Glenfinnan House + Viaduct

So, I'm just going to come right out and say it. The only reason we stayed in this hotel is because it is conveniently located a mere 10 minute walk away from the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This may seem silly to some of you. Maybe it will seem less silly when I tell you that the Glenfinnan Viaduct was used in the second Harry Potter film. That's right. It's the bridge where Ron and Harry almost get hit by a train in their flying Ford Anglia. I realize that may still sound silly to some of you.. but also I got a really good deal from Groupon.

It's been a few months since my last Scotland post, but I'm not even halfway done yet, so let us continue on. The Glenfinnan House was beautiful beyond my expectations. It is located directly on Loch Shiel in a remote location. The house has its own dock, 27 bedrooms, a gorgeous formal dining room, a more casual dining room for lunch, and basically it was a dream come true. I talked Forrest into dining in the hotel that night and it was delicious and reasonably priced. We sat next to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the lake with a candle flickering on our table (so romantic!). It was pretty stormy that night and it was lovely to watch the rain and dark clouds rolling over the loch from the cozy dining room (and if I remember right, there was a fire crackling in the corner) (but that could just be the overall dreamy haze infecting my memory). Sometimes, I have such a great experience somewhere and my brain remembers the time as even better than it actually was. I can't remember even one bad thing happening here and I'm pretty sure nothing did! Even the rain added to the magic. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Scotland? Like I said, it was a dream come true.


Speaking of dreams come true..

Don't worry, there are at least 30 more pictures of the viaduct in this post. Carry on!

Ah, Glenfinnan, house of my dreams.

This little chapel up above was a short walk down the road. It just looks so pretty up there resting on its bed of purple.

It must have been purple rhododendron season because I don't think I saw any other type of flower. The contrast with all the greens and greys made for a lovely effect--and I accidentally matched!

The Jacobite (the company that provided the Harry Potter films with its trains and, consequently, we carried a brochure for it in our car for over a year) runs on the viaduct. We were tempted to enjoy a wizarding train ride (I don't even think that exists except in my head), but a ride on the antique trains is an all day affair (from Fort William to Mallaig) for which we simply did not have the time. We were lucky enough to see a regular train roll across the bridge, however.

I'm not even going to guess how much time we spent wading in the stream just because we could, but I'm thinking it's an embarrassing amount.

This hallway.. there was another like it on the other side of the stairs. The house just kept going. We ventured to the third floor of the house (via winding staircase) and looked out a window (so sneaky, I know) (I must have been too preoccupied with our sneakiness to take a picture).

There are probably way too many pictures in the post, but it was all so beautiful. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

P.S. Other posts along this journey:

The Highlands

Hadrian's Wall

Peckforton Castle

Chatsworth House + Gardens

Chatsworth was one of the places I wanted to see most in England and it was one of the very last places we went. You need a whole day to devote to this gigantic mansion and we never managed to have the time to drive the three hours there and back. So, naturally, we decided to stop by on our way to Scotland (ps posts on Scotland coming soon).

I wanted to see this place so badly, I even watched a three-part documentary on the house. It was great and very informative, but seeing it in person was even better. The grounds are 35,000 acres and the gardens are spectacular. They even have a maze (!).

This is Forrest doing his Mr. Darcy impression. Because, you know, Pemberley.

Only about 26 of the 126 rooms are open to the public, but they're pretty good rooms. Also, the doorways are really tall.

We saw the Duke of Devonshire (who lives at Chatsworth) in the library. He's the blue blob at the back of the room. 

These are some silver miniatures that I thought we so cute! The chandelier is about three inches tall if I remember correctly.

I thought this house was so dreamy. If I could pick a little English cottage, this would be the one.

I am really starting to miss England. I knew I would, but I didn't think I would miss it quite so much so soon. I suppose part of the longing is for all the adventures we had across Europe while we've had a few very quiet months since we've arrived in Washington. A few quiet months means that I've gotten a lot of reading and knitting done and Forrest has had some time to try and recover from his ridiculous headaches, but I think both of us are lusting after more time on the open road. We traveled at least once every two months while in the UK and it seems like something should be coming up on our calendar.

I suppose all I can do for now is sort through more photos and remember all of the amazing moments we've had. There's not a day that goes by when I'm asking Forrest remember when we went there and did this? that was fun! let's go there again someday soon. It's wonderful, but I got used to living in places with so much history and now here I am living in a house from the 1920's that seems ancient to most Americans. It's an adjustment.

There's a different kind of beauty in the US. It's not the beauty of old buildings and even older families. It's the fact that I can look out my window and see Mt. Rainier any old day. We have the magnificent beauty of nature that hasn't been touched and touristed (?) to oblivion. I can get away from people in this state. I've said it before, but with the population of the UK, we just couldn't get away from anyone. There was always someone around even in the most remote place. On our road trip across the states, we practically had an entire National Park to ourselves. That is what I love about this country.

That said, it's still an adjustment.

I miss you, old houses (especially you, Chatsworth)!