August 25 to 26, 2018
I had business in Scotland and came a day early to explore the West Highlands. It was a very dreary day (1) as I took the train north from Glasgow. Upon arrival at the sea-side village of Arisaig, a short walk took me to the village center. There is a memorial here in honor of the Czechoslovakian ex-patriates who trained here for special operations behind enemy lines during World War 2.
Thankfully, the weather had broken by morning when I set out to kayak in the clear, cold waters of Arisaig sound. There were calm winds and partly sunny skies as our group explored the Skerries, a group of low-lying islands in the sound. On a few occasions, we exposed ourselves to 2 to 3 foot rollers coming in from the south. We came across a group of about a dozen and a half seals swimming nearby, who watched us carefully, ready to submerge if they felt threatened.
As I was waiting for the late afternoon train back to Glasgow, I was surprised to see a steam train chuffing north into the station (2). The ride back to Glasgow was much more pleasant than the ride up yesterday. The train was much less crowded and the rain had stopped. We soon crossed the "World Famous" (according to the conductor) Glenfinnan Railway Viaduct (3).
The remainder of the ride was quite scenic. We passed seaside villages and streams cascading from steep mountains into lochs. At the highest stop on the line, we were deep in a moor, with the railway station the only building visible for miles across the tree-less, rocky, and boggy landscape.
(1) There was plenty of liquid sunshine, as they call rain here in Scotland.
(2) This was a seasonal tourist service running from Fort William to the end of the West Highlands line at Malaig.
(3) I noted that the viaduct was on the cover of a Scotland tourbook a fellow passenger had. You may have seen it in the second Harry Potter movie, when the Weasley's flying car catches up to the Hogwarts Express.
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