The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Step aboard these great British heritage trains – before they disappear
From the Poppy Line to the Shakespeare Express, there are ways to relive the golden age of steam, says Anthony Lambert
The recent threat to Britain’s most frequent steam operation – Scotland’s celebrated Jacobite (aka The Hogwarts Express) between Fort William and Mallaig, which was briefly banned from operation due to a dispute over door locks – may now have blown over, but it is far from the only dark cloud to have loomed over the UK’s heritage railways of late.
Frankly, it has been a tough few years for those dedicated to making sure future generations will be able to appreciate the visceral sight and sound of a steam locomotive hard at work – without question, the most expressive of machines. And achieving such a thing is only getting harder. The pandemic and a host of rising costs have made it hard to balance the books, even for non-profit organisations with a small army of volunteers working purely for the love of it. Now, they are just hoping that our fascination and nostalgia for steam – combined with glorious sights from the window – will fill their trains and scant coffers.
As the chairman of British Rail, Sir Peter Parker, once said: “Steam warms the market for railways” – and Network Rail, to its credit, continues to find space on its tracks for an astonishing variety of excursion trains. For many passengers, a major part of the attraction is the chance to enjoy fine dining in style while watching the world go by, a pleasure that today’s train companies (with the exception of GWR) have all but abandoned.
Pullmans, or carriages refurbished to that standard, are the setting for tables of white napery, proper cutlery and glass, at which breakfast, lunch or dinner is served. Many heritage railways offer similar experiences, savoured at the slower speeds appreciated by serving staff with a soup bowl.
In addition to more than 60 heritage railways operating steam trains over preserved standard-gauge lines independently of Network Rail, there are half a dozen organisations which offer steam trains over the national network on numerous routes. Most are oneoffs, but a few are regular or even daily services. Though London and the major cities are the starting point for most excursions, smaller towns such as Poole, Woking, Telford and Lancaster also serve as springboards for a day out on the rails.
Below are some of Britain’s finest steam-powered rail journeys – on which every ticket comes with the knowledge that you are helping to preserve these lovely beasts for rail- way-loving generations to come.
The Settle & Carlisle Line
Michael Portillo’s proudest political achievement was saving this railway linking Leeds and Carlisle. No other stretch of track in England can hold a candle to it in terms of the grandeur of the rugged Pennine valleys surrounding it, or the many spectacular viaducts that span them. Most famous of all is Ribblehead, so exposed to Northern gales that coal could be blown off shovels as the fireman struggled to maintain steam. The steep gradients of the line call for skilled footplate work, but it is the majestic peaks gliding past the window – with such evocative names as Ingleborough and Wild Boar Fell – that provide delight for the passengers. No wonder this is the most popular of Network Rail’s routes for steam excursions. Northern Belle (01270 899681; northernbelle.co.uk) offers the Settle & Carlisle Steam Special from £495pp.
The Shakespeare Express
England’s most regular service puffs its way from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, operating two return journeys on most Sundays until the autumn with the option of a threecourse lunch or afternoon tea in Pullman cars. The train wanders through the gentle Warwickshire countryside once covered by the Forest of Arden to the picturesque town that owes so much to our most famous playwright. Vintage Trains (0121 708 4960; vintagetrains.co.uk) offers return journeys from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon from £35pp.
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway
A 14-mile section of one of the last main lines to be built now forms this delightful route, running from the picture-postcard town of Broadway in Worcestershire to Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire. Joining the train at Broadway station, it is hard to believe that this architectural period piece is entirely reconstructed from the ground up. Fruit from the Vale of Evesham was once loaded at several of the stations en route, such as in Winchcombe, where the kiln of the pottery remains a famous feature of the skyline. Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (01242 621405; gwsr.com) offers return journeys from Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse from £24.75pp.
The Poppy Line
Victorian journalist and poet Clement Scott gave the name “Poppyland” to the stretch of the Norfolk coast between Sheringham and Holt – and the towns are linked by the Poppy Line, the poetic nickname of the North Norfolk Railway. From this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty there are views across the sea to the north, and over the National Trust’s Sheringham Park to the south, as the train weaves round the gentle slopes to the Georgian town of Holt.
The North Norfolk Railway (01263 820800; nnrailway.co.uk) offers
Day Rover tickets from £18pp.
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
This line is a favoured stamping ground for steam excursions by Saphos and Vintage Trains, thanks to the bucolic landscapes to the east of Offa’s Dyke. South of Shrewsbury are Wenlock Edge and AE Housman country, plus the jewel of Stokesay Castle, Ludlow with its Marcher Lord castle, and the attractions of Hereford where some itineraries allow time to visit the cathedral – home to the medieval Mappa Mundi.
Saphos Trains (0800 038 5320; saphos trains.com) offers the Welsh Marches Express journey from £165pp.
The West Somerset Railway
Britain’s longest preserved line begins at Bishops Lydeard, once the first station on the branch to Minehead. With views over the Quantocks on one side and the Brendon Hills on the other, trains call at stations including Stogumber (used by visitors to Bee World), Watchet (where the picturesque harbour is thought to have inspired Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner), and Dunster (for its National Trust-run castle and idyllic little high street).
West Somerset Railway (01643 704996; west-somerset-railway.co.uk) offers Rover tickets from £32.50pp.
Hundreds of steam trains a day once chugged holidaymakers down to the resorts of Devon and Cornwall. Today, the glorious stretch of railway along the coast between Exeter and Teignmouth can be enjoyed on various luxurious excursions. Once inland, there are the infamous climbs over the steep Devon banks through the South Hams. Itineraries allow time to explore Plymouth, the harbour at Charlestown, or Fowey. Railway Touring Company (01553 661500; railwaytouring.net) offers the five-night West Country Explorer holiday from £1,795pp.
Starting in Liverpool, then passing through Chester, the railway serving the port of Holyhead touches the sea at various places as soon as it joins the Dee Estuary. There are spectacular highlights at Conwy, including Robert Stephenson’s tubular bridge and the castle walls, and at the Menai Strait – spanned by the Britannia Bridge, another of Stephenson’s triumphs. Railway Touring Company (01553 661500; railwaytouring.net) offers
The North Wales Coast Express journey from £115pp.
Steam Dreams and Belmond’s British Pullman offer many departures from London Victoria on circular routes. Both operators have Garden of England lunchtime tours, which weave along the Kent coast through Canterbury and Dover for the spectacular stretch beside the White Cliffs; while Steam Dreams’ Sunset Steam Express runs through the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Belmond British Pullman (020 4525 1139; belmond.com) offers the Garden of England journey from £485pp. Steam Dreams (01483 209888; steamdreams.co.uk) offers the Sunset Steam Express journey from £75pp. Both depart from London Victoria.