Boat of Garten – By Steam Train for a Riverside Walk and Lunch
A day, from Broomhill station and back.
The route
Boat of Garten is a small village on the River Spey with a heritage railway station in the middle of it.
This day boards the Strathspey Railway at Broomhill, the next station along, and gets off at Boat of Garten. There's a waymarked walk to the river, lunch beside the platform and a while at the village's own loch before a later train back.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a standard return on the Strathspey Railway's website by 9am on the day, saying you'll board at Broomhill, for the 11.21.
To be sure of a table for lunch at the Boat Country Inn, book on its website or on 01479 831 258.
The day
Boat of Garten
A short ride on a heritage railway and a few hours in one small Strathspey village, all of it on foot, with the car left at Broomhill until the train brings you back in the afternoon.
About five hours
Strathspey Railway
An attraction
Broomhill station is on the minor road from the A95 to Nethy Bridge. Park on the roadway at the station, where there are toilets, an accessible one among them, and level access to the platform. The Strathspey Railway's ordinary trains run from late March to the start of November, on most days but not every day of the week, and the timetable and calendar on its website show the times and the days. Book a standard return online, saying you'll board at Broomhill, and show the booking email at the station. Online booking closes at 9am on the day, and the station sells same-day tickets when there's room. Take the 11.21. Trains are steam hauled where advertised, and the railway chooses the engine on the day.
13 min by train
Boat of Garten station
It's a 13-minute train ride to Boat of Garten, in at 11.34. On the ordinary trains you can break the journey here: call in at the ticket office first and say you'll come back on the 15.28, so a seat is kept for you; it reaches Broomhill at 15.51. The 13.13 gives an hour and a half; the 15.28 leaves time for the trail, lunch and the loch. The railway has an information sheet on things to see and do in the village. Boat of Garten grew up round this station. The Great North of Scotland Railway's line from the coast ended here too, which made the village a junction. The community garden began as the station master's vegetable garden.
The Salmon Trail
The Salmon Trail is a waymarked circuit of about 4 km, or two and a half miles, from Station Square, and the national park allows an hour for it. Kinchurdy Road, a gate across the railway, the River Spey and the golf course make up the loop, on road, forest track and farm track. Dogs go on leads near livestock. The village takes its name from a ferry, on record by 1662: Coit a Ghartain in Gaelic, the ferry at the cultivated place.
The Boat Country Inn
Lunch
Lunch is back beside the station at the Boat Country Inn, whose restaurant serves its main menu from noon every day: pub-style classics with the inn's own take and seasonal specials. There's a children's menu, the Wee Rascals, and dogs are welcome in the bar and lounge. In summer there are tables out in the beer garden. The inn takes all major cards except American Express. To be sure of a table, book on its website or on 01479 831 258.
About 5 min on foot
Milton Loch
After lunch, the Heron Trail is a short walk from Station Square to Milton Loch and round it on a path built for all abilities, about a mile and half an hour in all. The loch and its woodland belong to the village's community company. Sit in the hide and watch for herons from the heronry, mallards and tufted ducks. There's a dipping pond for hunting minibeasts, and in autumn the loch is a staging post for whooper swans. Then walk back to the station for the 15.28.
If it rains
In steady rain, keep to the train and the inn: lunch from noon in the bar, then the 13.13 back, which reaches Broomhill at 13.36. Tell the ticket office of the change of train.
Photographs by Duncan Macpherson, Dangis Laurinavicius, Kath Wadsworth and The Boat Country Inn & Restaurant via Google; Peter Trimming
Maps from OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors; heights from Mapzen's terrain tiles.