By Spriha Srivastava
Like I mentioned in the article before, I was hopping destinations in Scottish Highlands by train. The one travel tip I’d like to dispense here is to make all bookings much in advance and more importantly, to keep track of the train bookings. You can be hit with surprises any time! And something like that happened with me. My train from Glasgow to Fort William was way before sunrise. It was a beautiful morning with the sky coloured in chrome and I set out for the station. On reaching, I was told that the train was from a different station, which was a few minutes of walk away. Apparently, it was updated in the app. So, there I was, tumbling my way to the other station. Got the train just in time! What I realised along the journey was that I was in Harry Potter land, and I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I was clueless about Harry Potter. Rowling would definitely squirm; however, the rugged mountains and sparkling loch of Fort William welcomed me with open arms.
The Fort William station is almost as big, or small, as perhaps the lobby of a hotel. Tucked in a corner at the exit of the station is a quaint little café. I took a glance around and the place seemed like geriatric care. “Did I make the right choice to visit this sleepy town?” My thought was interrupted by a by a sweet, young girl behind the counter who looked right out of the movie, Sweet Home Alabama. She recommended me a meal, which was delicious and while sipping my coffee, the laughter and chatter made me think that such happiness in people of that age meant that this town had to have a certain depth and character. I pushed out my initial judgements, polished-away platter, had my coffee and stepped out to explore Fort William.
My place of stay was rather interesting. It was a jail converted to a hotel called Garrison Jail. I drew the curtains open there it was, the loch (lake) gleaming in rays of the setting sun. In winter, the sun sets at 4pm so I had to rush out to make use of the day time I was left with. Here’s what Fort William has to offer. For trekkers, there is a famous trek up the Glen Nevis Mountain. One can walk along lake – Loche Linnhe – and enjoy the eye-soothing visuals of the vast expanse of green pastures and sheep farms against the backdrop of opulent homes. Yes, Fort William is a town of the wealthy. While the scenery along the walk was ethereal beauty, the plush homes were possessions of envy! In the evening, one can have a drink or two at the cosy local pubs drawn up with Victorian interiors. Fort William is not for those adventure seekers expecting some action and rather, is a place where serenity defeats the want for adventure.
Well, adventure was at the anvil for me though. My next train was to Malaig from where I had to head to Isle of Skye. There were weather alerts of heavy rain already, but how rainy could it be, I thought. Have you ever seen videos of cyclones that sweep along homes and cars in the whirlwind? It could have happened to me! I stepped off the train at the Malaig station and while I posed for a picture, within a moment the wind blew my hat away in one direction and my suitcase wheeled off in the other. I wanted to run in both the directions at the same time, but I just could not. I stood there frozen. The wind was so harsh and cold that it took me a few seconds to recover and gather the courage to run for my stuff. I collected my hat and suitcase and hopped back into the train. I was greeted by a rather cheerful train officer. “Bad weather, eh?” he said. Horrible weather! I started pleading to the officer to take me back in this train. I did not care that I did not have a reservation and I didn’t care about my onward journey to Isle of Skye. I did not want my frozen bones to be recovered from Malaig. And there was my answer. “I can take you back with us. Have a seat. The ferries to Skye are cancelled anyway.” I had no tickets on me and neither was I asked to purchase one. Was he Providence?
I quickly made my way to a seat, part lamenting the day’s miss to Skye and part grateful that I managed to get a ride back. However, this day turned out to be the most beautiful and the most memorable day. As the train chugged away, far and beyond the grasslands shot up a full rainbow with every colour in glowing glory. This has been the most beautiful sight of my life so far. It is etched in my memory so deeply that even today, I can close my eyes and not just visualise that rainbow, but feel that sight.
Oh, and did I make it to Isle of Skye? Next day, I did!
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