The 'real' Hogwarts Express comes to the rescue in Scotland

Edited: October 16, 2017, 3:09 PM

Here's a fun story that you might have missed over the weekend: Hogwarts Express rescues family stranded in Highlands.

A family had paddled their canoe to a small cottage on Loch Eilt in the Scottish Highlands. But a rising stream carried away their canoe, leaving them facing a long hike across boggy ground the long way around the lake to get back to their car.

So the family called local authorities to see if they knew away better way out. And they did. They arranged for the next train on a rail line near their cottage to stop, pick them up and carry them to the next station, from which they could hitch a ride on the road back to their car.

And that train just happened to be the Jacobite, known better to almost every Wizarding World fan as the train that portrayed the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films.

"I'm slightly sad because I'd lost my boat - but the kids, when they saw the steam train coming, all sadness left their little faces and was replaced by excitement and fun - just the real joy of having an adventure and having the train stop right next to them," the father told the BBC.

Just in case you were now considering stranding yourself in the Scottish Highlands to catch a ride on the Hogwarts Express, you don't need to do that. Britain's West Coast Railways offers several scheduled excursions on the Jacobite train for Harry Potter fans or anyone else who wants to see the Highlands in grand style. And you don't need to lose a canoe to book them.

Replies (1)

Edited: October 16, 2017, 4:01 PM

The Jacobite is well worth the trip. If you're already in Scotland, grab the train to Fort William from Glasgow Queen Street station (theres 4 a day or so). If you're in London, the Caledonian Sleeper departs from Euston Station in the evening, and arrives in time for a late Breakfast.

If you can't make it for the Jacobite, there are still conventional trains that run the route up to Mallaig, over the Glenfinnian Viaduct (look closely for Flying Fords) and past the Island where Dumbledore is Buried.

The route is rightly considered one of the most scenic in the world.

For grown up fans looking for some magic potion, you can grab a ferry at Mallaig to many scottish islands well known for their Single Malts...

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