St Ives Bay Line, Cornwall

There are three excellent little spur lines that branch off from the mainline to Penzance. Liskeard to Looe mooches along the scenic east Looe river to the little fishing port/resort.

Truro to Falmouth dawdles down to the docks and the Maritime Museum. But the most spectacular is the 10-minute tootle from St Erth to St Ives, around the giant curve of the sand-lined St Ives Bay, past Carbis Bay, where the G7 group of world leaders congregated for their summit in 2021.

The end of the line is right above Porthminster beach in St Ives, where wide skies and cloud formations scudding in from the Atlantic have long induced artists to settle here. Some of their best known work is in the Tate St Ives (greatscenicrailways.co.uk/lines/ st-ives-bay-line).