Scotland - Day One
Updated: Nov 8, 2020
After a punctual journey of just over ten hours on Monday, we checked in to the Ardlui Hotel which was conveniently just a couple of minutes’ walk from Ardlui station. This was our base for three nights and the hotel was lovely – not only were we right next to Loch Lomond, but we had a large, spacious room and the food in the restaurant – from a varied menu – was all freshly-cooked and tasted delicious. The friendly staff were always available and happy to help, and various little personal touches showed that they genuinely cared about us and their other guests.
Tuesday 27th October 2020
On arrival at Ardlui station at about 09:15, it was slightly concerning to see the customer information screens suggest that the next train was the 19:52 service to Glasgow Queen Street! Thankfully, that proved not to be the case and we boarded the rear unit [156499] of the four-carriage train that formed the 09:51 service from Ardlui to Oban. Three other customers and a dog also boarded at Ardlui, with nobody alighting, and we departed approximately three minutes behind schedule.
The one set of platform numbers at Ardlui station suggested we had departed from platform 1, but according to information online, the service is booked to depart from platform 2 and older pictures on the internet show that at some stage, the numbers have been switched. I wonder if there has been a change made deliberately, or if the platform numbers at the station have just been re-hung the wrong way round!
We deliberately travelled in the rear part of the train to ensure we were able to travel to Rannoch as it split or divided at Crianlarich, with the front unit [156457] continuing to Oban. Following a crew change at Crianlarich and shortly after departing there, it transpired that three foreign customers had wanted to travel to Oban but were in fact on the train heading towards Mallaig! Luckily, the ScotRail Conductor, Trevor, had promptly come through the train to check where everyone was travelling to and was able to helpfully advise the trio to alight at the next stop – Upper Tyndrum – and walk down to Tyndrum Lower for the next service, some two-and-a-half hours later, through to Oban.
On our journey onwards to Rannoch we were treated to on-board station announcements in Gaelic (as well as English), which was a nice touch and something that I’ve seen understandable praise for on social media before. Quite unexpectedly, we also saw quite a few groups of stags relatively close to the line as we approached Rannoch.
We arrived into platform 1 on time at 11:08 and given there were only a few other customers onboard the train, it was no surprise that we were the only ones to alight at Rannoch, but there were a few different groups who boarded the train there. After a short walk around the station and down towards the moor to take in the peace and tranquillity, we headed back to visit the Tearoom at the station. Admittedly, we weren’t expecting to be asked if we had a reservation (we didn’t) but we were quickly invited to take a seat in the impressive visitors’ centre just along the platform. We enjoyed our hot chocolates with cream and marshmallows and while we didn’t have any food, the cakes looked amazing and feedback from others suggested they tasted as good as they looked!
Nobody else boarded the 12:42 service [156446] which left platform 2 on time and we travelled back to Upper Tyndrum, where we arrived into platform 1, still on time. Nobody boarded there but one other customer got off, and they had boarded the train that we were on earlier in the day and had spent just over an hour at Corrour.
The station buildings at Upper Tyndrum are now used as offices by mining company Scotgold, with a Geology office clearly visible. What was perhaps a small waiting room or an old signal box just beyond the main building appears to, at least temporarily, have become a storage area. While looking around the station, quite unexpectedly one of the Network Rail track clearing / cleaning machines [DR98911 and DR98961] trundled into platform 2 before the crew changed ends and headed back towards Crianlarich and on to the yard at Mossend.
We took in the pleasant walk down the winding hill towards the small village of Tyndrum itself, before crossing the A82 and stopping for some lunch at The Real Food Café. We then headed off past a hotel and a number of holiday lodges before finding Tyndrum Lower. The single-platform station is certainly tucked away but the trees on both sides made for some lovely pictures, with particularly vibrant orange colours on display. Along with one other person, we caught the very slightly-delayed and very lightly-loaded 15:45 service [156445] back to Ardlui. We arrived into the opposite platform to the one we had departed from earlier in the day, and again it was little surprise when nobody else got off or boarded this service there.
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