June 2026 update – The Jacobite Steam Train is now open for the 2026 season. The train departs Fort William at 10:15 every morning, seven days a week, crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct on its way to Mallaig and the silver sands of Morar. West Highland Railways currently are operating one (return) train a day. Afternoon departures will be announced soon. Tickets available in both First Class and Standard, day returns from £76 (adult) £43 (child). Book your seats.
If there’s one image that sells Scotland, it’s the Jacobite steam train curving its way across the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct.
You might know this train journey as the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter films – but the viaduct and the train that crosses it are gloriously real, and you can ride them yourself.
This is my guide to the Jacobite Steam Train – how to ride it and how to photograph it as it crosses the viaduct.
How to ride the Jacobite: tickets, dates and times for 2026
The Jacobite is one of Britain’s most popular train journeys, and it sells out.
- Tickets are sold through westcoastrailways.co.uk. If it’s full, tours available on GetYourGuide sometimes have space. A handful of late-cancellation tickets occasionally go on sale (cash only) at the Fort William ticket office on the day, but don’t rely on it.
- The Jacobite runs seasonally, not year-round. For 2026, the train is running 4 June to 23 October. Outside these dates the steam train doesn’t run.
- There is currently one train (return) running each day. The afternoon service has yet to be announced. The morning train typically leaves Fort William at about 10:15 and reaches the viaduct around 11:07, but always check the current timetable, as steam services can vary.
- It’s a return trip – West Coast Railways doesn’t sell one-way tickets – and the journey takes around 2 hours 10 minutes each way, with roughly 4.5 hours on board for the full round trip, plus time to explore Mallaig before heading back.
- You can choose Standard or First Class. Standard puts you in refurbished vintage carriages with tables of four and the same glorious views; First Class adds more space, table lamps, complimentary tea or coffee, and the option to pre-order a cream tea or a bottle of fizz.
- Fares change each year and by class, so check the West Coast Railways site for the latest.
What is the Jacobite Steam Train?
The Jacobite is a heritage steam service run by West Coast Railways along the West Highland Line, between Fort William and the fishing port of Mallaig. It’s been running since 1995, and while it’s become world-famous as the “Hogwarts Express”, the real service is the Jacobite, hauled by a genuine vintage steam locomotive (often an LMS Class 5).
Once voted this the greatest railway journey on Earth, the 84-mile round trip starts under Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain; passes close to Loch Morar, the deepest freshwater loch in the country, and the River Morar, the shortest river; calls at Arisaig, the most westerly mainland station in Britain; and ends beside Loch Nevis, the deepest sea loch in Europe.
The journey: Fort William to Mallaig
The train leaves Fort William at 10.15am and within half an hour reaches the Glenfinnan Viaduct – twenty-one arches sweeping a hundred feet above the River Finnan, with Loch Shiel stretching away below. From the carriage you’ll see the Glenfinnan Monument too, raised in 1815 on the very spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745 to begin the last Jacobite rising.
Did you know? The line itself is a feat of engineering, the Mallaig extension opened in 1901, driven through stubborn rock by Sir Robert McAlpine, nicknamed “Concrete Bob”.
Beyond Glenfinnan the train passes the villages of Lochailort, Arisaig and Morar, before reaching the sea at Mallaig, a working fishing port where the boats still land their catch and the ferries leave for Skye and the Small Isles.
How to see the Hogwarts Express
Some of the best photographs are taken of the train, not from it. To view the train as it crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, park at the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre (parking is £5) and from the visitor centre, a well-marked path climbs up to a viewpoint above the arches; it’s about an hour there and back, and it’s where that classic Hogwarts Express shot is captured.
A word of warning on parking, Glenfinnan is tiny and receives enormous numbers of visitors, so the car parks fill fast, especially around crossing times. Arrive early. And if the viaduct feels too busy, don’t stop, try another day.
When does the Jacobite Steam Train cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct?
Here’s the insider bit: the train crosses the viaduct twice a day in each direction during the season – once on the late-morning outbound run and again in the afternoon on its way back.
In the morning the train crosses around 11am and in the afternoon about 3pm.
The Hogwarts Express and Harry Potter
The Glenfinnan Viaduct appears in the Harry Potter films as the route of the Hogwarts Express, and the West Highland Line around it stands in for much of the train’s journey to school.
The locomotive and carriages used on screen were supplied by West Coast Railways – the company that runs the Jacobite.
The most famous moment comes in Chamber of Secrets, when Harry and Ron, having missed the train, chase after it in Mr Weasley’s enchanted flying Ford Anglia and are very nearly clipped by the Express as it sweeps across the viaduct.
In Prisoner of Azkaban, the train shudders to a halt on the viaduct in driving rain as the Dementors board in search of Sirius Black, the moment Professor Lupin steps in to save Harry. In Goblet of Fire, the Express crosses one last time on its approach to Hogwarts, with the castle and the Black Lake in the background.
That Black Lake is also real – it’s Loch Shiel, the long loch stretching away beneath the viaduct, which doubled as the Great Lake at Hogwarts.
Is the Jacobite Train worth it?
Honestly, yes. Whether you ride it in a vintage carriage or watch it steam across the viaduct from the hillside, the Jacobite is one of those rare experiences in Scotland that lives up to the hype.
You might also like
- All my Outlander and film location guides
- My guide to The Jacobites Scotland and where to visit today
- My guide to things to do in the Scottish Highlands
- The complete North Coast 500 guide
- A guide to Scottish island hopping
Love from Scotland x
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