Fort William Travel Forum

Which is a more interesting and feasible day-trip from Fort William:

1. Driving through the "Road-to-the Isles" (Passing through Glenfinnan [esp. Glenfinnan Viaduct because my sister is a Harry Potter fan] and, Arisaig, Morar Mallaig)
OR

2. Visiting Eilean Donan

Please note that we plan to take the 7:00 pm train from Edinburgh to Fort William (arriving at 12 noon), and returning to Edinburgh the same day via CityLink Bus departing at 7pm So this roughly gives us 7 hours only for the day trip.

Thanks in advance. I look forward to all your feedback!

I think 1) is better and more scenic, especially the last bit, where you go along the coast with plenty of small islands and Isle of Skye in a distance.
I hope you ment to take a 7 A.m. train from E'burgh, so you will go through Rannoch Moore by daylight. This big area will have just mountains,giant lakes a few sheep and maybe only 3 houses, including a youthhostel and a station in the wilderness, just ment for hikers, with not a single house around.

Yes, you are right! I meant 7AM TRAIN FROM EDINBURGH! I wish VT had an "EDIT" button :0(

Just curious, why aren't you so hot about Eilean Donan? It's supposed to be the most photographed castle in Scotland and all that . Is it a tourist trap? will it be a letdown after we've seen Glamis and Balmoral Castle?

Thanks again!

Hello there,
I would say that the more feasible trip to do considering the time constraint that you have it would probably be best to do the “Road-to-the Isles" as it is only 80+ miles round trip from Fort William. Eilean Donan is approximately 130+miles round trip. I take it you are renting a car at Fort William? Both trips have great scenery but going up to Eilean Donan you’ll be tempted to possible go and see a wee bit of Skye as you’ll be so close and you may even think about going to see Urquhart castle on Loch Ness. If you do, you really will have to watch your time for getting back to catch your bus back to Edinburgh! In my opinion I’d go the Road to the Isles as you’ll be less likely to divert from your plan but you’ll need all your time to take in the views!
Eilean Donan in my opinion is far superior to Balmoral both in location and entrance fee! Balmoral in a bit of a con as you only get to see a very small part of the interior for the money you have to pay. Also depending on what time of year you are visiting Balmoral it is not open for visitors if any of the royal family are in residence remember.

Hi !
You are obviously talking about a TRAIN-ride and I have done the one to Mallaig myself by steamtrain (like harry Potter).
Eilean Donan I have done by car and I am not sure what it looks like from a train, I am not even sure there is a train at all.
On my rather small map I saw a train from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, but not any further.
The castle is great, when you have time to enjoy the view, walk around it etc.
The view also differs a lot between ebb and tide, because at ebb you see just the sea-weed around the castle and no sea at all.
I simply had the feeling, when you have just 1 single day for such a trip it might be better to go to Mallaig because of the landscapes that you may see, while riding the train.

I went to the ED Castle and thought it was nice.. I did not go inside though. Personally, I like the natural scenery more than the castles. And I agree that if you can go to Isle of Skye.. do it! It is so beautiful up there. Ahh, Scotland is all wonderful... I think you will like whichever you pick!

If you only have several hours, then the drive to Mallaig is probably more rewarding as there are some very picturesque beaches near arisaig. I've been both ways several times (as i live in the isles) and if you have several days, go to Skye as it is stunning. If only a few hours you wont have enough time to enjoy the scenery as you will be driving past it too fast! Mallaig is the best choice in my opinion :)

Thanks for you feedback, people! You've all been very helpful :0)

Eilean Donan Castle is lovely and certainly is a better value than either Balmoral or Glamis. Its setting is just perfect - the loch is gorgeous!
However you really don't have much time and trying to get there, go through the castle and back to Ft. William in the allotted time will be a crunch.

The Road to the Isles is lovely although Mallaig is a must miss in my opinion. You might be better off seeing if the train will connect and get you back to Ft. William in time.

Best bet would be to try as you might to squeeze an extra day. Just too much to see to try to get it into 5 hours!

Kat

I would agree with Kat here. The area is not very suitable for fast-food travel. Go watch Local Hero LOL