Dunrobin Castle railway 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.
 | |
|---|---|
 The platform at Dunrobin Castle, looking east | |
| General information | |
| Location | Dunrobin Castle, Highland Scotland |
| Coordinates | 57.9859°N 3.9470°W |
| 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 | |
| 2017/18 |  1,030 |
| 2018/19 | 1,224 |
| 2019/20 | 1,240 |
| 2020/21 |  114 |
| 2021/22 | 770 |
| 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]
A ‘Request to Stop’ kiosk is expected to be installed at the station in spring 2023.[10][11]
Services
Unlike other stations on the line, The station is only open 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.[12] No trains call before 9am or after 6pm due to the station having no lighting.
| 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. 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
- Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
- Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- Butt 1995, p. 86.
- Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 102. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3. The atlas incorrectly marks Dunrobin Castle as just "Dunrobin"
- Wills, Dixe (2014). Tiny Stations (Paperback, 1st reprint ed.). Basingstoke: AA Publishing. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-7495-7732-2.
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Dunrobin Castle Station Waiting Room (Category B Listed Building) (LB7054)". Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- George A Wade, "Private Railway Stations", Railway Magazine, November 1903
- "Dunrobin Castle Station | ScotRail". www.scotrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- "Michael Portillo at Dunrobin". www.scotlandrailholiday.com. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- "Further request-stop kiosks added on Far North Line". Network Rail Media Centre. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- "More request stop kiosks on Far North Line". Today's Railways UK. No. 252. Platform 5. February 2023. p. 14. ISBN 9771475971140.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link) - eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219
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