tourist season there are boat trips around the bay to see the seals; free if you don't get to see one. And the whole place is very photogenic.....

 

[Gathursty]

Plockton was a highlight of my trip around Scotland last year. The burger in the Plockton Hotel was delicious and the scenery superb. Just a shame I did not see any seals. Also Duncraig is a good place to get off for pictures and a view of Plockton from around the other side. The mansion up the lane is worthy of a detour and there is a footpath from Duncraig to Plockton IIRC but I didn't use it.

 

[30907]

last time i was there there was a coach party on 11xx down. looked pretty full from the up train!

 

[davetheguard]

Couple of pics of how beautiful Plockton is, seen from Duncraig station platform, and in the village.

To find the viewpoint of the Cullins, just a 5 to 10 minutes' walk (if I remember correctly) from the end of the village follow the main street right through the village, it then curves left and uphill right at the end before becoming a footpath up over rocks for the last few hundred metres.