603 - Glenfinnan Viaduct
Today we saw a flying car.
One of the fun things about Scotland is that it contains countless set pieces from magic films. Including (drumroll…) Harry Potter.
So naturally, we found ourselves in front of the Glennfinnan Viaduct. If you can recall, this railway was featured in the Chamber of Secrets when Ron and Harry were flying to Hogwarts in their magic car.
Turns out, it’s a big deal in Scotland, complete with a gift shop, hot chocolate bar, and viewing area for the train. Who knew Harry Potter fans were still kicking after all these years?
We arrived 45 minutes early, in a magic attempt to beat the crowds. The catch about this place is that the train goes through the “famous” portion only a few times a day, so you have to time your arrival if you want to see it on the bridge.
The walk to the viewing point wasn’t far, but we somehow managed to get lost within minutes. Turns out there were two viewing areas… but they only gave you directions to a super accessible area with a bad view of the train. Guess which one we were at?
The good thing was that we figured this out about ten minutes before the train was scheduled to come through. The bad thing was that it was a half a mile away, and we didn’t have broomsticks.
We then proceeded to half sprint, half walk to the good spot. Somehow everyone got the memo besides us, because when we arrived, the viewpoint was absolutely packed with Harry Potter fans.
So with about three minutes to spare, I bustled around the hill looking for the best composition, and ended up landing on this one:
“The Flying Car”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 1600 ~ 41mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/1250s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
The fun thing was the steam only comes out of the train for a few seconds. For some reason I expected the train to just be permanently steaming… but they honk the horn and steam only comes out on the famous bend.
Anyway… very easy shot. But one for the books.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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