Expectations vs. reality of the Harry Potter Bridge, Top tips for visiting the Harry Potter train bridge in Scotland, How to ride the Hogwarts Express in Scotland, Things to do after the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Where to stay near the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Well, if you’ve made your way over here, you’ll be happy there are a few things to do around the area. All that is left is to wait out the Harry Potter train! Your email address will not be published. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. The Glenfinnan Viaduct Viewpoint Trail: You can take a hike up to the Glenfinnan Viaduct viewpoint from the carpark to get up close to the bridge and get those iconic Hogwarts Express Shots! If you want to know how to see the Hogwarts Express at the Glenfinnan Viaduct Viewpoint, then keep reading. The first is to take the wide track from the visitor centre parking lot. There is zero shade and my scalp was on fire. Given that a large sign directs visitors to this viewpoint from the large car park, it’s easy to understand why this spot has the largest crowds. Viaduct Take a walk to the viewpoint to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct and marvel at the sight and sound of the Jacobite steam train crossing its 21 arches. So, as per the current timetable, the morning service departs Fort William at 10.15 am and so the train should cross over the bridge at 10.45 am. The ferry service was decommissioned in the 1950s, to be later succeeded by pleasure cruises up the Loch. By taking this hike you also incorporate views over Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan monument. If you continued walking along this trail (described in option 2), then you’d eventually find yourself at the Glenfinnan Train Station. In the summer season there is a train there and then a train back, meaning it crosses the bridge four times in a day. Although there won’t be the Honeydukes Express food trolley or friendly old witches to offer you refreshment on your journey. I always use Travel Line Scotland to plan my journeys via public transport in Scotland. After a short while, a small lochan (Lochan Port na Creige) comes into view through the trees, and provides a good opportunity to look for warblers and dabbling and diving ducks in the reed beds and open water of the lochan. Look out for dragon flies, including the Highland Darter, on the wing in summer or basking on the hand rails of the board walk sections. I'm a Scottish backpacker turned digital nomad. There is another small car park on the right, which is located at the entrance to the trail. The view point affords good views of Loch Shiel, as well as an opportunity to explore a small fragment of Caledonia pine wood. In Glenfinnan itself, you do have a couple of options in the area like the Glenfinnan House Hotel, Glenfinnan Lodge and even a train carriage called the Glenfinnan sleeper car! However, I was there in the right place at the right time. Same goes for using the toilet, make sure you go before you hike up here. Glenfinnan Viaduct Train Viewpoints. A complete guide for Harry Potter in York, How to have broomstick lessons at Alnwick Castle UK, How to find Tom Riddle’s Tomb in Edinburgh. Not really, unfortunately you do have to park up and go to a viewpoint in order to see it! For the hilltop view, turn left at the interpretation board at the end of the Dragonfly Trail and take the first left as signposted. This is by far the best way to see the Hogwarts Express make it’s way over the bridge! Culloden Viaduct: The Best Viewpoints of the Scottish Bridge, Lake Atitlan for Digital Nomads: Your Guide to San Marcos, Inverness to Loch Ness (Without Renting a Car), Dubai for Digital Nomads: Your Complete Travel Guide, Culloden Viaduct: The Best Viewpoints of the Scottish Bridge - Katie Goes, Old Boat of Caol: Scotland's Most Photogenic Shipwreck - Katie Goes, The Steall Falls Walk Through Glen Nevis: A Complete Guide - Katie Goes, Glenfinnan Viaduct Train Viewpoints (Explained! Luckily, most cars driving along here turn into the visitor centre, so you won’t find much traffic passing by.