Well, pistons keep on churnin' and the wheels go 'round and 'round and the steel rails they lie cold and hard on the mountains they go down

As I have previously mentioned I do love a good bridge and in particular a good viaduct and last weekend I had the great pleasure to travel over the Glenfinnan Viaduct aboard the Jacobite steam train on the trip between Fort William and Mallaig and back again

This particular train and viaduct have become famous worldwide thanks to their usage in the Harry Potter movies. Having never read or seen anything to do with Harry Potter this connection was wasted on me and I was left to simply enjoy the breathtaking scenery and the enjoyment of a journey on a steam train

The train leaves Fort William at 10.20 in the morning and as soon as you take in the sounds and smell as the steam train gathers pace you feel as if you are transported back in time to an altogether more innocent age.

It is not long before the train reaches the magnificent Glenfinnan Viaduct. This impressive structure was built between July 1897 and October 1898 at a cost of under £19,000. My own photo taken through the train window does not do the viaduct justice so the main picture used above was taken from Harry Potter's flying car

The train then stops at Glenfinnan station allowing you to stretch your legs and enjoy a photo opportunity with superb scenery on all sides

The train then travels on through Arisaig, Britain's most Westerly mainland railway station from where you can see the isles of Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna and the southern tip of Skye. It is compulsory to sing "Speed bonnie boat............" at this point

You then pass Morar and the silvery beaches used in the movie 'Local Hero'. Strangely the couple sitting opposite us had never seen 'Local Hero'. After giving them a quick synopsis of the plot for the movie and a rendition of the excellent Mark Knopfler soundtrack tune they assured me they would rectify this gap in their lives on their return to Penrith

On arrival at Mallaig there is a turnaround time of about an hour and a half. Mallaig is a fishing port and ferry terminal with services to the 'Small Isles' and Skye. I have to confess that half an hour would have been plenty here but this is undoubtedly the busiest spell of the day for the residents of Mallaig with several coaches full of passengers all looking to have lunch and spend money at the same time. There is a housing estate on the side of the hill here and I thought to myself what a wonderful view to have from your window every morning when you wake up

The return journey was spent chatting with our new found friends from Penrith, generally enjoying the scenery and taking random photos through the windows. As we were facing backwards on the return journey this proved tricky as a tree or tunnel would appear from nowhere just as I was about to capture a magic moment

I did however manage to capture a nice photo of the couple across the aisle who were from Atlanta, Georgia. I am now familiar with their entire family history along with the advantages of living in Atlanta even though their conversation was not with us

On my return home I looked up how possible it was to see the viaduct from below and now plan to drive up sometime soon so there may be more scintillating viaduct pictures to follow at a later date

The train journey has been voted Top Railway Journey in the World. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone and you do not have to have any knowledge of Harry Potter to enjoy it