Fort William with kids is a great base for outdoor family adventures in the Scottish Highlands. There are so many fun things to do in Fort William with kids, including riding scenic trains, easy family walks in nearby Glencoe, and even watch the famous Harry Potter train cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct crossing!
Fort William, Scotland bills itself as the “Outdoor Capital of the UK” and for good reason. It sits at the foot of Ben Nevis (the UK’s tallest mountain) and is the starting point and ending point for many epic multi-day hikes, including the famous West Highland Way. The scenery around this area of Scotland, so we spent most of our time outdoors enjoying the many family-friendly activities in Fort William.
Keep reading for our favourite things to do in Fort William with kids, plus a short video from our family trip so you can see what it was like for yourself.
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Things to do in Fort William with Kids
Ride the Jacobite Steam Train to Mallaig
The Jacobite steam train is one of the most famous train journeys in the world, thanks to its role as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter movies. Harry Potter fans flock to Fort William for a chance to ride the Harry Potter steam train and are treated to some of the best train scenery in the world.
The highlight for most Harry Potter fans is crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the famous bridge to Hogwarts. You’ll know it’s coming as the excitement level on the train rises and people crowd the windows for a picture. And rightfully so; it’s a magnificent bridge in an amazing setting from a famous movie. What more could you ask for?
In addition to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the Jacobite train runs past Ben Nevis (the tallest mountain in the UK), Loch Morar (the deepest freshwater loch in Britain) and the Loch Nevis (the deepest saltwater loch). The mountain, loch and ocean scenery in between these highlights is breathtaking and is a must-see.
We love scenic train travel and were excited to hop online to book our Jacobite tickets a week or so before our arrival. Our excitement was short-lived as a screen full of “SOLD OUT” dates stared back at us… Don’t make our mistake and book your tickets early!
Amazing family adventures like this are just one of the many reasons we love Europe with kids!
Alternatives to the Jacobite Train
Faced with a sold out Jacobite train, we needed to find an alternative for our family, and we were happy to find a good one.
Scotrail runs regular service trains between Fort William and Mallaig on the same line as the Jacobite. The only difference is that you are riding a normal train, and not in the actual Harry Potter steam train.
By booking regular train service on the Scotrail line, we paid roughly 1/3 of what the Jacobite would have cost. We would have preferred to be on the Jacobite for the full Harry Potter experience, as I’m sure you will too, but the Scotrail option was a pretty sweet backup plan.
If your heart is set on the Jacobite, but tickets are sold out, you can often find tickets as part of an organized tour. GetYourGuide has a bunch of different options to choose from.
How to See the Hogwarts Express Cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct
It’s easy to get caught up in Harry Potter fever while in Fort William. We had already taken a train across the Glenfinnan Viaduct, but now we wanted to get a better view of it while the Hogwarts Express crossed over. This is possible by going to the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre.
We arrived 1 hour before the 10:45 am Jacobite train and the parking lot was already 60% full. (A small fee is charged for parking). If the main car park is full, National Trust for Scotland advises using the adjacent community car park. Be sure to build in some extra walking time just in case.
There is a marked path to a viewpoint from the visitor centre, but it is farther from the viaduct than the hillside viewpoints described below.
To get to the better vantage points, you need to walk north-west for a few minutes along Highway A830 until you cross the bridge over the River Finnan. Turn right into a parking lot and walk straight through until you come to a paved path.
This path is wide, flat and paved and is suitable for any fitness level. Soon you will leave the paved path through a gate on the left. Here the path becomes gravel and uphill. It doesn’t take long before you climb to a height where you can see the train tracks, so stake out a vantage point which you like and park yourself there.
We were there for the 10:45 am train on a Sunday in July and there were several hundred people there. The midges were also there, even though it was sunny, so make sure to bring some Skin-so-Soft.
Assuming you are there to watch a train coming from Fort William to Mallaig (as we were), the train will be coming towards you. You will be able to hear it slightly before you see it, allowing you to get your camera ready. The Hogwarts Express (I mean, Jacobite) train will slow down on the bridge allowing for people on and off the train to get some good pictures.
The timetable for the Jacobite train is found on the West Coast Railways webpage. The trains leaving Fort William arrive at the viaduct approximately 30 minutes after departing Fort William.
If your kids are Potterheads too, don’t miss this post with all the top Harry Potter things to do in London.
Hiking Beyond the Glenfinnan Viaduct
There was a beautiful photo of the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the loft we rented in Fort William. It looked down on the viaduct with Loch Shiel in the background, and we wondered how to find that same view…
Looking at the map for the Glenfinnan Viaduct Viewpoint hiking trail on AllTrails, we noticed the trail continues on past the viaduct viewpoint. We figured this would be where the beautiful picture was taken and we were right.
Halfway up the hill are a couple of benches with great views of the viaduct, making it a great place to have a picnic lunch after watching the Harry Potter steam train go by. It’s at the top of this hill that we believe the photo was taken and it’s one of the best spots for photographs of the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
We found it amazing that of all the hundreds of people who came to see the Hogwarts Express steam train, only three groups of people (including us) decided to walk up the valley. The scenery in this area is stunning and if your schedule permits it, it’s worth a short walk to the top of this hill for a different look.
Before you head out, read our best tips for hiking with kids and see what we actually pack in our guide to hiking gear for kids.
A Walk on the Dragonfly Trail
We were enjoying the scenery in the Glenfinnan area so much, we decided to go for a walk down by Loch Shiel. We walked across the highway at the visitor centre to begin the Dragonfly Trail. It heads south-east into dense forest along a wooden boardwalk. It’s a beautiful stretch of forest with moss covered rocks and the sounds of birds ever-present in the air.
As you cross a bridge over a small river, the views looking out over Loch Shiel are beautiful, with green islands in the foreground and towering green mountains in the background.
Soon the boardwalk trail ends at a T-intersection. You can continue walking along the shores of the Loch if you turn right towards Polloch. The ‘trail’ is a wide gravel road at this stage, but we never saw any traffic on it. Gravel roads are great for family walks as they are wide enough that you can all walk and talk together as a group.
The trail leaves the shore of the loch momentarily, but it quickly returns. Around the 0.9 mile / 1.5 km mark, you can see the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Quite some time ago, a thoughtful person built a bench to sit on to admire the viaduct from across the Loch.
The only problem is that around that same time, a little seed landed near the water and over the years grew into a huge tree, blocking the view – haha! Not to worry, the views of the Harry Potter bridge are still really good, you just can’t sit on the bench to enjoy them.
You can follow along on your phone with the Dragonfly trail map with the AllTrails app.
Lost Valley Hike – Glencoe (near the Three Sisters)
The Lost Valley hike is a short, but challenging hike up into a river valley between two of the famous Glencoe Three Sisters. There is a little bit of rock scrambling involved with this hike, but you will be rewarded with up-close views of the majestic mountains and beautiful waterfalls flowing through the valley.
Read this post for more information on the Lost Valley Hike in Glencoe.
Scenic Walk Below the Three Sisters of Glencoe
After hiking the Lost Valley trail, we weren’t ready to leave this incredibly beautiful area. We noticed an easy walking trail running east-west along the Glencoe Valley floor, so we decided to go for a walk along it.
I’m not sure if this trail even has a name, but go to the Lost Valley parking lot and you’ll see it clearly. It’s not a hard walk by any stretch, but it provides views of the Glencoe Valley and all the beautiful mountain peaks which are hard to beat. We walked 0.9 miles / 1.5 km west, then turned back. This was a very easy, but very enjoyable family walk with incredible views.
An Torr Hike
A few minutes west of the Lost Valley parking lot is the An Torr area. Not ready to leave the beauty of Glencoe, we pulled in for one last short family hike. This 1.3 mile / 2 km loop hike is mostly through the woods, but several clearings provided opportunities to see some of the towering mountains in the distance.
The An Torr area is in the middle of a regrowth project where non-native trees are being cut down to make room for the native trees to grow back. This results in a few short sections of the hike being a bit unsightly with cut down trees all over the place, but knowing why makes it easier to accept. Plus, areas with no trees means better views of the amazing Glencoe mountains!
We picked this hike as it was short, with minimal elevation gain, but there are sections on this hike which are really quite steep. Thankfully these sections are usually pretty short, but it makes it a little harder than a simple stroll through the woods.
You can get the trail map and directions to the car park with AllTrails.
AllTrails is a recent App of the Year winner. Enjoy map downloads and many more premium features with a 7-day free trial of AllTrails Peak!
Hijinks Indoor Soft Play Area
If your kids are tired of hiking, treat them to a visit to Hijinks; a large indoor playground for kids under 12. Located in the Nevis Centre, just next to the Fort William train station, the Hijinks play area is huge.
We rarely saw our kids as we sat enjoying our espressos from the onsite café. The soft play complex has multiple levels and is complete with slides, a ball pit, go karts, zip lines, soft ball cannons, rope bridges and more. We stayed for an hour and at the end our kids were covered with sweat from playing so hard; they had an amazing time here!
Our Fort William With Kids Video
Want to see what our family trip to Fort William looked like? This short video includes some of the places we visited and gives you a better feel for the city, the scenery, and what it was like exploring Fort William with kids.
After watching, keep reading for more Fort William family travel tips, including our 5-day itinerary, where to stay and links to our related Scotland posts.
We’re slowly adding more of our family travel videos to our YouTube channel, so feel free to subscribe if you’d like to follow along.
Where to Stay in Fort William with Kids
Fort William is truly the Outdoor Capital of the UK and it’s an ideal place to use as a base for your family’s outdoor adventures.
We rented an alpine loft in Fort William, as most of the kid-friendly vacation home rentals in our price range were already booked. We like vacation homes to take advantage of having a kitchen, laundry facilities and separate bedrooms.
If vacation rentals are not your thing, there is a good selection of family-friendly Fort William hotels.
How to Get to Fort William
Given that most of Fort Williams’s attractions are outdoors in remote locations, we highly recommend having your own rental car. The closest major city to rent a car is Glasgow, but Edinburgh is not much further away. Both are 2.5 – 3 hours away by car.
If your travels extend beyond Fort William, check out these posts for the best things to do in Glasgow with kids and how to spend a couple of days in Edinburgh with kids.
5-Day Fort William Family Itinerary
Day 1 – Drive from Loch Lomond
Prior to our family trip to Fort William, we had spent 5 days in Loch Lomond with kids. We had planned to do some family hiking in Glencoe on our way to Fort William, but our plans were foiled by some very heavy rain.
Day 2 – Train to Mallaig
In the morning we took the Scotrail train to Mallaig and back as an alternative to the sold-out Jacobite Train. Back in Fort William, we spent a fun afternoon at the Hijinx indoor playground at the Nevis Centre (near the train station).
Day 3 – Lost Valley Hike in Glencoe
On our third day in Fort William with kids, we drove back to Glencoe and hiked the beautiful Lost Valley trail in the shadow of the famous Three Sisters mountain.
We followed this up with a short hike along the valley floor enjoying the views of the Glencoe valley. We finished the day with another short hike through the An Torr area on our way back to Fort William.
Day 4 – Glenfinnan Viaduct (Hogwarts Bridge)
It’s easy to get caught up in all the Harry Potter excitement around Fort William! To get another fix, we drove back to the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre to watch the Jacobite Train (aka the Hogwarts Express) cross the the Glenfinnan Viaduct (aka the bridge to Hogwarts).
Watching the Jacobite train cross the viaduct was a lot of fun! Afterwards, we hiked even further up the valley to enjoy views of the viaduct with Loch Shiel in the background. We finished the day with a beautiful walk on the Dragonfly Trail along the shores of Loch Shiel.
Day 5 – Drive to the Isle of Skye
Although we were sad to be saying goodbye to Fort William, we were very excited about the next destination on our Scotland family road trip. Up next was 5 days on the Isle of Skye with Kids.
Fort William Tours
If you don’t wish to visit Fort William independently, there are tons of great options available on GetYourGuide, ranging from full day visits from Glasgow and Edinburgh, to multi-day tours.
Plan Your Family Trip to Scotland
If you are planning a family trip to Scotland, check out our comprehensive Scotland packing list for families. For inspiration, don’t miss our favorite things to do in Scotland with kids.
Our Travel Journal for Kids
Based on our family travels, our kids helped us design this Travel Journal for Active Kids! This engaging travel journal encourages kids to document their adventures, spark creativity, and stay entertained on the go – grab yours now on Amazon!
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