This train journey takes you from London to the Scottish Highlands. The Caledonian Sleeper overnight train takes you from London to Fort William. Over the Gelenfinnan Viaduct through Mallaig and Armadle to the Isle of Skye. Onwards from Kyle of Lochalsh all the way to the north of Scotland to Thurso. And from there back again via Inverness and Edinburgh. This is a journey that you can do perfectly with the Interrail/Eurail Pass - that's why I focussed on it. Of course, you can also travel with normal train tickets.
To London by train
With the Eurostar train you can from Brussels and Paris direct to London. However, you have to buy an Interrail/Eurail reservation for 30 EUR which you can buy online at ACPRail or B-Europe to get there. If this is too expensive for you, you can also look for a bus connection: Flixbus or Omio. These buses also run overnight and save you the cost of a hostel or hotel.
From London to Fort William on the Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper night trains connect London with Scotland. Completely new and very comfortable carriages are now in use. With Interrail/Eurail you travel free of charge in a seat! You can book your own private compartment with Interrail/Eurail from GBP 120. Departure is at 21:15 from London. Your arrival in Fort William is at 09:57. The train from London to Fort William does not depart on Saturday evening!
You can obtain your free seat reservation via Caledonian Sleeper customer service. Reservations for own, private compartments directly on the website. Tick the "Room Supplement Only" box to only purchase the reservation. Your normal You can buy your ticket directly here. The prices depend on the capacity utilisation of the night train.
Decision by date of travel: by ferry to the Isle of Skye or by bus
HintYou now have two options for travelling on. This depends on the date you are travelling.
1) Fort William - Train to Mallaig - Ferry to Armadale - Bus to Kyle of LochalshThis is probably not possible at the weekend as there is no bus service between Armadale and Kyle of Lochalsh. However, this is my recommended route. Check the following links in the text for journey times on your travel dates.
2) Fort William - Train to Mallaig - Train to Fort William - Bus to Kyle of LochalshFrom here you take the beautiful train journey from Fort William to Mallaig and back to Fort William. From here, take the year-round bus to Kyle of Lochalsh.
From Kyle of Lochalsh your journey continues as normal.
Bus from Fort William to Kyle of Lochalsh
The bus from Fort William to Kyle of Lochalsh runs three times a day. The journey takes two hours. The bus ticket costs 25 GBP and you can either buy it directly from the driver or online. buy on Citylink. Departures from Fort William are at 10:00, 14:00 and 18:40. This bus journey is not included in the Interrail/Eurail ticket.
Fascinating route from Fort William to Mallaig via the Gelenfinnan Viaduct
The train journey from Fort William to Mallaig is considered the most beautiful section of the West Highland Line. The journey takes 1:30 hours. This journey is free with Interrail/Eurail. The highlight of this route is the Glenfinnan Viaductwhich can be seen in the Harry Potter films! To do this, sit on the left in the direction of travel. There is also a Station museum well worth seeing. You can also spend the night there in sleeping carriages from the 1950s - from 25 GBP. The walk to the viaduct is about 1km and takes about 20 minutes.
Departure times from Fort William: 08:30 / 12:12 / 16:19 / 22:11
Departure times from Mallaig: 06:03 / 10:10 / 16:05 / 18:15
Fewer journeys at weekends. You can find current timetables on Scotrail.
By ferry from Mallaig to Armadale
Mallaig is a fishing village and the terminus of the West Highland Line. You can get to the Isle of Skye by ferry to Armadale. The ferry departs up to eight times a day. The journey time is 25 minutes. The fare is GBP 3. You must check in at least 10 minutes before departure!
You can find the exact timetable and other routes (if you are planning them) on the operator's website Caledonian MacBrayne.
The ferry offers a beautiful view. There is seating inside and outside.
The ferry stops briefly in Armadale to pick up passengers and then heads straight back to Mallaig.
By bus across the Isle of Skye to Kyle of Lochalsh
The Isle of Skye offers you absolutely fantastic opportunities to enjoy the Scottish countryside. I am only referring to the connection from Armadale (ferry arrival) to Kyle of Lochalsh (train connection). There is no railway on Skye itself, only buses.
The bus service from Armadale to Kyle of Lochalsh is a little awkward: it runs infrequently and sometimes not at all at weekends. On Fridays it usually runs at different times. You have to change buses in Broadford. Please check the operator's website for more information Stagecoach. It is bus route 52 (Armadale, Pier to Broadford, Post Office) and 50 (Broadford, Post Office to Kyle of Lochalsh, Harbour Slipway). If you use the timetable search, you have to search in two steps: Armadale-Broadford and Broadford-Kyle of Lochalsh.
Armadale, Pier from 10:45
Broadford, Post Office an 11:10
CHANGE
Broadford, Post Office from 14:58
Kyle of Lochalsh, Harbour Slipway an 15:18
As you can see, it can be more convenient (as mentioned above) to drive from Fort William to Mallaig (a route worth seeing!) and back again. And then by bus from Fort William to Kyle of Lochalsh.
One day through Scotland from Kyle of Lochalsh to Thurso
Your journey now continues through the Highlands. Firstly from Kyle of Lochalsh to Dingwall. The journey takes two hours. There you change trains to Thurso. The journey from Dingwall to Thurso takes three hours. Overall, a scenic route through mountainous country with many bridges and tunnels. You can adjust the train connection a little and extend your stay in the market town of Dingwall. This journey is free for you with the Interrail/Eurail Pass.
Kyle of Lochalsh from 12:08
Dingwall on 14:09
CHANGE
Dingwall from 14:37
Thurso to 17:50
Thurso is the most northerly railway station in Great Britain. Ferries to the Orkney Islands leave from here. An overnight stay is quite nice, for example in the Station Hotelwhich I can recommend. There's something about being so far north.
Train journey from Thurso to Inverness
You are already familiar with parts of the route from Thurso to Inverness. The journey from Thurso to Inverness takes four hours and is free with Interrail/Eurail. There are two to four connections depending on the day of the week.
Thurso from 13:06
Inverness on 17:06
In Inverness you can quite Spend the night inexpensively or take an earlier train from Thurso and continue straight through to Edinburgh.
From Inverness to Edinburgh with Interrail, Eurail or a normal ticket
There are connections from Inverness to Edinburgh almost every hour. The journey time is 3:30 hours and is free with Interrail/Eurail. For example, a connection from Thurso via Inverness to Edinburgh. You can buy the ticket for this train connection buy from Omio.
Thurso from 08:34
Inverness on 12:26
CHANGE
Inverness from 12:49
Edinburgh on 16:34
Edinburgh to London: by day or night train
Edinburgh is definitely worth a two or three night stay. There is a lot of culture to see and countless pubs to linger in the evening. I personally like Edinburgh very much. Edinburgh offers a lot of choice cheap hotelshostels or Airbnb flats.
From Edinburgh you can then return by Caledonian Sleeper travelling to London. Either free of charge with Interrail/Eurail in a seated carriage. Or in a sleeping car from 120 GBP. Read how to book this at the top of the blog post. This night train does not run on Saturday evenings.
Edinburgh from 23:40
London on 07:07
You can board the train as early as 23:00 and only leave at 07:30. Your night will then be a little longer. Optionally you can take the night train from Inverness to Londonif you want to skip Edinburgh.
The journey from Edinburgh to London takes 4:30 hours by day. An Interrail/Eurail reservation is compulsory, but you can get one free of charge at railway stations in the UK. Or online at ACPRail for a small service fee.
Which Interrail/Eurail ticket is the best for Scotland?
It depends on how you are travelling to London. Sufficient is the 5 days within one month Interrail Pass. However, I would choose one with more travel days. This gives you more flexibility and the individual Interrail/Eurail travel day is calculated more favourably on the ticket price.
Summary: which train tickets or reservations do I need to buy?
Interrail and Eurail
If you are travelling with an Interrail/Eurail Pass (my recommendation):
- Interrail/Eurail ticket: 5 days within one month or with more travelling days
- Eurostar reservation to London: 30 EUR. Click here Buy from ACPRail.
- Booking Caledonian Sleeper London-Fort William: Free seat or bed reservation from 120 GBP
- Booking Caledonian Sleeper Edinburgh-London: Free seat or bed reservation from 120 GBP
Britrail
The Britrail Pass, which is comparable to Interrail/Eurail, is available as an option. Further You can find information at ACPRail.
Normal train tickets
Overnight stays
Hotels (examples):
Glenfinnan Viaduct, from 25 EUR
Mallaig - The Mission Bunkhouse, from 30 EUR
Kyle of Lochalsh - Creaggan Ard Guest House, from 60 EUR
Thurso - Station Hotel, from 60 EUR
Edinburgh - Overview of cheap hotels
Hostels: find cheap hostels on Hostelworld.
Conclusion and evaluation of the train journey through Scotland
Beautiful scenery and not too crowded. If you travel a bit in the low season, there really isn't much going on. But keep an eye on train, bus and ferry times. The connection on Skye by bus from Armadale to Kyle of Lochalsh is difficult.
Overall, the Interrail/Eurail Pass is the best choice, especially compared to the rather expensive normal train tickets in the UK. Especially if you are also planning further stops.
Have a good trip! Petros 🙂
Important links
Timetable – die einzelnen Betreiber findest du im Text. Eine Übersicht bekommst du hier: Omio
Nachtzug-Tickets kaufen – Preis abhängig vom Reisedatum und Zugklasse: Caledonian Sleeper
Hotels buchen in London und Schottland buchen: Booking.com
InterRail - a train ticket for the whole of Europe: InterRail
BritRail – ein Zugticket für ganz Großbritannien: BritRail
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