Tag: history

The Jacobite Train Journey – (Drone) & Train Drivers View

scotland, Train Journey

Described as the greatest railway journey in the world, this 84 mile round trip takes you past a list of impressive extremes. Starting near the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis, it visits Britain’s most westerly mainland railway station, Arisaig; passes close by the deepest freshwater loch in Britain, Loch Morar and the shortest river in Britain, River Morar, finally arriving next to the deepest seawater loch in Europe, Loch Nevis!

The train stops en route to Mallaig at the village of Glenfinnan. Beyond Glenfinnan are the beautiful villages of Lochailort, Arisaig, Morar and Mallaig. You may alight at Arisaig by request to the guard. From here, on a clear summer’s day, you can see the “Small Isles” of Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna and the southern tip of Skye. The train continues on from here passing Morar and the silvery beaches used in the films “Highlander” and “Local Hero”.

(westcoastrailways.co.uk)

King Alfred’s Tower – Drone Footage – Somerset – (England)

Castles, England

“King Alfred’s Tower, also known as The Folly of King Alfred the Great or Stourton Tower, is a folly tower. It is in the parish of Brewham in the English county of Somerset, and was built as part of the Stourhead estate and landscape. The tower stands on Kingsettle Hill and belongs to the National Trust. It is designated as a grade I listed building.

Henry Hoare II planned in the 1760s the tower to commemorate the end of the Seven Years’ War against France and the accession of King George III near the location of ‘Egbert’s stone’ where it is believed that Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, rallied the Saxons in May 878 before the important Battle of Edington. It was damaged by a plane in 1944 and restored in the 1980s.

The 49-metre-high (161 ft) triangular tower has a hollow centre and is climbed by means of a spiral staircase in one of the corner projections. It includes a statue of King Alfred and dedication inscription.”