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Location notes
On the West Highland Line a few miles outside of Fort William on the route to Mallaig.The location is a swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal, which in turn feeds into Loch Ness.
Railway type and traffic
Day to day traffic consists of Scot Rail units, usually 156s. In the summer season the Jacobite steam trips will pass this location as well as the Royal Scotsman charters.
Environment
On the corner of LochLinnhe and Loch Eil, Banavie is a village type area on the outskirts of the Fort William town. The weather in Scotland can be very changeable so it is always handy to have warm clothes about.
Road directions
Just off the A830, this is the main road out of Fort William to the west.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Banavie Swing Bridge map co-ordinates
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Banavie Swing Bridge map co-ordinates
Parking
There is a small station car park, with room for about 5 cars.
Public transport
Amenities
No real amenities at the station. There is a small supermarket in Corpach or plenty of facilities in Fort William.
Accommodation
There are a number of places to stay in Fort Willaim.
Sun Compass
Sun Compass using Suncalc by brought to you by Vladimir Agafonkin:
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Banavie Swing Bridge
Streetmap links
Banavie Swing Bridge general view map
Banavie Swing Bridge close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Banavie Swing Bridge
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Banavie Swing Bridge
Googly map
Banavie Swing Bridge general view map
Banavie Swing Bridge close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Banavie Swing Bridge
Who likes this location on facebook
Railway Gen Group
Photographic notes
Given the nature of the bridge the line has a speed of only 5 mph across it. The location has a rather pleasing backdrop of Ben Nevis. The direction of the line will favour an afternoon shot, but since most specials depart for Mallaig in the morning getting the sun on the nose will not really happen. You can also shoot parallel to the river and get the many lock gates in the shot.
General views - All photographs © Marcus Dawson unless otherwise stated
Fig 1 - Looking south east
Fig 2 - Looking south
A general view down the Caledonian Canal
Disclaimer
All information contained within this is site is © Trainspots. The images used on this site remain the property of the original photographer, as credited at the top of the page, and are used with their kind permission.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
