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GLENFINNAN, 19 miles west of Fort William at the head of Loch Shiel, was where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard to signal the start of the Jacobite uprising of 1745. Surrounded by no more than 200 loyal clansmen, the young rebel prince waited to see if the Cameron of Loch Shiel would join his army. The drone of this powerful chief's pipers drifting up the glen was eagerly awaited, for without him the Stuarts' attempt to claim the English throne would have been sheer folly. Despite strong misgivings, Cameron did decide to support the uprising, and arrived at Glenfinnan on a sunny August 19 with 800 men, thereby encouraging other, wavering clan leaders to follow suit. Assured of adequate backing, the prince raised his red-and-white silk colour, proclaimed his father King James III of England, and set off on the long march to London - from which only a handful of the soldiers gathered at Glenfinnan would return. The spot is marked by a column (now a little lop-sided, Pisa-like), crowned with a clansman in full battle dress, erected as a tribute by Alexander Macdonald of Glenaladale in 1815.

Glenfinnan is a poignant place, a beautiful stage for the opening scene in a brutal drama which was to change the Highlands for ever. The visitor centre and café (daily: June-Aug 9.30am-6pm; April, May, Sept & Oct 10am-5pm; NTS; £1.50), opposite the monument, gives an account of the '45 uprising through to the rout at Culloden eight months later.

Glenfinnan is one of the most spectacular parts of the West Highland Railway line, not only for the glimpse it offers of the monument and graceful Loch Shiel, but also the mighty 21-arched viaduct built in 1901 and one of the first-ever large constructions made out of concrete.

The West Highland Line - "Iron Road to the Isles" is one of the most scenic railway lines in Britain, linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Glasgow. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the iconic Trans-Siberian and the Cuzco to Machu Picchu line in Peru. The ScotRail website has since reported that the line has been voted the most scenic railway line in the world for the second year running. Passenger services on the line are operated by First ScotRail: three daily return services between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig/Oban, and one nightly (except Saturdays) Caledonian Sleeper service between London Euston and Fort William. During the summer season a steam locomotive-hauled daily return service between Fort William and Mallaig known as "The Jacobite" is operated by West Coast Railways.

Onward ferry connections operated by Caledonian MacBrayne are available from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye, to the small isles of Rùm, Eigg, Muck, and Canna, and to Inverie on the Knoydart peninsula. From Oban ferries sail to the islands of Lismore, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree, Mull, Barra and South Uist. The West Highland Line is one of two scenic railway lines which access the remote and mountainous west coast of Scotland, the other being the Kyle of Lochalsh Line which connects Inverness with Kyle of Lochalsh. Since the great improvements to Scottish trunk roads in the 1980s, the train journey can take significantly longer than the equivalent road journey. The line takes a circuitous route that brings it into Fort William from the north-east. The line is single track throughout and trains must wait at stations with crossing loops for opposite direction trains to pass. Over much of the Rannoch Moor section the speed limit is 30 mph to avoid damage to the foundations of the track which float on the boggy ground.

Shortly after leaving Queen Street station in Glasgow, and beyond Queen Street Tunnel, the line follows a northwesterly course through the suburbs of Maryhill and Kelvindale. Between Westerton and Dumbarton, the route is shared with the North Clyde Line before branching northward at Craigendoran Junction towards Garelochhead, the section where the West Highland Line is generally accepted to "begin proper". It gives scenic high-level views of the Gareloch and Loch Long before emerging alongside the northwesterly shores of Loch Lomond, then climbs Glen Falloch. Significant points on the journey include Crianlarich, an important Highland junction of both road and rail, and Tyndrum, the smallest place in Scotland to boast two railway stations.