railroad.wikisort.org - Station

Dunrobin Castle railway station is a railway station on the Far North Line in Scotland, serving Dunrobin Castle near the village of Golspie in the Highland council area. The station is 86 miles 22 chains (138.8 km) from Inverness, between Golspie and Brora.[4] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

Dunrobin Castle Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Robain[1]
The platorm at Dunrobin Castle, looking east
General information
Location	Dunrobin Castle, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.9859°N 3.9470°W / 57.9859; -3.9470
Grid reference	NC849012
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	DNO[2]
History
Original company	Duke of Sutherland's Railway
Key dates
1 November 1870[3]	Opened
19 June 1871[3]	Closed to public becoming fully private
29 January 1965[3]	Closed
30 June 1985[3]	Reopened
Passengers
2016/17	882
2017/18	1,030
2018/19	1,224
2019/20	1,240
2020/21	114
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

It was originally a private station for the castle, the seat of the Duke of Sutherland. The Arts and Crafts style waiting room was designed by L Bisset and constructed in 1902, and is a category B listed building.[5][6]

It was described in the Railway Magazine:

The Duke of Sutherland has a beautiful private railway station. As is well known, his Grace owns a large proportion of the North of Scotland, and his famous seat of Dunrobin Castle in that district has its own station for the Duke and his household, called after the Castle, "Dunrobin." The station is one of those on the line of the Highland Railway, and lies between Brora and Golspie, in Sutherlandshire. The Duke has had the place made not only serviceable, but very picturesque in its design and finish.

The general outline seems to be that of a Swiss chalet, and this appearance is not lessened by the surrounding hilly district. The windows are latticed, and look very cosy, whilst all the waiting-rooms and other necessary adjuncts to such a station are well fitted up. With true patriotism his lordship determined that Scotch pine should be used as far as possible in the construction of his station, so that he had it built of that wood. Thus it is extremely strongly made, as it needs to be to resist the ravages of snow and wind that sweep so terribly across the Sutherland moors in winter.

As a rule the platforms of private stations are very small, but this one at Dunrobin is an exception. It is very long, for often the family at the Castle will entertain three or four hundred guests at a time, when important fêtes or events are taking place there.[7]

Facilities

The station has no facilities, save for a small waiting area and the old station buildings, including a privately-owned toilet - the northernmost station in Great Britain to have a toilet on the station platform.[8][9]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Dunrobin Castle[10]

	2002-03	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
Entries and exits	191	299	357	357	423	572	488	594	628	628	916	822	782	882	1,030	1,224	1,240	114

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

It is open only during the summer when the castle itself is open, and is closed from late October to March every year. On weekdays and Saturdays, the station sees three trains each way, with one train towards Inverness on Sundays.[11]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Golspie		ScotRail Far North Line		Brora

Cultural References

The station was used in the 4th and 5th Harry Potter films as Hogsmeade.^{[citation needed]} The station was also featured on an episode of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys in 2012, in which he opened the restored toilet in the former station buildings.[9]

References

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.

External links

• Train times and station information for Dunrobin Castle railway station from National Rail

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