Hogwarts Express Steam Train and Highlands Day Trip from Edinburgh

The Forth Bridge, Fife and the road north

The day begins with a crossing of the Firth of Forth, with a view of the red Forth Bridge, the great cantilever railway bridge completed in 1890 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The coach continues through the Kingdom of Fife, the old royal county, and past the city of Perth on the River Tay, once the capital of medieval Scotland.

North of Perth the land rises into the Highlands, with forests, rivers and mountains replacing farmland. Your guide shares stories of Scottish history and legends along the way, and comfort stops break the long drive. This first part of the day shows why a Highlands tour from Edinburgh is so popular: within a couple of hours you move from a capital city to some of the emptiest landscapes in Britain.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct and Loch Shiel

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is the most famous railway bridge in Scotland. Completed in 1901, it curves for about 380 metres across the valley on 21 tall concrete arches, high above the River Finnan. It appeared in several Harry Potter films as the route of the Hogwarts Express, and today travellers from around the world come to see a steam train cross it.

Nearby, at the head of Loch Shiel, stands the Glenfinnan Monument, raised in memory of the clansmen who gathered here at the start of the 1745 Jacobite rising. When time allows, the coach stops at Glenfinnan so you can see the viaduct from the ground; this stop is subject to availability. Later in the day you cross the viaduct yourself on the steam train, so you experience it from both sides.

Mallaig and the steam train on the West Highland Line

Mallaig is a busy fishing harbour at the end of the West Highland Line, looking across the sea to the mountains of the Isle of Skye. Here you board the steam train for the journey back to Fort William, the stretch of line that many travellers call the most scenic railway journey in the world.

From the carriage windows you see the white sands and turquoise water around Morar and Arisaig, small lochs and islands, and then the climb inland to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, crossed slowly so that everyone can take photos of the curving train and the smoke. The ride ends beside Loch Linnhe in Fort William, below Ben Nevis. Remember that this is above all a coach tour with a one-way steam train section, and train services can occasionally change at short notice.

Glen Coe: the most dramatic glen in Scotland

From Fort William the coach heads south into Glen Coe, a deep valley carved by glaciers and volcanoes. Steep mountains tower on both sides, including the three great ridges known as the Three Sisters, and waterfalls run down their slopes after rain. The glen is also remembered for the massacre of 1692, a dark chapter of Highland history your guide will explain.

Glen Coe has served as a backdrop for many films, including scenes in the Harry Potter series, and it is one of the most photographed landscapes in the country. The coach stops at a viewpoint so you can step out, breathe the mountain air and take pictures. Wear a warm, waterproof layer: the weather in the glen changes quickly in every season.

Rannoch Moor and the return to Edinburgh

Beyond Glen Coe the road crosses Rannoch Moor, a vast high plateau of peat bog, heather, lochans and scattered boulders left by the ice age. It is one of the last great wildernesses in Britain, and on a clear day the empty horizon is breathtaking; red deer are often seen grazing near the road.

The route then descends through the southern Highlands and back towards the Central Belt, while your guide tells tales from Scotland's past. The tour returns to Edinburgh in the late evening after around 13 hours. It is a long day, so bring snacks, water and a charged phone or camera, and expect to arrive back tired but with some of the finest views in Scotland.