Scotland · Window guide
Which side of the West Highland Line should you sit on?
A window guide to the West Highland Line (164 mi / about 264 km, 26 narrated stories), built from the same route data the Rail Journeys app uses to trigger its narration.
Operated by ScotRail. Rail Journeys of a Lifetime is an independent audio guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any railway operator.
The short answer
- Toward Mallaig: sit on the left — the left-hand side has the horseshoe curve, Loch Treig and the Monessie Gorge to Fort William, and — after the reversal — Loch Eil, the Glenfinnan Viaduct curve and the sea lochs to Mallaig.
- Toward Glasgow: sit on the right — the right-hand side has the sea lochs, the Glenfinnan Viaduct curve and Loch Eil to Fort William, and — after the reversal — the Monessie Gorge, Loch Treig and the horseshoe curve to Glasgow.
The app narrates each sight automatically as you reach it and says which side to look — this page is the same route, in order, for planning. "Left" and "right" are relative to the direction of travel.
Distances in the tables are measured along the route geometry from Glasgow Queen Street and are approximate; the headline distance is the operator's published figure.
Before you board
- The train reverses at Fort William: after the stop, the side you were sitting on becomes the other side of the train. The tables below are relative to the direction of travel, so the Mallaig leg still reads correctly — change seats at Fort William to stay on the recommended side.
Toward Mallaig
| Distance from start | Sight | Look | What you'll hear about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 mi (0 km) | 🚉 Glasgow Queen Street | — | Station stop |
| 7 mi (12 km) | Glasgow & the Clyde | Either side | We set out from Glasgow, and for the first miles the train runs beside the river that made it: the Clyde. |
| 10 mi (16 km) | 🚉 Dalmuir | — | Station stop |
| 15 mi (25 km) | Dumbarton Rock | Left side | Out on the Clyde, watch for a great twin-peaked crag of bare volcanic rock rising straight from the water — Dumbarton Rock. |
| 16 mi (26 km) | 🚉 Dumbarton Central | — | Station stop |
| 25 mi (41 km) | 🚉 Helensburgh Upper | — | Station stop |
| 32 mi (52 km) | The Gare Loch: Clippers and Submarines | Either side | As the real West Highland Line begins, the train climbs above a long, deep sea loch — the Gare Loch — with grand Victorian villas along its |
| 32 mi (52 km) | 🚉 Garelochhead | — | Station stop |
| 43 mi (69 km) | 🚉 Arrochar and Tarbet | — | Station stop |
| 43 mi (69 km) | Arrochar & The Cobbler: The Boat-Dragging Pass | Either side | Watch the skyline as the train threads between two lochs — and look for one peak that stands out, its summit weirdly jagged, like a figure b |
| 51 mi (82 km) | Loch Lomond: Leaving the Lowlands | Either side | This big, island-dotted loch beside us early in the journey is Loch Lomond. |
| 51 mi (82 km) | 🚉 Ardlui | — | Station stop |
| 59 mi (96 km) | 🚉 Crianlarich | — | Station stop |
| 59 mi (96 km) | Crianlarich: The Mountain Junction | Either side | The village of Crianlarich sits in a knot of glens where routes have crossed since drovers walked cattle to the lowland markets. |
| 64 mi (104 km) | 🚉 Upper Tyndrum | — | Station stop |
| 64 mi (104 km) | Tyndrum: One Village, Two Railways | Either side | Coming up is one of the strangest little railway facts in Britain, at the tiny village of Tyndrum. |
| 71 mi (115 km) | Built Poor: The Horseshoe Curve | Either side | Notice how the train suddenly swings out and around in a great loop, hugging the hillside instead of crossing straight. |
| 72 mi (116 km) | 🚉 Bridge of Orchy | — | Station stop |
| 72 mi (116 km) | Bridge of Orchy & the Black Mount: Into the Wild | Either side | Watch the last trees fall away and a wall of dark mountains rise ahead — the Black Mount — as the train reaches Bridge of Orchy and the coun |
| 75 mi (120 km) | The Munros | Either side | Those high summits crowding the skyline are more than scenery to a certain kind of Scot — they're a checklist. |
| 87 mi (141 km) | 🚉 Rannoch | — | Station stop |
| 87 mi (141 km) | Rannoch Moor: The Railway that Floats | Either side | Look out at this — mile after mile of brown, watery, treeless bog, running to distant hills with not a road or house in sight. |
| 91 mi (146 km) | Red Deer on the Moor | Either side | Keep your eyes on the open moor now, because this is some of the best country in Britain to spot a wild red deer — the largest land animal i |
| 95 mi (152 km) | 🚉 Corrour | — | Station stop |
| 95 mi (152 km) | Corrour: The Station with No Road | Either side | We're stopping at a lonely platform in the middle of the moor — Corrour. |
| 101 mi (162 km) | Loch Treig: The Lonely Water | Left side | Coming down off the high moor, the line clings to the steep shore of a long, dark, deep-set loch — Loch Treig, whose name is often read as ' |
| 105 mi (169 km) | 🚉 Tulloch | — | Station stop |
| 109 mi (175 km) | The Monessie Gorge | Either side | The ground drops away here into a narrow rock gorge, with the River Spean foaming through it far below. |
| 110 mi (178 km) | 🚉 Roy Bridge | — | Station stop |
| 114 mi (183 km) | 🚉 Spean Bridge | — | Station stop |
| 114 mi (183 km) | Spean Bridge & the Commandos | Either side | Near the village of Spean Bridge stands one of Scotland's most moving monuments: three bronze soldiers, gazing out toward the mountains. |
| 122 mi (196 km) | 🚉 Fort William | — | Station stop |
| 122 mi (196 km) | Fort William, under the Ben | Either side | The big shouldered mountain looming over this town, often with its head in cloud, is Ben Nevis. |
| 123 mi (198 km) | 🚉 Banavie | — | Station stop |
| 123 mi (199 km) | Neptune's Staircase | Either side | Just west of Fort William, a remarkable staircase of water climbs the hillside beside the line — a flight of eight lock gates set in a row. |
| 124 mi (200 km) | 🚉 Corpach | — | Station stop |
| 127 mi (204 km) | Loch Eil & the Road to the Isles | Left side | Out of Fort William the line swings west along the shore of Loch Eil, and we join one of the most romantic routes in Scotland — the old 'Roa |
| 127 mi (205 km) | 🚉 Loch Eil Outward Bound | — | Station stop |
| 131 mi (211 km) | 🚉 Locheilside | — | Station stop |
| 137 mi (220 km) | Glenfinnan Viaduct: The Wizard's Bridge that Concrete Built | Left side | Feel the train curve onto a long, high bridge — a great sweep of pale arches above the glen. |
| 137 mi (221 km) | Glenfinnan: Where a Rebellion Began | Left side | Below the viaduct, look down the long silver finger of water — Loch Shiel — and the slim stone tower standing at its head, with a lone Highl |
| 138 mi (222 km) | 🚉 Glenfinnan | — | Station stop |
| 138 mi (222 km) | Loch Shiel & the Long Wait | Either side | That long, narrow loch reaching away into the hills is Loch Shiel. |
| 147 mi (236 km) | 🚉 Lochailort | — | Station stop |
| 150 mi (241 km) | Loch nan Uamh: The Prince's Shore | Left side | The sea loch opening below us in this wild, rocky country has a quiet place in history. |
| 152 mi (244 km) | 🚉 Beasdale | — | Station stop |
| 155 mi (249 km) | 🚉 Arisaig | — | Station stop |
| 155 mi (249 km) | Arisaig: The White Sands and the Isles | Either side | Suddenly the colours change — pale, almost tropical sand, turquoise shallows, and islands floating on the horizon. |
| 159 mi (256 km) | Loch Morar: The Deepest Water | Right side | The long dark loch inland of us, Loch Morar, hides a record you'd never guess from its calm surface: it's the deepest body of fresh water in |
| 160 mi (257 km) | 🚉 Morar | — | Station stop |
| 162 mi (261 km) | 🚉 Mallaig | — | Station stop |
| 162 mi (261 km) | Mallaig: The Silver Darlings | Either side | The land runs out. |
Toward Glasgow
| Distance from start | Sight | Look | What you'll hear about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 mi (0 km) | Mallaig: The Silver Darlings | Either side | The land runs out. |
| 0 mi (0 km) | 🚉 Mallaig | — | Station stop |
| 3 mi (4 km) | 🚉 Morar | — | Station stop |
| 3 mi (5 km) | Loch Morar: The Deepest Water | Left side | The long dark loch inland of us, Loch Morar, hides a record you'd never guess from its calm surface: it's the deepest body of fresh water in |
| 7 mi (12 km) | Arisaig: The White Sands and the Isles | Either side | Suddenly the colours change — pale, almost tropical sand, turquoise shallows, and islands floating on the horizon. |
| 7 mi (12 km) | 🚉 Arisaig | — | Station stop |
| 11 mi (17 km) | 🚉 Beasdale | — | Station stop |
| 12 mi (20 km) | Loch nan Uamh: The Prince's Shore | Right side | The sea loch opening below us in this wild, rocky country has a quiet place in history. |
| 16 mi (25 km) | 🚉 Lochailort | — | Station stop |
| 25 mi (40 km) | Loch Shiel & the Long Wait | Either side | That long, narrow loch reaching away into the hills is Loch Shiel. |
| 25 mi (40 km) | 🚉 Glenfinnan | — | Station stop |
| 25 mi (40 km) | Glenfinnan: Where a Rebellion Began | Right side | Below the viaduct, look down the long silver finger of water — Loch Shiel — and the slim stone tower standing at its head, with a lone Highl |
| 25 mi (41 km) | Glenfinnan Viaduct: The Wizard's Bridge that Concrete Built | Right side | Feel the train curve onto a long, high bridge — a great sweep of pale arches above the glen. |
| 31 mi (50 km) | 🚉 Locheilside | — | Station stop |
| 35 mi (56 km) | 🚉 Loch Eil Outward Bound | — | Station stop |
| 36 mi (57 km) | Loch Eil & the Road to the Isles | Right side | Out of Fort William the line swings west along the shore of Loch Eil, and we join one of the most romantic routes in Scotland — the old 'Roa |
| 38 mi (61 km) | 🚉 Corpach | — | Station stop |
| 39 mi (63 km) | Neptune's Staircase | Either side | Just west of Fort William, a remarkable staircase of water climbs the hillside beside the line — a flight of eight lock gates set in a row. |
| 39 mi (63 km) | 🚉 Banavie | — | Station stop |
| 41 mi (65 km) | Fort William, under the Ben | Either side | The big shouldered mountain looming over this town, often with its head in cloud, is Ben Nevis. |
| 41 mi (65 km) | 🚉 Fort William | — | Station stop |
| 49 mi (78 km) | Spean Bridge & the Commandos | Either side | Near the village of Spean Bridge stands one of Scotland's most moving monuments: three bronze soldiers, gazing out toward the mountains. |
| 49 mi (78 km) | 🚉 Spean Bridge | — | Station stop |
| 52 mi (84 km) | 🚉 Roy Bridge | — | Station stop |
| 54 mi (86 km) | The Monessie Gorge | Either side | The ground drops away here into a narrow rock gorge, with the River Spean foaming through it far below. |
| 58 mi (93 km) | 🚉 Tulloch | — | Station stop |
| 62 mi (99 km) | Loch Treig: The Lonely Water | Right side | Coming down off the high moor, the line clings to the steep shore of a long, dark, deep-set loch — Loch Treig, whose name is often read as ' |
| 68 mi (109 km) | Corrour: The Station with No Road | Either side | We're stopping at a lonely platform in the middle of the moor — Corrour. |
| 68 mi (109 km) | 🚉 Corrour | — | Station stop |
| 72 mi (115 km) | Red Deer on the Moor | Either side | Keep your eyes on the open moor now, because this is some of the best country in Britain to spot a wild red deer — the largest land animal i |
| 75 mi (121 km) | Rannoch Moor: The Railway that Floats | Either side | Look out at this — mile after mile of brown, watery, treeless bog, running to distant hills with not a road or house in sight. |
| 75 mi (121 km) | 🚉 Rannoch | — | Station stop |
| 88 mi (141 km) | The Munros | Either side | Those high summits crowding the skyline are more than scenery to a certain kind of Scot — they're a checklist. |
| 90 mi (146 km) | Bridge of Orchy & the Black Mount: Into the Wild | Either side | Watch the last trees fall away and a wall of dark mountains rise ahead — the Black Mount — as the train reaches Bridge of Orchy and the coun |
| 90 mi (146 km) | 🚉 Bridge of Orchy | — | Station stop |
| 91 mi (147 km) | Built Poor: The Horseshoe Curve | Either side | Notice how the train suddenly swings out and around in a great loop, hugging the hillside instead of crossing straight. |
| 98 mi (158 km) | Tyndrum: One Village, Two Railways | Either side | Coming up is one of the strangest little railway facts in Britain, at the tiny village of Tyndrum. |
| 98 mi (158 km) | 🚉 Upper Tyndrum | — | Station stop |
| 103 mi (166 km) | Crianlarich: The Mountain Junction | Either side | The village of Crianlarich sits in a knot of glens where routes have crossed since drovers walked cattle to the lowland markets. |
| 103 mi (166 km) | 🚉 Crianlarich | — | Station stop |
| 112 mi (180 km) | 🚉 Ardlui | — | Station stop |
| 112 mi (180 km) | Loch Lomond: Leaving the Lowlands | Either side | This big, island-dotted loch beside us early in the journey is Loch Lomond. |
| 120 mi (193 km) | Arrochar & The Cobbler: The Boat-Dragging Pass | Either side | Watch the skyline as the train threads between two lochs — and look for one peak that stands out, its summit weirdly jagged, like a figure b |
| 120 mi (193 km) | 🚉 Arrochar and Tarbet | — | Station stop |
| 130 mi (210 km) | 🚉 Garelochhead | — | Station stop |
| 130 mi (210 km) | The Gare Loch: Clippers and Submarines | Either side | As the real West Highland Line begins, the train climbs above a long, deep sea loch — the Gare Loch — with grand Victorian villas along its |
| 137 mi (221 km) | 🚉 Helensburgh Upper | — | Station stop |
| 146 mi (235 km) | 🚉 Dumbarton Central | — | Station stop |
| 147 mi (237 km) | Dumbarton Rock | Right side | Out on the Clyde, watch for a great twin-peaked crag of bare volcanic rock rising straight from the water — Dumbarton Rock. |
| 153 mi (245 km) | 🚉 Dalmuir | — | Station stop |
| 155 mi (249 km) | Glasgow & the Clyde | Either side | We set out from Glasgow, and for the first miles the train runs beside the river that made it: the Clyde. |
| 162 mi (261 km) | 🚉 Glasgow Queen Street | — | Station stop |
Hear it as you pass
Every sight above has a fully narrated, source-checked story in the Rail Journeys app, triggered by GPS at the right moment — and it works with no signal. Get the West Highland Line guide