Trainlink
Fort William
Scenic routes

The West Highland Line

London · Fort William · Mallaig · Oban · Glasgow

Timetable-checked:5 trains · 21h 35m on board
7 daysSuggested duration
5 stopsIconic cities
WildLochs & moorland
Lower CO₂Than flying

“The Highlands, one window seat at a time.”

Suggested
7 days
Stops
5
On board
21h 35m

Wild · Timetable-checked · Lower CO₂ than flying

Overview

A slow, unhurried journey from the capital into the heart of the Highlands, out to the harbours where the ferries leave for the isles and back down the lochs to Glasgow.

“Lochs, moors and the open sea. Scotland by train.”

The route

  1. London, photographed for Wikimedia CommonsLondon · 1 nightMuseums, markets and the river before the night journey north.
    Caledonian SleeperCaledonian Sleeper21:15 → 10:00 · 12h 45mTimetable-checked
    Caledonian Sleeper · Caledonian SleeperLondon Euston → Fort William21:15 → 10:00
    1. London EustonDep 21:15
    2. Birmingham InternationalArr 22:42 · Dep 22:42
    3. CreweArr 23:45 · Dep 23:45
    4. PrestonArr 00:30 · Dep 00:30
    5. EdinburghArr 04:50 · Dep 04:50
    6. Glasgow Queen StreetArr 05:48 · Dep 05:48
    7. DalmuirArr 06:05 · Dep 06:06
    8. Dumbarton CentralArr 06:16 · Dep 06:17
    9. Helensburgh UpperArr 06:31 · Dep 06:33
    10. GarelochheadArr 06:46 · Dep 06:47
    11. Arrochar & TarbetArr 07:08 · Dep 07:09
    12. ArdluiArr 07:24 · Dep 07:25
    13. CrianlarichArr 07:45 · Dep 07:48
    14. Upper TyndrumArr 07:59 · Dep 08:02
    15. Bridge of OrchyArr 08:17 · Dep 08:18
    16. RannochArr 08:44 · Dep 08:45
    17. CorrourArr 08:58 · Dep 09:00
    18. TullochArr 09:19 · Dep 09:21
    19. Roy BridgeArr 09:31 · Dep 09:31
    20. Spean BridgeArr 09:38 · Dep 09:39
    21. Fort WilliamArr 10:00
  2. Fort William · 2 nightsThe outdoor capital beneath Ben Nevis.
    ScotRail12:13 → 13:35 · 1h 22mTimetable-checked
    ScotRail · ScotRailFort William → Mallaig12:13 → 13:35
    1. Fort WilliamDep 12:13
    2. BanavieArr 12:19 · Dep 12:19
    3. CorpachArr 12:24 · Dep 12:24
    4. Loch Eil Outward BoundArr 12:29 · Dep 12:30
    5. LocheilsideArr 12:34 · Dep 12:34
    6. GlenfinnanArr 12:45 · Dep 12:46
    7. LochailortArr 13:01 · Dep 13:01
    8. BeasdaleArr 13:11 · Dep 13:11
    9. ArisaigArr 13:19 · Dep 13:20
    10. MorarArr 13:28 · Dep 13:28
    11. MallaigArr 13:35
  3. Mallaig · 1 nightA fishing harbour at the end of the line.
    ScotRail10:09 → 13:27 · 3h 18mTimetable-checked
    ScotRail · ScotRailMallaig → Crianlarich10:09 → 13:27
    1. MallaigDep 10:09
    2. MorarArr 10:15 · Dep 10:16
    3. ArisaigArr 10:25 · Dep 10:27
    4. BeasdaleArr 10:33 · Dep 10:33
    5. LochailortArr 10:42 · Dep 10:42
    6. GlenfinnanArr 10:59 · Dep 11:01
    7. LocheilsideArr 11:10 · Dep 11:10
    8. Loch Eil Outward BoundArr 11:16 · Dep 11:17
    9. CorpachArr 11:23 · Dep 11:23
    10. BanavieArr 11:27 · Dep 11:27
    11. Fort WilliamArr 11:35 · Dep 11:40
    12. Spean BridgeArr 11:53 · Dep 11:56
    13. Roy BridgeArr 12:02 · Dep 12:02
    14. TullochArr 12:13 · Dep 12:14
    15. CorrourArr 12:30 · Dep 12:30
    16. RannochArr 12:41 · Dep 12:42
    17. Bridge of OrchyArr 13:01 · Dep 13:03
    18. Upper TyndrumArr 13:16 · Dep 13:19
    19. CrianlarichArr 13:27

    Change at Crianlarich · 51m connection

    ScotRail14:18 → 15:28 · 1h 10mTimetable-checked
    ScotRail · ScotRailCrianlarich → Oban14:18 → 15:28
    1. CrianlarichDep 14:18
    2. Tyndrum LowerArr 14:26 · Dep 14:26
    3. DalmallyArr 14:44 · Dep 14:44
    4. Loch AweArr 14:49 · Dep 14:49
    5. Falls of CruachanArr 14:54 · Dep 14:54
    6. TaynuiltArr 15:04 · Dep 15:05
    7. Connel FerryArr 15:15 · Dep 15:15
    8. ObanArr 15:28
  4. Oban · 1 nightScotland's seafood capital on a sheltered bay.
    ScotRail08:56 → 11:56 · 3hTimetable-checked
    ScotRail · ScotRailOban → Glasgow Queen Street08:56 → 11:56
    1. ObanDep 08:56
    2. Connel FerryArr 09:07 · Dep 09:07
    3. TaynuiltArr 09:18 · Dep 09:19
    4. Falls of CruachanArr 09:27 · Dep 09:27
    5. Loch AweArr 09:34 · Dep 09:34
    6. DalmallyArr 09:39 · Dep 09:40
    7. Tyndrum LowerArr 09:58 · Dep 09:59
    8. CrianlarichArr 10:08 · Dep 10:14
    9. ArdluiArr 10:29 · Dep 10:29
    10. Arrochar & TarbetArr 10:43 · Dep 10:43
    11. GarelochheadArr 11:04 · Dep 11:04
    12. Helensburgh UpperArr 11:15 · Dep 11:17
    13. Dumbarton CentralArr 11:30 · Dep 11:30
    14. DalmuirArr 11:39 · Dep 11:40
    15. Glasgow Queen StreetArr 11:56
  5. Glasgow, photographed for Wikimedia CommonsGlasgow · 1 nightVictorian grandeur and a lively arts scene.

Timetable-checked on 28 September 2026 for travel on 2026-10-01

The experience

View by
London, photographed for Wikimedia Commons London - An evening start in the capitalLondon
Stay 1 night in LondonBooking.com

Two thousand years on the Thames

The Romans founded Londinium on the Thames, and the City of London still follows the line of their walls. The Tower of London has guarded the river since the Norman conquest. St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire, rises above the Square Mile.

Museums without a ticket

Many of London's great museums are free to enter. The British Museum holds treasures from across the ancient world, while the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square covers centuries of European painting. South Kensington gathers the Natural History, Science and Victoria and Albert museums along a single road.

Cathedrals of the railway age

The great Victorian termini line the Euston Road. St Pancras, with its Gothic hotel and vast iron train shed, stands beside King's Cross and its restored concourse. Euston, a short walk west, is the traditional starting point for journeys to the Scottish Highlands.

Markets and pubsFood

Borough Market by London Bridge is the place to graze on cheese, pies and street food from across the world. A traditional pub supper of fish and chips is an easy meal before an evening departure.

Pageantry and carnivalTraditions

The Changing of the Guard takes place outside Buckingham Palace on most mornings through the summer. Every June the Trooping the Colour parade marks the monarch's official birthday. Notting Hill Carnival fills west London with steel bands and costume over the August bank holiday weekend.

London → Fort William20:46 → 10:0013h 14mdirectTimetable-checked

Overnight to the Highlands

The night journey north leaves the capital in the evening and crosses the length of England while you sleep. By morning the line has joined the West Highland route above the Clyde and climbs past Loch Long and Loch Lomond. Breakfast comes with the empty sweep of Rannoch Moor and the lonely station at Corrour.

Fort William
Fort William
Fort William
Fort William - At the foot of Ben NevisFort William
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A garrison town

Fort William takes its name from a fort built to control the Highlands after the risings of the eighteenth century. Today it is a base for walkers and climbers rather than soldiers. The West Highland Museum tells the story of the clans and the risings.

Britain's highest mountain

Ben Nevis rises just outside town, and a well-trodden path leads to the summit on a clear day. Glen Nevis, with its waterfall at Steall, is a gentler walk. The Caledonian Canal starts nearby, where a flight of locks called Neptune's Staircase lifts boats up the hill.

Seafood from the lochsFood

Local langoustines, mussels and scallops come straight from the sea lochs. A dram from the town's own whisky distillery finishes the evening.

Mountain cultureTraditions

Every February the town hosts a mountain film festival for climbers and adventurers. In summer the hills fill with runners, cyclists and walkers finishing the long-distance West Highland Way.

Fort William → Mallaig12:13 → 13:351h 22mdirectTimetable-checked

Over the Glenfinnan Viaduct

West of Fort William the line curves over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, 21 concrete arches above the head of Loch Shiel. It then runs past silver sands, sea lochs and views out to the Small Isles. Sit on the left for the viaduct and the monument on the loch shore.

Mallaig Mallaig - Where the rails meet the seaMallaig
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End of the line

Mallaig is a working fishing port, and the railway arrived here to carry herring south to the cities. The harbour is still busy with fishing boats and ferries. It is a small place, best enjoyed slowly with a walk around the bay.

Gateway to the isles

Ferries cross from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye and to the Small Isles of Eigg, Rùm, Muck and Canna. On a clear day the Cuillin mountains of Skye rise across the water. The Mallaig Heritage Centre explains the railway, the fishing and the Highland clearances.

Smoked fish and fresh catchFood

Mallaig's smokehouse cures kippers the traditional way. The harbour cafés serve fish that was landed the same morning.

Mallaig → Oban10:09 → 15:285h 19m1 changeTimetable-checked

Back through the glens to Loch Awe

The line retraces its way through Glenfinnan and across Rannoch Moor to the junction at Crianlarich. There the Oban branch turns west down Glen Lochy to Loch Awe, where the ruins of Kilchurn Castle stand on a low spit of land. It then threads the narrow Pass of Brander and follows the shore of Loch Etive to the sea.

Oban Oban - The gateway to the islesOban
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A Victorian resort

Oban grew from a fishing village into a busy resort once the railway arrived from the south in the late nineteenth century. Its curved seafront faces a bay sheltered by the island of Kerrera. Above the town stands McCaig's Tower, a ring of granite arches a local banker built to give work to stonemasons.

Castles of the clans

Dunollie Castle, the ruined seat of the MacDougall clan, sits on a headland a short walk north of the harbour. Its small museum and gardens tell the story of the clan and of Highland life. Further up the coast Dunstaffnage Castle guards the mouth of Loch Etive.

Ferries to the Hebrides

Oban is the busiest ferry port on the west coast, with sailings to Mull, Lismore, Coll, Tiree and the Outer Hebrides. A day trip across Mull to Iona, where Saint Columba founded his abbey, is one of the classic excursions. Kerrera, just across the bay, is a quieter escape reached by a small passenger ferry.

Seafood by the pierFood

The stalls and restaurants around the ferry pier serve oysters, scallops and langoustines landed nearby. The town's whisky distillery sits right in the centre, just behind the seafront.

Games and Gaelic songTraditions

Every August the Argyllshire Gathering brings Highland games, piping and dancing to the town. The Royal National Mòd, a festival of Gaelic music and poetry held each October, was first staged in Oban. It still returns here from time to time.

Oban → Glasgow08:56 → 11:573h 1mdirectTimetable-checked

Glen Falloch and the Clyde

Heading south the line climbs back inland to Crianlarich and drops through Glen Falloch, where the river tumbles over falls beside the track. It then runs high above the western shore of Loch Lomond before crossing to Loch Long and the Gare Loch. The last stretch follows the widening Clyde estuary into Glasgow.

Glasgow, photographed for Wikimedia Commons Glasgow - A city of buildersGlasgow
Stay 1 night in GlasgowBooking.com

Second city of the empire

Glasgow grew rich on tobacco, shipbuilding and engineering, and its Victorian centre still shows that confidence in sandstone. George Square and the City Chambers are the grandest set pieces. The medieval cathedral survived the Reformation almost intact, which is rare in Scotland.

Mackintosh and the art school

Charles Rennie Mackintosh gave Glasgow its own version of Art Nouveau. His tea rooms and the Lighthouse design centre show his tall, geometric style. The Kelvingrove museum in the West End mixes old masters with Scottish art and natural history.

Curry capital of ScotlandFood

Glasgow takes its curry houses seriously, and the West End has some of the best. For something more traditional, look for haggis with neeps and tatties in a city-centre pub.

Winter folk musicTraditions

Every January the Celtic Connections festival fills the city's halls with folk and roots music. Pubs host informal sessions late into the night during the festival weeks.

Practical info

Booking

Trainlink doesn't sell tickets. Check each leg with the operator or a retailer before you travel.

What to pack

Highland weather changes fast; bring a waterproof layer even in summer and something warm for the moor.

Best time to travel

Late spring and early autumn bring long light, fewer midges and quieter trains than the school holidays.

Trainlink plans journeys; operators and retailers sell the tickets.