On a trip to the UK last year, I knew that I wanted to take trains as much as possible. It’s pretty much always slower, but I think travel by rail is often worth the effort. You get to pass through places instead of just flying right over them. After starting my trip off in London, I jumped on the overnight Caledonian Sleeper train. My destination? The real life Hogwarts Express.

The Jacobite Steam Train, also known as the Hogwarts Express or just the Harry Potter train, runs on the West Highland line in Scotland. It passes through a bunch of scenic locations, including some featured in the Harry Potter films. The most famous of these is the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

You know that impressive looking bridge that Harry and Ron go over in the flying car after they miss the train in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? This is that bridge:

Planning your journey

The town of Fort William in the Scottish Highlands is the start and finishing point of your journey on the Jacobite. Handily, Fort William is also served by the Caledonian Sleeper. You can board the Caledonian from London Euston station at around 9pm and be in Fort William by 10am the next day, all ready to take the Hogwarts Express.

Depending on the time of year, the Jacobite will either have zero, one or two return journeys per day. In 2024, there are morning trains from March 28 to October 25 and afternoon trains from May 6 to September 27.

At the time of posting, no tickets are available for the 2024 season. Tickets are quickly snapped up up when they become available each year. Keep an eye on the website of West Coast Railways, which operates the Jacobite service, and their social media for details.

It’s worth pointing out that West Coast Railways is currently in a safety dispute with the UK’s rail regulator. This has previously led to the cancellation of some services. You can read West Coast Railways’ side of the story here. I wasn’t aware of any safety concerns on my journey in June 2023. Hopefully there is some kind of resolution to this soon!

Adult tickets are pretty pricey at £65 ($125) for standard class and £98 ($188) for first class. There is also a £398 ($765) Harry Potter-style private compartment which seats up to six people.

Solos and couples in standard class will be sat at a table of four with others. West Coast Railways says that bookings of two or more will be allocated at least one window seat.

Taking the Hogwarts Express

The Caledonian Sleeper is due to arrive in Fort William at 10am and the morning Jacobite service leaves at 10:15am. If you’re a real thrill seeker, you might be willing to chance that connection. For me, the possibility of a delay meant I was happy to wait a couple hours for the afternoon Jacobite.

The train takes you on a 84-mile (135km) journey from Fort William to the small town of Mallaig and back. Basically, you’ll spend roughly two hours on the train taking in all the sights. You’ll then have two hours in Mallaig before the two-ish hour journey back to where you started.

While fairly retro, I thought the standard class seats were pretty good and comfortable enough. It was quite a warm day so the carriage was fairly stuffy. The windows provide a welcome breeze but note that coal from the steam engine also drifts in. That’s just part of the experience though!

You can book a high tea or alcohol in advance, but there is also buffet carriage where you can purchase drinks and snacks. I picked up a butterbeer-type alcoholic drink. It was basically just cream soda and some kind of spirit, not that I’m complaining.

Along with the buffet carriage, there is a gift shop on board where you can buy a range of Harry Potter items and Jacobite merchandise. These areas can be handy if you want to take photos when you aren’t sitting on the right side of the train.

Speaking of seating, you do swap sides of the train on the return journey. That way everyone gets to take in all the different views and snap photos while going over the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

The journey and the destination

The big reason to take the Jacobite steam train is definitely the train trip itself, which is great. However, I thought that the brief stop in Mallaig was a real highlight of the whole experience.

While in Mallaig, you can check out the shops, grab a meal or just wander around. Some people actually choose to stay in Mallaig, which effectively means wasting half of your Jacobite ticket. What I opted to do was hop on a wildlife boat trip with Western Isle Cruises.

These hour-long trips leave shortly after the Jacobite arrives with a promise to get you back to shore with plenty of time. That way you don’t have to worry about missing the return journey.

I’d highly recommend going on one of these cruises. It was great to take in the sights from the water and spot local wildlife, including a whole bunch of seals.

At £18 ($35) per adult, it felt like a better deal than the Jacobite. You can book tickets in advance, but I just showed up on the day and had no problems getting on.

Overall, I’d say the Jacobite steam train is a good experience, albeit pretty expensive for what it is. There is actually another way you can experience the Hogwarts Express which might be appealing if you’re hesitant about booking or tickets are no longer available…

Capturing the Hogwarts Express

You can join the masses taking photos and videos of the train as it passes over the Glenfinnan Viaduct. I did this the day after my Jacobite journey by taking a train from Fort William to Glenfinnan and then walking to one of the main view points.

If possible, I’d definitely suggest taking a car as there aren’t many trains each day. You can park about a 15 minute walk away from the viaduct and there is signage showing you the way. It seems like the paths can get slippery if the weather isn’t great, so wear a good pair of shoes.

West Coast Railways publishes the approximate crossing times of the Jacobite in its FAQs so check this in advance and allow plenty of time for getting there, parking and walking. You definitely want to take a few practice shots and get all your settings right in advance.

Before long, you’ll hear the train approaching. The gathered crowd and occasional drone will jump into action. It’s all over pretty quickly, but hopefully you manage to get a few good snaps.

I find it pretty funny that every photo online seems to show the train puffing along with a huge cloud of smoke, and yet you can see in the photo at the top of this post that there was barely a wisp when I was there. I might have to jump into PhotoShop and fix that up. Or just go back I guess.