Glenfinnan, from the window of the Jacobite

Challenging conditions! I was standing up in the crowded steam train, shooting on my phone cam though an opened window by the passenger seats, trying to get the perfect Glenfinnan shot as the train climbed uphill towards the station.

Turned out it was a good day for a steam train trip. We were four: my sister Kate and her daughter Jezreel, and Steve and I. My sister Mouse, her son Hamish, and her partner Stevie, drove up to Mallaig and watched the train, then Hamish travelled back on the train with us. Sadly, there weren't enough tickets for everyone, because they'd left the booking a bit late.

At Glenfinnan station, there is a little museum, an antiquated snowplough for the railways, and a piper on the platform. I gravitated towards the sound of the pipes, and found that the player was just a teenager, but very proficient. They start them young round here.

At Mallaig, we had fish and chips in the Fishermen's Mission- that-was, and found a secondhand book shop! Mouse and I marched briskly round the bay and back, then we had to board the train. We bought a pack of cards and Kate taught me a new game, which she called Sh*thead. I am sure it must have another name!

Back in Fort William, we bought some biscuits, and headed off to Duror to have tea with our mother and her husband before they rushed off to a harvest supper. Fortunately, I had phoned to remind them that they were coming, because it turned out that they'd thought we were visiting tomorrow! 

What I like about this shot is that you can see the Glenfinnan monument if you look hard enough. This was raised when Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland, after years of exile in France, and proclaimed his intention to march on London and seize the throne. This was known as the second Jacobite Uprising. In fact, he and his  army got as far as Derby before turning back. The repercussions were harsh. Mouse, Stevie and Hamish went through Glenfinnan by car, and Stevie asked if the monument was a statue of Harry Potter! It's true that the filming of young HP and the train going over the Glenfinnan Viaduct has had a major impact on local tourism. The train is now known as the Harry Potter train, as well as the Jacobite. You can even travel Harry Potter style, though I have no idea what that  means. The steam train and its daily dispersing of tourists throughout the season has given Mallaig a shot in the arm, and it now offers a selection of shops, galleries and places to eat: much more so than the last time I visited, ten years ago. Even Fort William station has been extended. Long live steam!