There is no more relaxing way to travel than by rail, and whatever the season, there is no better way to enjoy the beauty and sights of a country than from a carriage window. When it came to seeing sights, Robert Louis Stevenson thought “none is more vivid than a railroad train.”
There are hundreds of attractive rural railway lines in Britain, offering natural beauty and access to wonderful walks or picturesque villages and towns. It has more tourist railways per capita than any other country and attracts millions of passengers each year.
Royal Scotsman
This hotel on wheels has become the epitome of luxury in rail travel. The fully en suite cabins are generously proportioned for a train carriage, but what makes the journey on the Belmond Royal Scotsman so enjoyable is the quality of the food and the excellent friendliness of the staff.
The small kitchen produces fine cuisine, using produce from the country wherever possible, and the lounge car has a good selection of malts to accompany conversation before or after dinner. A variety of tours lasting from three to eight days are designed to showcase the best Scotland has to offer; some focus on history, others on food and whiskey. An open balcony in the rear carriage helps photographers capture the views; Wellness enthusiasts will appreciate the new built-in Dior Spa, which features two tranquil treatment cabins. 2024 will also see the addition of two Grand Suite cabins with Highlands-inspired furnishings and design.
Details: Prices start from £4,400 per person for the Taste of the Highlands itinerary (0845 077 2222; belmond.com).
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Britain’s busiest heritage railway runs through 29 kilometers of stunning countryside, much of it within the North York Moors National Park. Trains using part of Network Rail climb from the Whitby coast through the Esk Valley to reach the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s own tracks at the Grosmont junction.
Designed by George Stephenson, the railway runs through woodland to the moorland village of Goathland, still remembered as the setting for the TV series Heartbeat. Some travelers break their journey here to walk to the village or explore the famous, Roman or older, mile-long path along Wheeldale Moor. Brochures recommend walking through other way stations before ending the journey to the market town of Pickering and its 13th-century castle.
Details: Daily services return on 23 March and tickets for 2024 will go on sale soon (01751 472508; nymr.co.uk).
Jacobite
The West Highland Railway crosses some of the wildest country crossed by a British railway line connecting Glasgow to Fort William, but the best known is its extension to Mallaig. The famous curved viaduct at Glenfinnan (pictured above), featured in four of the Harry Potter films, and the Jacobite steam trains that run to the fishing port from April to late October attract thousands of people to the area for their spectacular views.
After catching a glimpse of the Caledonian Canal at Neptune’s Staircase – the railway consisting of eight locks – skirts the foot of Loch Eil and soon heads towards the seaside. Cattle can sometimes be seen on the white sands near Morar, which offers views of the sea lakes as far as the Little Isles of Muck, Eigg and Rum. Inland is a panorama of mountains dotted with stones of sheepfolds and farmers’ huts. The Caledonian Sleeper from London, some with private showers and even double beds, is the most romantic and relaxing way to reach Fort William.
Details: Jacobite runs from 28 March to Friday 25 October, priced from £64 return (0844 850 4685; westcoastrailways.co.uk). Caledonian Sleeper from London to Fort William from £405 for a double cabin (0330 060 0500; Sleeper.scot).
Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways
Both of these narrow gauge railways terminate at a common station at Porthmadog and cross Snowdonia. The Welsh Highland Railway is a stone’s throw from the castle at Caernarfon and the Ffestiniog Railway runs to the slate quarry town of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
There are many arguments as to why the Ffestiniog Railway should go down in railway history – locomotive trials in 1870 attracted delegations from nine countries, including Russia and India – but it was the spectacular scenery that filled the trains. These leave Porthmadog through the narrow Cob, with sea on one side and mountain-backed terrain on the other, before climbing a unique spiral near the summit.
The highlight of the Welsh Highland Railway is that it passes through the Aberglaslyn Gap, but there is not a dull moment along its 40 kilometer length. The steep slopes of both lines require special steam locomotives. The Ffestiniog Railway offers one observation car, while the Welsh Highland Railway has two Pullman wagons, one of which has an observation end (addition applies to all).
Details: Wales Highland Railway from £70 for two, return; Ffestiniog Railway from £50 for two, return. Services restart on 25 March (01766 516000; festrail.co.uk).
Dartmouth Steam Railway
In the summer months, when everyone went on holiday by train, West Country resorts were the destination for hundreds of excursion trains. The Dartmouth Steam Railway was once the route of the Torbay Express and now provides an end-to-end connection with Network Rail before heading south to a terminus at Kingswear.
From Paignton the line climbs to offer panoramic views of Torbay and then crosses a saddle in the hills to descend along the Dart Estuary to Kingswear, passing Agatha Christie’s holiday home on the Greenway, now in the care of the National Trust. Various ticket options allow you to take the return journey via river cruise with bus connection to complete the circuit between train and boat.
Details: £21 refund (01803 555872; dartmouthrailriver.co.uk).
Bluebell Railway
Southern trains to East Grinstead provide an easy way for Londoners to reach the Bluebell Railway, whose station is a few minutes’ walk from the mainline platform. The 18-kilometre journey to Sheffield Park passes through well-wooded Sussex countryside, covered with bluebells in spring.
Each of the four stations has been restored to evoke a different period in the line’s 137-year history, and the quiet rural junction of Horsted Keynes, with its small lounge on the island platform, is one of the most atmospheric of all heritage railway stations. . As the first standard gauge heritage railway to open in 1960, Bluebell has a fine collection of vintage cars which adds to the appeal of the journey. Before returning, take a stroll through the National Trust gardens at Sheffield Park.
Details: All-day Adult Rover tickets start from £25 (01825 720800; bluebell-railway.com).
Shrewsbury to Pwllheli/Aberystwyth
Serving the Cardigan Bay resorts between Aberystwyth in the south and Pwllheli in the north, the railway winds through mid-Wales and landscapes of rolling hills reserved for livestock or woodland. The two lines split at the lonely Cyffordd Dyfi (Dovey Junction), accessible only by footpath. The southern route leads to the university town and the Rheidol Valley gives the chance to take the narrow gauge railway to the famous waterfalls that bear his name.
Stretching carefully along the cliffs above the sea, the northern line also provides connections to narrow gauge railways – the Talyllyn Railway at Tywyn and the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways at Porthmadog. Notably, the Mawddach Estuary crosses the 1867 wooden bridge near Barmouth, which is shared with cyclists and pedestrians.
Details: Shrewsbury to Pwllheli return trip £27.10; Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth, £24.80 return (0333 3211 202; tfw.wales).
Cumbrian Coast (Lancaster to Carlisle)
The fastest route between Lancaster and Carlisle is the West Coast main line over Shap peak, but the slow travel route via Barrow and Whitehaven provides long railway lines alongside the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea. The West Coast main line remains at Carnforth Station, where Brief Encounter was filmed in 1945.
Long viaducts carry the railway across the estuaries and the landscape bears little trace of the mining, steel and shipbuilding industries that once dominated the Furness peninsula. Past the shooting range at Eskmeals is Ravenglass and the start of the delightful Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, a 15-inch line that many walkers use as a way to reach the moors to the west. Beyond Whitehaven, one of England’s first planned cities, the railway passes through beautiful farmland to the border town of Carlisle.
Details: Returns from £26.50 (0800 200 6060; Northernrailway.co.uk).