Best Side to Sit on the Jacobite Train

Left-hand side leaving Fort William. Right-hand side coming back from Mallaig.

That puts you on the Loch Shiel side as the train curves onto the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which is the view people come for, and on the seaward side for the run along the coast towards Arisaig and Morar.

The Limitation Nobody Mentions

Here is the thing to understand before you spend any energy on seat selection: when the train is crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct, you cannot see the Glenfinnan Viaduct. You are on it. What you get from the window is the drop to Loch Shiel and the sweep of the glen — genuinely lovely, and not the image in your head.

The famous photograph is taken from the hillside above the line. If that image is your reason for the trip, no seat on the train will deliver it, and watching from Glenfinnan will — for free.

What You Can Choose

Seating is allocated on most fares rather than free-choice, so the honest answer is that you often cannot pick. What you can do:

• Book early, since the better allocations go with the earlier bookings.
• First class buys a table and more window, when it is available at all — which is rarely, as it sells out almost as soon as booking opens.
• Ask at the platform. Staff will sometimes accommodate a swap if the carriage is not full, and on shoulder-season departures it often is not.

The Rest of the Route, by Side

• Left, outbound — Loch Eil, the Glenfinnan curve, Loch Shiel, then glimpses of the sea before Arisaig.
• Right, outbound — the hills, and the better view of the locomotive itself on the tighter curves, which matters more than people expect if you like trains.
• Coming back, everything reverses: take the right.

Steam, Windows and Photographs

Some carriages have opening windows and some do not. Leaning out is prohibited and the reason is not fussiness — a steam locomotive throws hot cinders down the train, and eye injuries are the classic Jacobite mishap. Shoot through the glass, accept the reflections, or take the photographs from the hillside where there is no glass at all.

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