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. It is open only during the summer when the castle itself is open, and is closed from late October to March every year. It was also used in the 4th and 5th Harry Potter films as Hogsmeade.

Dunrobin Castle Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Robain[1]
The station photographed in 1989
Location	Dunrobin Castle, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.9859°N 3.9470°W
Grid reference	NC849012
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	DNO
History
Original company	Duke of Sutherland's Railway
Key dates
1 November 1870[2]	Opened
19 June 1871[2]	Closed to public becoming fully private
29 January 1965[2]	Closed
30 June 1985[2]	Reopened
Passengers
2015/16	782
2016/17	882
2017/18	1,030
2018/19	1,224
2019/20	1,240
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It was originally a private station for the castle, the seat of the Duke of Sutherland. The Arts and Crafts style waiting room was constructed in 1902, and is a category B listed building.[3]

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.[4]

The station is 86 miles 22 chains (138.8 km) from Inverness, and has a single platform which is long enough for a three-coach train.[5]

References

1. Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
2. Butt 1995, p. 86.
3. Historic Environment Scotland. "Dunrobin Castle Station Waiting Room  (Category B Listed Building) (LB7054)". Retrieved 26 March 2019.
4. George A Wade, "Private Railway Stations", Railway Magazine, November 1903
5. Brailsford 2017, map 20B.

Sources

• 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. (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.

External links

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