Glenfinnan

Another day while in Scotland, I decided to drag the family all around the country to see the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, well-known as the Hogwarts Express bridge in the Harry Potter films. On the way, we ate at a very charming B&B in a small village called Killiecrankie. The atmosphere did kill our crankies for a while especially since there were two adorable dogs to play with while we were awaiting our delicious food.

In true German fashion, I pulled into the parking lot exactly on time to see the old train crossing the bridge and most of us were unimpressed (shrug). However, in addition to the views of the viaduct, there is also the Glenfinnan Monument which you can climb into and go to the top and also gorgeous views of Loch Shiel.

From Wikipedia: "The Glenfinnan Monument was erected in 1815 to mark the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his standard at the beginning of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. He climbed the hill and raised his royal standard on Monday 19 August 1745 and claimed the Scottish and English thrones in the name of his father James Stuart. So began the rebellion that was to end in failure eight months later at the Battle of Culloden (16 April 1746)." Also for all of you Highlander fans, Glenfinnan is the fictional birthplace of both Connor and Duncan MacLeod.

The Unknown Highlander

Of course, the weather was lovely for the entire time we were driving to Glenfinnan, but decided to turn as soon as we made the trek out to the loch and the monument. Craig had decided to explore a trail solo because we were all crabby and of course all of our raincoats were in the backpack attached to his back. So, I herded up the cats that are my kids and we went to sit in the car to await Craig. Overall, it was a long, long drive to see a bridge and none of us were in a good mood for most of the day, but the scenery was a treat which somewhat made up for one of the longest car rides of our lives.