Scotland, Steam Train, Viaduct, Glenfinnan, Landscape

Image by Steen Jepsen from Pixabay

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Glenfinnan Viaduct


 

The Hamlet of Glenfinnan is located in the Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland.

It sits at the head of Loch Shiel, which stretches southwest for 20 miles to Acharacle.

A viaduct is a type of bridge that stands out because of its configuration of arches, piers or columns which support a long elevated stretch of railway or road.

Typically a viaduct is used to allow passage over a low-lying valley or river or other kinds of obstruction, by connecting two points of roughly equal elevation.

Most of the visitors to the area  make the most of the attractions. i.e. the Viaduct itself, as well as the Glenfinnan Monument and the nearby Visitor Centre.

However, once in the area it is impossible to ignore the breathtaking natural scenery too.

Let’s move along and learn the top 10 astonishing facts about Glenfinnan Viaduct.

 

 

1.  Glenfinnan Viaduct was the Largest Concrete Construction for its Time

File:Glenfinnan viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 3077364.jpg

The Viaduct’s concrete archesImage by Ian Taylor from Wikimedia

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is 380m long, making it the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland. It crosses the River Finnan at an impressive height of 30m.

Sir Robert McAlpine built it for the West Highland Railway (constructed between 1897 and 1901).

Unreinforced concrete was used in piers and arches. It is the world’s first major mass concrete structure well, since Roman times anyway.

It carries the West Highland railway line on its final stretch between Fort William and the fishing port of Mallaig. This line provides one of the great scenic railway journeys in the world.

The Glenfinnan viaduct is not the only viaduct on the line but it is the largest.

2. The Viaduct was Constructed under the Control of Sir Robert McAlpine

File:Sir Robert McAlpine premises, Crick - geograph.org.uk - 2805582.jpg

Sir Robert McAlpine premises, Crick. Image by Jaggery from Wikimedia

 Sir Robert McAlpine  headed the construction of  The Glenfinnan Viaduct. He was fond of constructing in concrete that he was given the nickname “Concrete Bob.”

Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet, lived from 13 February 1847 to 3 November 1934.

He was a builder whose innovations gained him the nickname of “Concrete Bob” and who established the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.

Robert McAlpine was born in Forth in South Lanarkshire, a remote upland mining community about 7 miles northeast of Lanark. He left school at the age of 10 and went down the pit as a coal miner.

McAlpine then became an apprentice bricklayer and gradually established himself as  an able businessman and skilled builder.

he formed his own construction company, which remains in being today under the name of Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd In 1869 at the age of 22.

3. Glenfinnan Viaduct is also known as the Harry Potter Bridge

Hogwarts Express, Railroad, Train, Steam

Hogwarts Railways towards Glenfinnan Viaduct Image by M W from Pixabay

Despite its importance as a civil engineering icon and the clear beauty of its surroundings, the railway didn’t gain fame until it was used in several of the Harry Potter movies.

This iconic place was featured in the very first Harry Potter Film, The Chamber of Secrets, when Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way to Hogwarts.

Loch Shiel was also the setting for the moment Harry’s first-ever encounter with a Dementor. The Hogwarts Express stops in the middle of the bridge, directly above the loch, in the Prisoner of Azkaban.

In particular, fans will notably remember the scene featuring the viaduct, the Hogwarts Express and Arthur Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia.

 It’s even nicknamed the “Harry Potter Bridge.” 

Apparently, since its brief role in the movies, the British Transport Police have had to put up signs to discourage trespassing. 

This was following a number of near-misses between trains and Harry Potter fans, as the overpass is still very much in use.

But even if the Hogwarts Express hadn’t been shown chugging along the railroad on its way to the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry, this viaduct would still deserve to be an icon in its own right.

4. Glenfinnan Viaduct is a Popular Tourist Attraction

Viaduct, Glenfinnan, Scotland, Steam, Train, Highlands

Image by Meatle from Pixabay

The Glenfinnan Viaduct attracts more than 300,000 visitors every year. Making it the 5th most popular paid tourist attraction in Scotland (according to industry travel stats).

Not surprising as it’s easily one of Scotland’s most mesmerising places to visit!

Most people know the viaduct as the Harry Potter viaduct or Harry Potter train bridge, for its regular features throughout the series.

Ensure you experience the viaduct both from the outside and from within the train, as you ride the train from Fort William to Mallaig.

5. The Glenfinnan Viaduct Still in Regular use

Scotland, Steam Train, Viaduct, Glenfinnan, Landscape

Image by Steen Jepsen from Pixabay

The diesel-powered West Highland Line frequently runs across it and there are regular steam-hauled excursions available in the summer.

The iconic Jacobite steam train runs across the viaduct to Fort William and Mallaig. The train may pause at the viaduct, time permitting, to allow visitors to take in the magnificent views.

In the popular summer months, the Jacobite train runs twice a day from Fort William to Mallaig and back again.

For the 2022 season, they have a morning service and an afternoon service. The morning service runs from Monday 4th April until Friday 28th October 2022.

The afternoon service runs from Monday 2nd May until Friday 30th September 2022. Giving you up to 4 opportunities to witness it passing over the bridge.

6. The Glenfinnan Viaduct Appears on some Banknotes

Image Courtesy: Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland unveiled the design of its new £10 polymer note, which entered into circulation in autumn 2017.

The front of the note features Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott alongside The Mound in Edinburgh.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct remained on the reverse of the design. However, a steam locomotive hauling a heritage tourist train was added.

The locomotive is a Stanier “Black 5”, which was designed for London, Midland and Scottish Railway and is often seen on the West Highland line.

Bank of Scotland has been issuing banknotes for more than 320 years, evolving designs to pay homage to our heritage.

“The new note retains our much-loved design of Sir Walter Scott with the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct pictured on the back and we’ve evolved the design by introducing the popular heritage tourist train crossing the bridge.”

7. The Bridge is a Sought after Movie Location

Quite possibly the most iconic of all Harry Potter filming locations, The Glenfinnan Viaduct is one not to be missed!

This stunning Victorian Railway Bridge, perched just across from Loch Shiel, is an impressive 31 metres high and 380 metres long.

Glenfinnan Viaduct has been used as a location in several films and television series. They include Ring of Bright Water, Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, Stone of Destiny, The Crown and four of the Harry Potter films.

After its appearance in Harry Potter, British Transport Police had to warn fans not to walk on the viaduct after a handful of near misses with trains had occurred.

It is also featured in the 2018 video game Forza Horizon 4.

8. Glenfinnan Viaduct Records high Railway Trespassing

File:Glenfinnan viaduct from The Jacobite 06.jpg

Tight Squeeze for Glenfinnan Viaduct tresspassers. Image by Chris Mckenna from Wikimedia

Many tourists risk death by wandering onto a railway line to take photographs of a viaduct used for scenes in fantasy adventure films.

British Transport Police (BTP) said incidents at the Glenfinnan Viaduct played a part in a 16% rise in railway trespassing offences in Scotland.

BTP issued a warning for people to stay away from the area of the West Highland Line. In 2015, a family was among tourists who put themselves in danger. The couple and their child were seen running on the railway line.

Tourists and photographers are also drawn to the viaduct because of its Highlands setting and due to a steam train, the Jacobite that regularly runs on the line.

A steam train driver was forced to brake after spotting two older women standing dangerously close to the line.

Trespassing on the railway is a criminal offence and dangerous. It risks your life as well as the lives of others, endangering passengers and railway workers. 

9.  Glenfinnan Viaduct is a Listed building

File:Glenfinnan Viaduct Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 966381.jpg

Glenfinnan Anivessary plaque. Image by Mike Searle from Wikimedia

It was among the very first to be built of concrete and is Grade A listed. According to the listing text:

“Thicker pylons flank centre portion of continuous semi-circular arch rings.” It carries the West Highland Extension Railway that runs through the Civil Parish of Arisaig and Moidart.

Listing marks and celebrates a building’s special architectural and historic interest. It also brings it under the consideration of the planning system, so that it can be protected for future generations.

The older a building is the more likely it is to be listed.

10.  The Horse in the Viaduct of Glenfinnan Legend

File:Glenfinnan viaduct arches.jpg

Massive Glenfinnan Viaduct column. Image by paddy patterson from Wikimedia

For decades, a myth said a horse and cart fell inside a pier of the Glenfinnan Viaduct during construction, in about 1899.

Around 1898/9, whilst ‘Concrete Bob’ McAlpine was constructing the West Highland Railway Line and the viaducts which carry i, one of his horses tumbled down inside a concrete pier, dragging its cart with it. 

Local legend always held that the accident happened at Glenfinnan. In 1987 Professor Roland Paxton MBE, having defined only two piers as being large enough, ascertained, by use of a fish-eye lens camera inserted through specially bored holes, that there was no evidence of a horse or cart.

Then Professor Paxton heard that local landowner Mr E.D. MacMillan remembered from local hearsay in his father’s time that the accident had in fact occurred at the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct.

In 2001, radar imaging proved there was a grain of truth in the story but that it in fact happened at another McAlpine concrete rail bridge – the nearby Loch nan Uamh Viaduct.


Glenfinnan is about far more than Harry Potter and is definitely worth the detour. If you are not interested in seeing the train then just arrange to arrive when the train isn’t passing as it will be quieter.

 

 

 

Planning a trip to Paris ? Get ready !


These are Amazon’s best-selling travel products that you may need for coming to Paris.

Bookstore

  1. The best travel book : Rick Steves – Paris 2023 – Learn more here
  2. Fodor’s Paris 2024 – Learn more here

Travel Gear

  1. Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack – Learn more here
  2. Samsonite Winfield 2 28″ Luggage – Learn more here
  3. Swig Savvy’s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle – Learn more here

Check Amazon’s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.