From England to Scotland

So, we left Blackpool well in time to begin our 5 hour drive to reach Fort William to catch the 4 pm special train – which train – The Jacobite Express. What’s so special about it? Well if you were a 90's kid you would probably know what I am talking about. It’s the same train that was used in the Harry Potter movies. This was an exciting day, especially for my sister who had been a big fan of Harry Potter. Her excitement could not be contained since not only was she going to see the train but to travel in “Hogwart’s Express” and be a part of the Harry Potter’s world was like a childhood dream come true. Many people travel to two specific view-points just to see the train. However, we were not just going to see but were going to travel in that same train. For Rinku to be in the exact same coach where the famous trio - Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley - traveled to the world of magic was exhilarating. I always complain to my sister that she is not excited about anything and is always very calm and composed but to see the light spark up in her eyes and the excitement in her smile was amazing.

Although sometimes fate has some other plans. We were doing well with time but just an hour away from Fort William we came across a very bad traffic jam; as minutes continued to tick, it came down to just 30 mins before we could reach the train station. I think that was the day we did break the speed limit and managed to reach the station sharp at 4 pm. The whole family ran on the platform only to say goodbye to the behind of a beautiful steam engine. We had missed the last train for the day and the next day we were to leave for Isle of Skye and Rinku was to leave for Stirling to have her dissertation meeting with her professor.

Having missed the train, we still had some time before sundown, so we decided to go to the Old Inverlochy Castle. The castle is a ruin but that’s because it has remained unaltered since it was built in 1280 and has witnessed many battles in its time. The castle is beautifully defended by a river on one side and other three sides were protected by moats which are long gone now. Aakaash and the kids enjoyed climbing the ruins while my sister and I enjoyed walking around the riverside. There was a cute little wooden bridge across the river where the kids enjoyed running around on.

From there we headed to the Fort William town centre where a Scottish band welcomed us with their world-famous bagpipes. We then had a meal of traditional fish and chips, just walked around the town and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We called it a night and were ready for our next leg of long drive.