BritRail - Malag and Oban

Hard to believe that as an added bonus on the trip between Malag and Oban, we rode over this bridge, one that is familiar to Harry Potter fans. Remember when he missed the train and had to fly to catch up to it, riding between the pillars of this bridge that you see Wyona taking a picture of, in this instance.

This is the smallest place I have ever stayed. That was what Wyona told me after we checked into the Crianlarch Hotel. She was not talking about the size of the hotel, but the size of the town: two blocks – 10 houses; a police station; a youth hostel; a bed and breakfast; the hotel; the convenience store that was also the post office and bank machine; a church with services run twice monthly.

We took a walk in the evening, up a small trail, down which hikers were coming from the close of the day.

“Are you locals?,” one asked.

Even though I said no, he proceeded with his next question. “Do you know where the chippy is?”

“I don’t know what a chippy is,” I replied.

He pantomimed for me something the size of a shoe box and then began to pick imaginary French fries out of it.

Wyona and I were taking a stroll before bedding down at the end of a trip that Tonia suggested as not to be missed.

Someone on the train told us that the ride was voted the best steam engine trip in the world, two years running.

There was a reason that I would stand at the window for long stretches of the trip, so long at the window that other passengers joined me there, to see what it was that was so interesting.

That day we had gone from London to Edinburgh, over to Glasgow, then along the West Highland Railroad Line to Oban and then Malag before ending our trip at a point where we could start the next day’s trip to Scotland.

On the way to Oban, people dressed for hiking would leave the train and join others whom we saw all along the way on hiking paths.

The train company has published a short book that tells the name of the stops and what is important to watch for between stops.

For example, here is a set of locks that brings small boats down one of the rivers and lets them into the sea.

Here you can see the symmetry of the design as well as love its function.

Malag was a short one hour stop.

I took pictures of the Atlantic Ocean and the islands just off of the main coast.

Wyona sat at the railroad station and that is where she pointed out to me that herring gulls were nesting right on the tracks.

I was flat on my stomach, hanging over the railroad platform, trying to capture this image.

Other gulls were shrieking at me from over head, swooping down, probably the mate of the bird.

Is this a trip we would recommend?

We have an extra day at the end of the pass – a day we are saving to redo the best of the day trips we have been making.

Hard to think that any other trip could beat one that was voted the best steam engine trip in the world.

Arta