Taking the Kyle Line

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I had a wonderful night’s sleep in a very comfy bed! My plan for the day was to take the Kyle Line to Plockton. The Kyle Line is a scenic train running from Inverness west through the Highlands to Kyle of Lochalsh. I had emailed back and forth with my host a few times and she suggested going as far as Plockton since Kyle is just the terminus of the rail line and does not have much to offer. This sounded like a good plan to me and I planned to take the 8:55 train.

Walking down the stairs I was immediately greeted by Rupert, who excitedly wiggled around and followed me in to the breakfast room. He is just so delightful! I chose porridge as a filling and quick breakfast option and quickly ate so I could be on my way. I was determined to make this train, walked very quickly and arrived with a few minutes to spare. This time I bought my tickets through the app, which worked out great.

The train was not full (maybe in the height of summer it is?) and I chose a window on the right side. I had to remember which side so I would pick the opposite on the way back. I thought the ride from Edinburgh to Inverness was beautiful but this one was even more so! The ride started out winding through towns with rolling farmland and lots of sheep. Once we turned west out of Dingwall things really started changing. The hills grew taller, the vegetation scrubbier and sparser and the fields were rockier than farmland. Several of the “mountains” had some lingering snow on the top. The rail line followed the shores of several lochs, each one more beautiful than the last. I do not know what the people who live out here do but they certainly have a gorgeous setting for it. There were still the ever-present sheep plus some cows (even two hairy ones!) and I even spotted a few groups of deer.

From the train station it is about a 20-minute walk into the charming village of Plockton. I did a lot of wandering around the one main street, had a delicious steak and ale pie at a local restaurant and waited for the 2:00 seal watching boat. I have seen seals before but I wanted to do more than just walk around and thought this might be a good idea. According to the sign for Calum’s tours, I could see between 2-300 seals. Seems my odds were pretty good and if we saw 0 the ride was free. The boat tour was just me and a couple from England but the boat went out anyway. A lot of the hour ride was watching the scenery in this small harbor, but we did see seals in two places. One rocky island had probably twentyish harbor seals. The boat was stopped so we could take as many pictures as we wanted and Calum answered any questions we had. Seal pups will be born in June so I was too early for any of those. A little further along we saw 2 seals on another rock. I was hoping for some otters but the water was too choppy for them.

Also of note was the worlds largest semisubmersible oil rig, the Ocean GreatWhite, which was parked in the loch for repairs. Apparently, this is not the first time for this huge rig to be here getting repaired. We did not get very close to it but the size was still staggering.

I wandered back towards the train station and had a lot of time to kill before the 5:30 train. I thought I would walk to the coral beach but at one point the path was pure mud mixed with cow pies so I turned around. I did walk back into town to use the bathroom and get some ice cream since I knew I would be hungry on the ride back.

The return ride was as beautiful as it was earlier. I sat on the opposite side so I did not miss out on any of the views. Returned to Inverness at 8 and walked back to the B&B along the river rather than all through town.

I have read some articles that talk about the possible closure of this rail line. This would be devastating to the small communities who rely on the train for transport to larger towns. It would also take away a very scenic journey for travelers to the Highlands. Hopefully more people think to take a ride on the Kyle Line and help keep it running for years to come.

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Photos

Views to Plockton
Here are some deer. Saw several groups from the train

Views to Plockton
Hairy coos!

Plockton
A random dog wandering the shoreline. Everytime I looked at him he would stop and stare at me until I looked away.

Plockton Lunch
A delicious steak and ale pie with potatoes and a blue cheese sauce. I don't eat peas so I did not eat the salad. Plus an Irn Bru to wash it down. The best way to describe it is kind of like cream soda.

Plockton
There were some beautiful plants here.

Comments

[Mom]

Peas
You eat peas and cheese salad. That salad looks delicious!