Alan Cumming's Most Luxurious Train Journeys Scotland

-Let me introduce you to one of my favorite things in the whole wide world except for my mum, my dog and my husband, of course.

[ Screams ] That felt good.

The Royal Scotsman, a super-posh sleeper train that takes up to 2,000 guests a year through and to the finest sites my homeland has to offer...

This, to me, is Scotland.

...while delivering the kind of onboard luxury I imagine only the royal family are familiar with.

Ahh, this is so great.

It is the grandest of rail adventures through the most romantic and rugged landscapes.

Ahh!

Look!

Traveling from coast to coast, loch to munro, and into the wild beyond.

This is the thing I like best -- seeing this beautiful Scottish countryside float by.

I've holidayed on this train a few times now.

-Well, hello again.

-And despite that, they've allowed me back onboard.

So now I get to share it with you, the unbridled opulence and the exquisite work behind the scenes that keeps the passengers coming back year after year.

-Dusting, hoovering, cleaning the bathrooms.

I'm just naturally quite neat.

-We used seven cases of champagne, for example.

-I'll also be stepping off the train to explore this country's historic landmarks... Whoa.

-I've got the First Folio of William Shakespeare.

-Wow!

...with unique access to some of Scotland's most iconic buildings... -Was the longest room in Scotland until Holyrood Palace decided to build a larger room.

-I hate when that happens.

...meeting fellow train lovers along the way.

-Wear your anorak with pride.

-Totally.

This is a VIP tour of Scotland like you've never seen before.

I'm driving a train.

So join me to find out what it takes to keep this ultra luxury train on the rails.

[ Bagpipes playing ] Every Royal Scotsman adventure starts at Edinburgh's Waverley station.

Me and my fellow guests receive a rousing Scottish welcome from a traditional piper.

I like to travel incognito.

Which, along with the red carpet, gives us a hint of the luxury that awaits us on board.

With the first of what I hope will be many glasses of champagne poured, we're off... -We'll start showing you down to your cabins in about 15 minutes, and then we'll be serving afternoon tea in the observation car.

And finally, I would just like to raise a toast for everybody.

We have a saying in Scotland for good health and cheers, which is slinte mhath.

-Slinte mhath.

-Slinte mhath.

-...leaving Edinburgh behind.

On this leg, we'll pass Glasgow to join the West Highland Line, one of the most scenic railways in the world.

From there, we'll head north into the Highlands, through the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and the wild Rannoch Moor, with stops in the village of Spean Bridge, Glenfinnan, and the UK's most westerly station -- Arisaig.

-Would you like a little splash?

-[ Chuckles ] Who could say no to that?

Guests are assembled in the grand observation car.

Royal Scotsman has 10 carriages in total, with two dining cars, a professional, if somewhat bijou, kitchen, 22 bedroom cabins for up to 40 guests... ...staff quarters, and there's even an onboard spa.

All the treatments are inspired by train and Scottishy things.

Like, this one is a tribute to the wild Scottish elements -- rain, wind, and sun.

"Balance is refocused, inner calm returns."

Sign me up.

-Alan, this is Karen.

-Hello, Karen.

-Good morning.

It's great to see you.

-Karen runs our housekeeping department.

Karen's gonna show you to your cabin and explain some bits along the way.

-Alright.

As head of housekeeping, Karen is in charge of a team of five who are responsible for keeping the train perfectly presented at all times.

-Here we have a list of the crew members.

-Gosh, there's loads of you.

-Here's myself here -- Karen.

And I will introduce you to most of these as we walk along the train.

-Alright.

Sounds great.

You lead the way.

-We'll seat 20 guests at a time.

There's seats of six and eight.

And you just feel free to sit wherever you fancy.

Survey the relaxed atmosphere.

Another little feature -- through here, there's a library.

So there's some books that are based on our Scottish theme and our daily newspapers and stationery, so feel free to help yourself.

Dani will be working on housekeeping with myself.

-Hello.

-Jilly will be with the head waitress, Ellie, and Rachel will also be in housekeeping with me.

-Hello, hello, hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-You too.

-I believe you're vegan.

-I am vegan, I come from Planet Vegan.

Well, actually my mum says "vay-gan."

And I always say to her, are you trying to conflate gay and vegan at the same time?

Because I think everyone gets it.

Alright, girls, see you later.

The train spans 230 meters in length, and Karen clocks up over 20,000 steps per day, rushing up and down the train's wooden paneled corridors.

-It's a pleasure to introduce you to the executive chef, Mark Tamburrini.

-I'm so excited.

Hello.

-Hi, I'm Cat.

-Cat.

Hello.

Oh, you're a guest.

Hello.

I thought you were working here.

-No.

It's been a wait to walk through.

-Originally used as Pullman cars dating back to the '60s, each carriage has been remodeled to combine the splendor of Edwardian style with an emphasis on modern comforts.

-This is their beautiful Dior spa.

-What if you stop at a station and people are looking in?

Everyone can see you.

-We need to change out the blinds before the guests board.

How many times have you visited the train now?

-Uh, three times.

-And you've had a facial?

-I've had a facial here.

-And look at you.

-I will be 76 next month.

-You look fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Fantastic.

I'm going to be in cabin "V," my onboard sanctuary for the next few nights.

Nearly there.

I'm exhausted, Karen.

-Not long to go.

Okay, so welcome to your cabin.

-Ahh, look at this.

-Worth the walk.

-So nice.

Ahh, this is so great.

-If you'd like to rest and relax in your room, you just use the tassel and you pop that on your door handle.

-Oh, that's like the "Do don't disturb."

-And that signifies our "do not disturb," and we'll leave you be in peace.

A safety feature which we tell our guests about is an emergency stop handle that you would turn and that would bring the train to a halt.

-Oh, my God, I'm crazed with power at the thought I might be able to stop this train.

What if I come out the loo and -- and I get a jolt and I go like that and I pull it?

-[ Laughs ] That would be big trouble, Alan.

-Would you like to escort me into the bathroom?

-Yes.

Of course.

-It's nutty showering whilst on a train.

-[ Laughs ] Yeah.

You need to get your train legs on.

-Yes.

Do you have wobbly legs when you get off of the train?

-To begin with, when I started working on the train, yes, but now, it doesn't make any difference to me.

[ Laughs ] -It's small, but perfectly formed.

Although it's a bit of a squeeze for the two of us.

Where do you live on the train?

-[ Laughs ] I'm not supposed to show you that part.

-Oh, alright.

-It's not quite as luxurious as where you'll sleep for the next three nights.

-Are you on bunks?

-It does the job.

Yes.

-You have bunks?

-Yes.

Right at the very end.

-Right.

So I'm the nearest passenger to you guys.

-Yes.

We'll try to keep quiet.

-Good to know.

Yeah, keep it down.

[ Both laughing ] Having settled in, the observation car is the perfect place to soak up the passing scenery.

Ahh!

Look!

So beautiful.

Coming past Helensburgh, leaving the Firth of Clyde behind, we're traveling along the banks of Loch Long.

This is the thing I like best -- seeing this beautiful Scottish countryside float by.

You never go that slowly in life to be able to appreciate it.

We are literally on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park spans over 700 square miles and is home to 21 munros.

That's mountains over 3,000 feet to non-Scots.

I feel a very deep connection with this land.

When you go away, you look back, and you understand more about what Scotland means, how it's perceived, and how much you've been formed by where you've come from.

I really do feel a sort of visceral connection... ...to this cheese and tomato roll.

As well as Scotland.

As the Royal Scotsman travels deeper into the Highlands, the afternoon-tea delicacies keep on coming.

-Got iced raspberry slice, maple vegan tart, cherry Bakewell slice.

-Thank you so much.

Vegan tart.

I've been called that before.

Oh, my God.

So I've got to shove all this down and then it's gonna be drinks and canaps and then dinner.

It's exhausting.

If I'm tired, I can't imagine how Executive Chef Mark and his team of two must feel.

They prepare gourmet masterpieces for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and seemingly every waking moment in between.

It's a gargantuan task on rails, and I'm fortunate enough to be afforded a peek behind the curtain to see how they do what they do best.

Hello, Mark.

How are you doing?

-Very good.

How are you?

-Pretty good.

What are you doing now?

-So we are gonna make some bread.

Every single day we make fresh bread.

-Wow.

-We've got some strong bread flour, some strong whole grain flour, some olive oil, some sugar, salt, and then yeast.

And that is basically -- -That's your bread.

-That's basic bread recipe.

-Basic though it may seem, we're talking 9 loaves and 96 bread rolls, freshly baked every day in just 10 square meters of kitchen space.

-Put that on.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

[ Both laughing ] There we go.

-Do you make absolutely everything that comes on this train?

-We cook anything.

So it's 40 guests, 20 staff we're cooking for every day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

-Wow.

Wow, that's so impressive.

Before joining the Royal Scotsman, Mark worked in some of Scotland's top restaurants.

-So I've been here for 14 years.

First year was really a shock.

-Must take a lot of getting used to.

-When I first started, we had real issues.

If the train's moving, there was certain dishes I couldn't do.

-So what?

You changed the menu according to where the train was going because of the shakiness?

-If the train's moving, serving a consomm can be tricky because the guys are obviously picking it up and it can spill over them.

It can spill over the guests.

So there's things you need to take into consideration that way.

-Back to our bread.

The mixer has done its thing and we now have our dough.

-Take a wee bit of flour.

-Are you gonna roll it?

-I'm just gonna knead it together.

-It's a very confined space that you're in.

But I suppose most restaurant kitchens are pretty titchy as well, aren't they?

-I've seen kitchens that are half the size of this.

-Really?

-You know, people go, "How can you produce what you produce in the chamber?"

It obviously takes a few years of practice.

-Yeah, yeah.

-There you go.

That's what we're looking for.

-That looks good.

Then it's set aside to prove.

How long is that going to stay there?

-About 40 minutes.

-Oh, alright.

Mark gets to work shaping another batch.

At each meal, guests have the choice of four different types of bread, and that's in between a daily menu that involves a whopping 16 other dishes.

So you obviously are used to it.

You love it.

This is your domain.

-Yeah.

You're not standing in a restaurant in Glasgow looking at white town.

You know, you get to see Scotland.

-Yep.

These views could make even the most high-pressured kitchen feel a bit more serene.

-I prefer the country.

-The loaves are ready to go in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

But before I leave Mark to it, there's something I just need to ask.

You know, on the Queen Mary, when they go across the Atlantic, they have a morgue for six bodies because it's quite an older clientele, and sometimes people die.

But then one time, they had more than six people die.

And so they just shoved them in the... -The fridge?

-Yeah.

-You got a body in that fridge?

-No.

[ Laughter ] -I'm gonna have a look.

Body check.

There's no bodies.

You could get a couple of bodies in it, though.

On that cheery note, the West Highland Line splits at Crianlarich into two routes, one to Oban and the one we're on to Fort William.

We've passed Tyndrum.

And under the peak of the graceful, steep, grassy pyramid Ben Doran, we continue north.

Guests pay as much as �7,000 per person for a 3-day trip on the Royal Scotsman.

So for train manager Alex, the pressure is really on to provide a 5-star service.

You must have to run a tight ship.

And you must have to be a bit of a bossy boots.

-Yeah, to a certain degree.

But it's all about choosing the right crew members.

We put a lot of effort into recruitment.

They work on the train for five weeks before the season even starts.

And at that point, we realize if the crew are a right fit or not.

We spend a lot of hours together during the day in service and preparing for service.

When the guests step off, we're tidying, cleaning, organizing, and then the crew live together, so it can be challenging because we work together and live together.

It's not a job for everybody.

-So it's rigorous.

-It is rigorous, it is rigorous, and the expectations are very high.

It's a challenging role, but it's fun, as well.

-Yeah.

I could imagine.

-And, you know, we become a bit like a train family, as cheesy as that sounds.

-Yeah.

Talking of which, are you allowed to fraternize after hours?

-Well, um, usually the crew are really tired and they tend to just go to bed.

-That never stops them.

-We've had occasions where guests will make a connection on board, let's say.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Gosh, it's hard to say "Don't come knocking if the cabin's a-rocking" when you're on a train.

We're passing through Bridge of Orchy, the gateway to the Northern Highlands.

Drinks are being served on board again.

And after a quick change... Hello.

-Good evening, Alan.

-...I'm ready for a cocktail.

Don't judge me.

It's the train.

Cheers.

But there's good reason for this liquid jollity.

Making new friends is all part of this close-quarters journey.

-You're famous.

-I'm afraid so.

Yeah.

Robert here tells me he's traveling with his wife, his five daughters, and their husbands.

What do you do?

-Banking.

-Oh.

-Yeah.

I would like a picture with you.

-Let's do it.

-You can do it?

-You can sit down.

-Okay.

-And then look.

See where the green dot is?

Look at the green dot.

Not at yourself.

-Okay.

-One more.

Here you go.

-I appreciate that.

-You're welcome.

Thank you very much.

[ Laughs ] I feel like the Queen Mother.

In the dining car, the fine china is being set and the front-of-house staff are ready for service.

-Well, hello again.

-Hi.

How are you?

Meals on board are a mix of formal and more casual affairs.

And tonight it's the latter.

-Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce tonight's wine for you.

It would be my pleasure to offer everybody a glass at the table.

-Let's do it.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-With tables seating four, six, or eight, the communal dining makes it easy for guests to get to know each other.

-Alan is picking up the tab.

-I got it.

-Ah!

The relaxed atmosphere makes it feel like an intimate dinner with friends.

But it takes a lot of hard work from the kitchen and waiting staff to make the smooth service seem effortless.

Tonight, meat eaters' main course is succulent loin of Rannoch Moor wild venison with Pennant Hills' organic butternut squash, luscious creamed spinach, and a decadent port jus, an example of the locally sourced produce Chef Mark strives to showcase on each trip.

-The produce that we buy is from Scotland, but always constantly looking at how can we make the train better?

What can we serve?

What can we be doing?

Is there a better supplier?

What can we do to improve what we're already doing?

-I'm having thyme-roasted celeriac.

It is exquisite.

As is the latest view.

-This railway track here, It's Rannach Moor.

It's very remote.

This is red deer country.

Look at the view.

-This rugged but beautiful National Heritage Site is one of Britain's truly last unspoilt wildernesses.

When the West Highland Line was built in 1894, running tracks through the giant bog that is Rannoch Moor seemed like an impossible task for Victorian railway engineers.

However, Glasgow-born Charles Forman had the idea of using natural resources to float the line over the waterlogged terrain.

Brushwood, branches and turf were sandwiched together and topped with aggregate to create a solid foundation to build on.

And a series of viaducts hover over the moors' many glens and ravines.

The construction of this 22-mile stretch took 5 years and a workforce of 5,000.

Just one of the triumphs that makes the West Highland Line a wonder of Victorian engineering.

On every journey there is a train host, similar to a tour guide.

On this trip, it's Mark.

He is telling me how the train tries to capture the essence of Scotland.

-We do seek to make the experience one of the landscape and the culture of Scotland in everything we do.

-Right.

-In everything we do.

I mean, the setting here, the food, the entertainment, which we'll see later this evening.

-So you're a military man, Mark?

-Yes.

All of them -- the male, the men hosts on the Royal Scotsman train have military backgrounds.

-Why is that?

-Oh, I don't know, I mean, you -- [ Laughs ] Good question.

-It's a military operation.

-It's a military operation.

It feels like a mil-- You have to watch the... -Yeah.

I mean, you stop sometimes to let the scheduled trains go by.

-That's right.

And we get off the train at a certain time.

I have to say as well, that at times on the train, it feels a little -- if I may say, a bit like an officer's mess.

-If serving in the military, if an officer's mess is like this... -Yes.

-...I'd be...

I'd be there.

-There wasn't quite so much champagne flowing.

-Oh, was there not?

Oh, rats.

In charge of all that champagne, Max, the restaurant manager is hard at work behind the bar.

-In general, the majority of drinks are wine and whiskey, with the occasional standard cocktail.

You don't really get asked for...crazy drinks, but sometimes you get asked for overly sized measures, which you wouldn't normally get in other places.

We are one big family on boards.

We spend more time with each other than we do our loved ones at home.

I think we all strive to deliver a standard of excellence, but add our own personalities along the way.

You know, we don't like to be robotic.

Like, everyone's just being themselves, welcoming our guests like friends on board.

After the first day, it's acceptable to say Sir or Mr.

This, Mr. That.

But by day two, we like first-name basis and I just think that's more welcoming to the guests.

-As the drinks and conversation flows, we're arriving into Spean Bridge, where we'll be stabling for the night.

And traditional Scottish musicians Gary and Ewen are on board as our evening entertainment.

-You know, you've got 40 people in the observation car.

Quite a small environment.

I think, as the day goes on, the guests let their hair down more.

They unwind, they bond and they forge as a group, so to speak.

People start to make friends.

And, yeah, the trip gets livelier as we go along.

-Here we go!

-Bravo!

This really is a party on wheels.

After a great first night's sleep onboard the Royal Scotsman... Up and at 'em.

...I'm waking up in Spean Bridge in the Highlands.

Today is gonna be filled with trips off the train.

It's 7:00 a.m., and the kitchen staff are prepping breakfast.

I'm joining host Mark and some fellow guests for an early morning walk... -If you'd like to just gather around here... -...to find out more about the area's connection to the Royal Marine commanders.

-During the Second World War, when Churchill realized that he needed a behind-the-scenes special fighting force, which became the Royal Marine Commandos, he asked for volunteers across the British armed forces.

Any man that wanted to join was put on this train and sent to here -- Spean Bridge.

-Developed in 1942 to disrupt Nazi-occupied Europe, Churchill's commando unit selected only the fittest men.

On arrival in Spean Bridge, they were ordered to Achnacarry Castle 7 miles away.

-If they didn't get there within 60 minutes, they were turned around, sent back to Spean Bridge, and returned to their units.

-A walk up the hill from the station stands the Commando Memorial.

-Almost there.

-Three Royal Marine commandos cast in bronze look out over the harsh mountainous terrain of Lochaber.

-It was sculpted by Scott Sutherland.

He himself fought in the war.

17 feet high.

They are modeled on Marines at the time.

-The statue was unveiled in 1952 by Her Majesty, The Queen Mother.

It honors the commandos' wartime heroics.

-And the countryside you see around you is where they trained.

Up there is Ben Nevis.

The peak is hidden.

It's the tallest peak in the United Kingdom.

It's just over 4,000 feet high.

-The cloud's starting to move.

-It's starting to move up, so it may -- We may get a glimpse.

-Yeah.

This remote, rugged landscape was specially selected as the ideal environment for the grueling 6-week training course the trainee commanders endured to prepare them for battle.

[ Explosion ] -Physically and mentally extremely demanding.

They used live ammunition a lot.

Some of the men were killed during training.

There were fatalities.

And then at the end of that 6-week period, they would be awarded the Green Beret of the Royal Marines.

And then they would go on to serve in special operations and special missions throughout the remainder of the Second World War.

-By the end of the war, the commandos had gained over 500 gallantry medals and eight Victoria Crosses, a true testament to the rigorous training that took place here in the Scottish Highlands... ...an area regarded as the birthplace of modern special forces and still used for training operations today.

At the foot of the monument, a memorial garden serves as a place to remember the commandos and other fallen servicemen and women.

-It's quite touching, quite moving.

-So young.

So many of them.

-Yeah.

-And they're all wandering around these hills.

-All in these hills.

The spiritual home of the Royal Marine Commandos.

-Back on board, breakfast is prepped and the train's ready to go.

Got lost.

Right, I better get on the train.

-Green flag... [ Whistle blows ] -Ooh, that was close.

As we leave Spean Bridge, we're skirting Fort William, continuing towards the west coast, where we meet the Caledonian Canal, designed by Thomas Telford to link the Atlantic with the North Sea.

We're passing Neptune's Staircase, Britain's longest staircase loch at 120 feet.

And after this morning's early start, I've worked up an appetite again.

Vegan extravaganza.

At the other end of the train, head of housekeeping, Karen, is hard at work behind the scenes.

-In the morning, we try and get into the guests' rooms as soon as possible, just an initial make of the bed.

Then we come in to do our full service in the room so everything is just perfect for them when they return from their expedition.

And then we visit the room in the evening for our turndown service so that things are nice and neat for them after they've had their evening meal and entertainment.

-The housekeeping team can be summoned to guests' rooms by the touch of a button.

And of course, they'll even press your clothes.

Each bed needs to be made to an exacting standard with soft Scottish woolen blankets and luxurious bed linen.

-I do think the guests get a good sleep on the train.

Quite often, they'll say to me that they sleep better here than what they do at home.

I don't know whether that's a mixture of the fresh air or the fun of all the excursions that they go on during the day or perhaps just a nice, relaxing vibe that we have or maybe all the lovely food and drink that they have on an evening.

I'm not sure.

[ Train horn blows ] -We've arrived into the UK's westernmost railway station, Arisaig, which translates from Gaelic as "the safe place."

We guests are off to explore a string of sandy beaches that pepper the coastline, from Arisaig to Morar.

-Just come this way, folks.

Welcome to the silver sands of Morar.

-The crystal-clear turquoise waters on this unspoilt stretch of coastline are warmed by the Gulf Stream.

-Enjoy your time on the beach.

-Being the Royal Scotsman, champagne is never far away.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

It's 10 to 11:00 in the morning.

Ahh.

You must.

Even on a cloudy day like today, there are stunning views out to the small isles.

So it's no surprise that this beach is billed as one of the most beautiful in Britain.

-Yeah.

That's it.

That's the sand.

That's it.

And the geology is such that the crystals within the rock here glisten in the sun and the whole beach shimmers on a sunny day.

-Yeah, yeah.

That's what they all say.

-The word "morar" means deep water.

-Right.

-And up behind us there, just over the bridge, Loch Morar is 1,000 feet deep.

-Wow.

-It's the deepest freshwater body in the UK.

It's so deep, in fact, that you could sit the Eiffel Tower in Loch Morar and still have 33 feet at the top.

So it really is deep.

-While the guests enjoy the views, the Royal Scotsman has continued to Mallaig, 4 miles north at the end of the West Highland Line for some essential servicing.

The train can only carry a limited supply of water.

So for onboard engineer Jan, stops like this are crucial in order to refill the tanks.

-If I allow these tanks to run empty, they'll be unable to shower, they won't be able to flush the toilet.

Not doing this in the time allotted to doing it, it would cause -- cause pandemonium.

-In order to take on as much water as possible, Jan's going for a fill-to-spill approach.

-Well, I run this through, and then I've got my two -- my two tanks that basically sit underneath.

And once these are filled -- so, you'll physically see the water falling out of them.

And then that tells me that everybody's got water.

This is the easiest aspect to being the onboard engineer, but it's imperative that it gets done.

-I'm lapping up the silver sands of Morar.

This coastline was the location for a movie that's consistently voted Scotland's greatest film.

So you're both big fans of "Local Hero"?

-Very big fans.

-How did you come across that movie?

-Oh, I think we watched it when it first came out.

-Oh.

It's 40 years, you know?

-Oh, yeah.

-It's the 40th anniversary.

Released in 1983, it's a comedy about a Texan oil rep who's sent to buy a Scottish town and beach, starring Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster.

It's just along there where the beach is.

-I'm still looking for the mermaid, though, right?

-Yeah.

That's right.

-Oh!

We need a medic.

We need a medic.

That's your husband?

-Yeah.

He's special.

-She says proudly.

-He's so special.

-I'm invincible!

-That's my line.

-Yeah.

-That's a reference from the James Bond film I starred in, but I'm assuming you already knew that.

-That was awesome.

-He'll jump in the spring water in the mountains in the middle of December.

He doesn't care.

He loves that.

So this is his first time in Scotland, so he's thrilled.

-There's a thing in Scotland we call taps aff, which means tops off.

So whenever there's the mildest bit of sunshine, it's like, "Taps aff!"

And everyone... And I remember it being here and there was all these people sunbathing.

Beetroot.

You're all burnt to a crisp.

-Yeah.

-And it was just so magical.

I'm having champagne.

I remember thinking, "Gosh, this could be the Bahamas."

-That's what we were saying.

-But then I walked -- I went into -- paddled into the water.

I was like, "Oh, it's not the Bahamas."

There's kids sunning.

I was like, "Get your children out of this water!"

[ Laughter ] Ready?

One, two, three.

I am invincible.

-Invincible!

[ Laughter ] You're the man.

[ Birds chirping ] -Most westerly station in Britain.

After a morning of exploring, I'm about to rejoin the train with my fellow guests.

-We always have something for our guests when they're coming back from their excursions.

-Every time they leave, they have a drink welcome back.

-There's their bunks.

That's the crews' bunks.

-We're just, like, checking out Pringles.

-I can't resist a peek into the staff quarters.

-Welcome back.

-Welcome back, everybody.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

-Welcome back.

-Hello, everybody.

It's a Scottish elderflower cordial and a splash of lemonade.

It's very refreshing.

-Delicious.

Delicious.

Back on board, head waitress Ellie is preparing one of the restaurant cars for lunch.

Providing guests with a 5-star service means Ellie and the team polish over 100,000 pieces of cutlery every season.

-So, we do spend a couple hours, probably daily, polishing things for the tables in terms of glasses, cutlery.

-What we're about is detail.

So we just need to do finishing touches.

Julie will put the butters on the table in about five minutes so it's soft enough to spread on the freshly baked bread that we're serving for lunch.

-We've covered over 200 miles of Scottish scenery so far and are now heading back along the West Highland Line, one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world.

At Glenfinnan, one of the most visited stations on the route, I'm meeting Hege Hernes... Hello, Hege.

-Hello.

-...manager of the station museum to find out about some recently discovered photographs... ...that shed new light on how the line was built.

-Someone out there in cyberspace, uh, sent me this picture as an attachment to an e-mail.

And this is February 1900.

-Wow.

This image was the first of a collection that were discovered by a photography enthusiast at an auction in Cornwall.

-It was a batch of unlabeled negatives.

He just bought them on an off chance and they happened to come into my office.

-That's so great.

I love the way that sort of modern technology allows us to connect in ways to find out more things about the past.

The discovery was a photo journal of the construction of the West Highland Line extension.

-But the whole idea about the West Highland Line was to take a railway to the west coast, so that the local population would have ready access to the markets for their fish.

The main reason is the abject poverty that the coastal population was in at the time, and the powers that be thought that, well, better transport links would alleviate that, yeah.

-The 40-mile extension would connect the existing Glasgow to Fort William Line to the small harbor town of Mallaig, where new fishing methods created huge opportunities for the herring industries.

The new line will make it possible to transport fish to markets in the south.

Look at this landscape.

Huge mountains, rocky terrain.

It must have been filled with incredible hardships and challenges to make a railway through this land.

-It certainly was, yes.

-Huge feats of engineering as well as... -6 viaducts, 6 concrete viaducts, and 11 tunnels.

-God.

-So there's an awful lot of blasting going on.

-Glasgow contractor Robert McAlpine and sons used concrete to build viaducts as well as other pioneering methods.

-This is hydropower.

Oh, that's like a hydroelectricity thing.

And that's a turbine making electricity to go along.

-They're making tunnels there.

So now they have lights.

Electric lights.

-I see, that's amazing.

-Quite extraordinary at the time, probably the first time in Britain that they were using electric lights in the making of tunnels.

-Whoa.

Hydro also powered pneumatic drills used to cut through rock.

And the ingenuity didn't stop there.

Oh, my gosh, look at him.

-They had divers going down.

Yes.

-Oh, what, to do the, um, foundations underwater?

-That's right.

Yeah.

-It's like a Jules Verne book.

-It really is.

Yes.

-It would take four years and a workforce of thousands to complete the vast extension.

During its construction, workers lived in wooden huts along the line, with most men coming from Ireland and the Highlands.

There was a hospital for the workers.

-Gosh.

-8-bed hospital.

And it had a doctor and it had two nurses.

-Yeah.

Well, I guess there was loads of casualties.

-There was lots of casualties.

We don't have the exact numbers.

Figures weren't kept and they were only labor.

-Some things haven't changed, I guess, in the attitudes towards the working man.

-No.

-It's funny, you know, when I'm sitting in the observation car of the Royal Scotsman, I don't really think about the incredible toil and feats of engineering and the amazing work that went into creating this line.

So an incredibly vital route that still to this day, 120 years later, takes tourists and provides a huge part of the -- the local economy.

We have a lot to thank those peeps for.

And just over the hill from the station lies the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Spanning 1,000 feet in length, with 21 concrete arches raising it 100 feet in the air, it's a world-renowned feat of Victorian engineering... ...and one of the most visited tourist attractions in Scotland, thanks in part to the "Harry Potter" movies with fans keen to catch a glimpse of the Hogwarts Express crossing the viaduct.

Down the valley from the viaduct stands the Glenfinnan Monument.

It was on this spot in 1745 that Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, rallied an army of 1,500 men in his fight for a fully governing Scottish Parliament, and to get a Stuart back on the British throne.

He believed Scots suffered under English occupation, and the gathering of clansmen here in Glenfinnan marked the start of the Jacobite rising, a campaign that would end in defeat at the Battle of Culloden a year later.

Historian Andrew Mackenzie is going to tell us how the culture of piping shaped the events on that day in August 1745.

-For hundreds of years, people had been passing on pipe tunes.

They're very important tunes because they are almost like an eyewitness testimony to stuff that was happening.

It's basically the stories of your ancestors.

It's their strengths, their weaknesses, the big events they were involved in.

It's your connection to them, the ground that they lived on, the ground that they worked on, the ground they potentially died on as well.

-Bonnie Prince Charlie rode down Loch Shiel accompanied by a single piper.

Andrew believes a pipe tune called "The Prince's Salute" is a record of the events that took place on the day the Jacobite standard was raised.

-[ Singing in native language ] Now, ladies and gentlemen, that is the first line of the tune.

I have no doubt in my mind that that tune was played here on the 19th of August, 1745.

-This site has huge historic significance for Scotland, so I'm definitely taking my chance to climb to the top.

I think it's an interesting thing about the way history changes, evolves, and that we are standing here on the top of this monument to an incredibly important moment in Scottish history, the Scottish attempt for self-determination.

And yet there are many more people, many, many, many more people going up that hill to take a photo of that bridge because it was in the "Harry Potter" film.

Just imagine little Bonnie Prince Charlie coming in a rowing boat up there... to see the "Harry Potter" viaduct.

I hope you can see why it's not just the service that makes me love this train so much.

It's the roots, the historical revelation and the people.

Fortunately, I have another three legs to experience.

And next time, things get extreme.

Woman: Yeww!

-I go backstage for some belters... - Ahhh -...and then finally relax.

You know things are bad when they get the hemorrhoid cream out.

-Let's not go there.