Harry Potter and the Siege of Glenfinnan: Trespassing, trash and terrible parking...
how locals fed-up with fans of JK Rowling's hero flocking to Highland railway are fighting back! By Gavin Madeley For The Scottish Daily Mail Published: 20:08, 28 June 2024 | Updated: 20:33, 28 June 2024 e-mail View comments Framed by breathtaking scenery on the Road to the Isles, the tiny village of Glenfinnan has form for instigating conflict. It may be 279 years since a Jacobite army mustered at the raising of the Young Pretender’s standard at the head of nearby Loch Shiel, but a whiff of rebellion is once more in the air. This time, however, swarming hordes of cagoule-clad tourists have replaced the massed ranks of kilted warriors and battle lines have been drawn over something rarer than a prince’s claim to a throne – a precious parking space.
For the runaway popularity of Glenfinnan’s twin attractions – its haunting monument to the 1745 Jacobite Rising and, more significantly these days, its stunning railway viaduct made famous by a boy wizard – has left the area overwhelmed by traffic. Fed-up locals have complained that the ‘ Harry Potter effect’ has left them facing ‘gridlock’ as around 1,000 tourists a day flock to the area determined to see the real life Hogwarts Express. More than half a million people visited the Glenfinnan Viaduct last year, making it the most popular visitor destination outside Glasgow and Edinburgh .
The Jacobite steam train, which plies the.
