One of the few things that I dislike about traveling is waking up early in the morning. One morning, I’d been peacefully sleeping when I felt someone shaking me, not violently, just gently. And the next moment, I was in wizard robes, being hurried out of the door. I scurried down the stairs, out the door and into the car. The car I was in had a big sun roof, so I was able to see everything going on in the sky.
After a short nap, I woke up normally and my friend told me where we were going. I was starting in Glasgow and then going to Ft. William, which is the second largest town in the Highlands of Scotland. From there, I would take a fun train ride to Mallaig, then go back to Glasgow. So, why was I taking a train ride? And, why on earth was I in wizard robes? Well the truth is I was going on the train which was in a few of the Harry Potter films. So, I was in my wizard robes for the special occasion. I’ve already gone to the Elephant Café, where J.K. Rowling wrote the books. So, I was very excited.
On the drive to Ft. William, I saw lots of sheep, lochs, rolling hills and wonderfully fuzzy hairy coos. If you haven’t read the Great Adventure, a hairy coo is basically a normal cow with lots and lots of hair. It’s as if someone poured hair onto the coo, which means “cow”.
We arrived in Ft. William after a splendid drive, ate breakfast and drove to the train station. We parked our car in a nice spot and would come back to get it at the end of our adventure.
I walked into the train station and rubbed my hands together to keep them warm; since, the highlands of Scotland, compared to the lowlands, is colder. I was pretty bored as I waited on the seats which are inside of the station.
I watched a few dogs walked past me gingerly. My friend called me and said that it was time to board the train. I got my first good look at the train. I realized that it was a steam train, meaning that it burned coal to move! I got to take a picture looking out of the window of the front compartment of the train.
I hopped onto the train and went to my seat. The ride on the train was very nice. The floor was steadily shaking as the wheels turned below. Ash was coming in through the windows from the coal that was burning.
On the train ride, there were lots of lochs with big or little islands in them. Some of the islands that I spotted had huge trees on them! One part of the ride had rocks with moss all over them and beautiful views of one of the lochs. It looked like a picture of a dinosaur book; but without the dinosaurs.
At some point, I went to the middle of the train to buy myself a snack; even though there was a food trolley that went through the train. The snack that I wanted could only be purchased in the snack car. There were various kinds of snacks you could get; but I got a pack of jelly beans that were famous from the Harry Potter movies.
I soon arrived at Mallaig, after about a one hour train ride. I got off of the train and decided to find somewhere to have a great lunch. I found a place for lunch and went inside with my friend. I ordered haddock, a kind of fish that was fished in Mallaig. It was very tasty. Someone else at the table ordered fried haggis, which made me think of a kid’s book that I had read recently called Hamish, the Hairy Haggis.
After eating lunch, I decided to get a good look at a little port before getting back on the train. While my friend got a nice photo of the sea, I saw something else. It was a sea gull sitting in the middle of a table and looking around suspiciously. It kind of creeped me out that a sea gull was staring at me, especially since I am so much smaller than it is. So, I was relieved when my friend said that it was time to get back on the train.
The ride back was enjoyable and I ended up going back over the large Glenfinnan Viaduct. When I arrived back at the train station, I took a last look at the train and went back to my car. Now, I highly suggest going here. But, what I do next is a magical mystery. So, until the next post…
The Beary Good Adventures 
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