Glenfinnan

Location

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OS Ref: NM 905 804

Last Visited: 2000

Glenfinnan is famous for two things: As the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised the Jacobite Standard and rallied his clansmen in his battle for the British throne and, more recently, as the location for the second and third Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The viaduct, which featured so strongly in the films, was built by Robert 'Concrete Bob' McAlpine in 1901. It was one of the first structures in the world to use what was, at that time, a newly re-discovered building material, Mass Concrete.

Two bungalows on the Isle of Wight have the honour of being the first such use, and the Sway Tower in the New Forest is the first large structure. The Romans, of course, made extensive use of Mass Concrete, the Pantheon being one of the finest examples.

The viaduct carries West Highland Line which runs between Fort William and Mallaig. In addition to the normal service trains, the line is also home to the Jacobite Steam Train, which pauses long enough at Glenfinnan Station for passengers to visit the splendid little Glenfinnan Railway Station Museum.

Unfortunately, it does not stop long enough to allow them to take in the excellent Princes House Hotel, with its friendly bar and fine restaurant.

The Glenfinnan Monument, designed by James Gillespie Graham, was built in 1815, seventy years after the 1745 uprising, by Alexander MacDonald of Glenaladale in memory of all the clansmen who had fought for the cause. It is not on the actual spot where the standard was raised, which is believed to be on the high ground to the west of the tower behind the old Church Manse.

The tower is now in the custody of the National Trust for Scotland who have an interesting little Visitor Centre telling the Prince's story (see the NTS site for opening times). There are fine views from the top of the tower.