Wandering by rail
Take a train tour through these areas of great natural beauty. Chris Carter reports
Recreational train journeys are experiencing a revival around the world, says Marisel Salazar in Condé Nast Traveller. They are eco-friendly, affordable and a great way to take in the scenery. Take Scotland, for example. The West Highland line starts in Glasgow and runs 180 miles to the “tiny picturesque” fishing ports of either Oban or Mallaig. On the Fort William to Mallaig section, travellers will be able to spot the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle, just before crossing the River Lochy, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Another famous looped viaduct, known as the Horseshoe Curve, sits between the Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy stops.
Spend a night or two at the charming Ballachulish Hotel in Glencoe along the way from Glasgow to Fort William for a taste of Highland hospitality. The Ben Nevis Distillery is also nearby for a quick tour and whisky tasting. Ballachulish Hotel from £119 a night, ballachulish-hotel.co.uk
Cotwolds walks
“A ride on the Oxford to Worcester railway, with orchards and winding rivers through the window, makes a lovely trip in its own right and is ideal for enjoying linear hikes between Cotswolds towns and villages,” says Phoebe Taplin in The Guardian. You could, for instance, make the eight-mile ramble along the Evenlode valley from Charlbury to Hanborough, passing “the ruins of a Roman villa and woods pungent with wild garlic”.
Worcester, not far from the Malvern hills and brimming with budget-friendly hotels, is a good base from which to make excursions. Gloucester’s fan-vaulted medieval cloisters, which appear in three Harry Potter films, and the Waterways Museum, which covers two floors of a former grain warehouse on the docks, are only a shortish train ride away. The museum runs boat trips starting this month along a canal rich with birdlife. Adults £8.50, canalrivertrust.org.uk
France’s Celtic corner
“Liberté, égalité, intercité! Britain may have invented railways, but France perfected them,” says Oliver Smith in The Times. And “there is no greater entrée for a French holiday than riding the rails”.
Brittany is a beautiful “Celtic corner”, culturally akin to Cornwall and Wales, that is worth visiting by “chuntering” train for its“lush green landscapes” and “bracing beaches”. One way to explore the region is to take the Eurostar from London to Paris and then a train to St Malo before making a rail circuit of the Brittany peninsula. Board a southbound service to the regional capital of Rennes and stay at the “designled” Mama Shelter hotel. Then head westwards to the medieval ramparts of Vannes and onwards to the spire of Quimper’s gothic cathedral. Leave the rails at Brest for a boat trip to see the “lonely” lighthouses on the island of Ushant. Then take the train back to the start along Brittany’s northern shore. Mama Shelter from £150, mamashelter.com