Off Our Feet and On The Train to Mallaig

The original plan was to follow our 8 day 96 mile walk of the West Highland Way with a ascent of Ben Nevis, at 4406', the highest point in the UK. After much deliberation, our feet had the deciding vote, and we looked for a better way to spend our day. As Ian, our host said, "Skip the climb. Buy the postcard".
We started the day by doing our best to stimulate the local economy. Our time on the trail had kept us out of the shops, but we made up for it this morning. We continued to meet friends from the trail as we shopped, trading stories of the final day's hike. Two of the groups we talked to also took the country road option to end the hike. A clerk in the store heard our conversation and assured us we made the right choice. The forest path through Glen Nevis is rocky and in need of repair. She said that funds are being set aside for the work.
Our host Ian had suggested the train to Mallaig as an alternative to another day a hiking, and we took the suggestion. The 2.5 hour journey from Fort William to Mallaig is along the route filmed for the Harry Potter films. The steam train was used as the Hogswart Express and the arched bridges and glens and lochs used as backdrops in the movies as the trip to Hogwarts School.
We opted for the less expensive diesel locomotive trip, a quarter of the cost of the steam train. By the way, Scotland Rail offers discounts to those of us over 55 years of age.
The trip winds it way through glens and past lochs to the small fishing village of Mallaig, stopping along the way at numerous other small villages.  Mallaig has a thriving fishing industry and ferry service to the "small" western islands of Cannac, Rhum, Eigg, and Muck. We could see the islands from the train. Rhum sounds like a very interesting day trip. The whole island is a nature preserve, with guided nature walks by arrangement. The high peaks on the island all have Norse names, something I found interesting on the west coast of Scotland. As we had a late start, we had no time this trip to explore the islands.
Mallaig is setup for the tourist trade, and today that meant us. We had a nice lunch at a the tea room including fresh local haddock and local ale from the Isle of Skye. More purchases made, we returned to Fort William along the scenic rail line. We were even able to get a picture of Ben Nevis without clouds covering it's peak. After eight days on the trail, it was great to be back in civilization, able to get off our feet, and let someone else do the driving.

More photos on Flickr.