Scotland - Day Two

The view westbound from the footbridge at Loch Awe

Wednesday 28th October 2020

We again caught the 09:51 service from Ardlui but this time we boarded the front unit [156493] for a journey along the Oban branch line. One other customer boarded the train and two males alighted before we departed, again three minutes late.

We travelled to the penultimate stop on the line – Connel Ferry – and arrived just a minute later than expected with nobody else boarding or alighting the train there. Right next to the station there is a large Gleaner Oils depot with large tankers clearly visible from the single platform, and we then came across a rather random tracked wood chipper machine at the far end of the platform!

How many more of these are lurking around on station platforms?

We took a gentle stroll along the road from the station down to where the village store and post office is, and went a bit further along the road before returning to the station. A Network Rail van was parked up next to the station entrance and a couple of guys looked to be carrying out some inspections of the track at the far eastern end of the platform.

The 12:23 service departed very slightly ahead of schedule and with nobody else boarding or alighting, we joined the four other passengers in the front carriage of 156493 for a journey to Dalmally. The train had to wait time for a few minutes there but we were soon greeted by a small dog and three hungry chickens on the platform!

The former station buildings have been converted into accommodation that you can book to stay in, with doors leading directly from the platform to different rooms, and the platform under the canopy is decorated with a quirky array of signs, plants, and old railway equipment.

A couple of chickens and a very well-looked-after platform at Dalmally

After a short walk along the road where we saw some sheep just watching the world go by, we returned to the station to take shelter from the rain, which was getting heavier. As the clock ticked round to 14:44, that planned departure rather worryingly dropped off the customer information screens to leave the 18:55 as the next service! Thankfully, 156500 then appeared from around the bend a few minutes late, although as the train was pulling into the station at low speed, a male used the foot crossing to cross from platform 1 to 2, and understandably received a warning horn from the driver.

It was just a five-minute journey along to Loch Awe for us, where nobody else got off but another customer did board the train there. After quickly finding the waiting shelter, the rain soon eased and we wandered over the footbridge and down to the pier where, with the sun just starting to come through, we enjoyed some lovely views of the loch. Given the restrictions that were in place, it appeared as though the grand Loch Awe Hotel - which was just at the top of quite a few steep steps that led down to the station - and the old railway carriage positioned just along from the now disused platform - were both closed and unoccupied. There is a longer-than-usual walk along a relatively narrow path to reach the (empty) station car park at Loch Awe, and then a further walk along an access road is required to reach the station’s National Rail totem sign.

There clearly used to be a second platform at Loch Awe, but the footbridge still remains in use

Before long, the train to form the 15:21 departure [156457] arrived into the platform and with nobody else boarding or alighting, we departed slightly ahead of schedule and arrived back into Ardlui on time where one other customer – the same one who had boarded the train we departed on in the morning – got off and two young males boarded.