7 FOR THE TRAIN SPOTTER

Jules Verne: You don't really need to be a train geek to enjoy the Tracks of the Welsh Dragon. This steam train journey will transport anyone back to the romantic Golden Age of travel, with

its traditional Pullman carriages, hauled by the 61306 Mayflower locomotive. The first two

days of the four-day trip are spent chugging through the English, then the Welsh countryside, departing from London. You can wistfully watch the country's most dramatic scenery drift past - including the Camarthenshire Hills, the Brecon Beacons, The Black Mountains and the Lleyn Peninsula. Come the evening guests disembark to stay in a hotel – the first night in Shrewsbury, the remaining three in the ‘fantasy' Italianate village of Portmeirion, from where excursions take you to explore the spectacular Snowdonia area before

the homeward train journey. à vjv.com

 British Travel Journal top tip No need to climb Wales' highest peak – take the Snowdon

Railway to the summit.