The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
UNITED KINGDOM
SCOTTISH ADVENTURE
Small group specialist The Adventure People launches a host of new Scottish train tours this April. Its seven-day loop from Glasgow to Edinburgh skirts Loch Ness and boards the Jacobite steam train across the Glenfinnan Viaduct – a must for Harry Potter fans. After the peaks of Skye, travellers embark the Kyle Line, arcing across northern Scotland to Inverness. Journey’s end is crossing the Forth Rail Bridge to Edinburgh Waverley station.
The six-night Loch Ness, The Jacobite & Skye tour costs £2,273 per person, including tours, trains, accommodation and some meals (020 8004 8886; theadventurepeople.com).
EAST TO WEST
The steam-powered Clan Line locomotive will celebrate 50 years since its reintroduction in April by pulling the British Pullman to Bath in a one-off journey. A three-course brunch is served as the art deco train whistles out from London Victoria. As operator Belmond is also behind the Cipriani and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the four-course champagne dinner on the return journey is legendary.
Belmond (0800 058 1237; belmond. com) offers the Clan Line 50th Anniversary Pullman day trip from £953 per person.
VINTAGE NORFOLK
The Mid-Norfolk Railway is renowned for hauling 1950s carriages around stunning countryside using vintage British Rail locomotives and steam engines, and its themed trips – from the Polar Express to gin-train put on by a local distillery – are a hoot. Experience it this summer, when the line will once again be running from Dereham’s restored Victorian station to the ancient market town of Wymondham, following a period of closure due to engineering works.
The Mid-Norfolk Railway (01362 690633; midnorfolkrailway.co.uk) potters past old signal boxes and costs £17 for a day pass (accompanied children travel free).
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
The Northumberland Line, which gallops through verdant coastland and across several viaducts, was cut by Beeching in the 1960s – but this summer, it is back. The rejuvenated 36-minute trip starts at Newcastle’s imposing railway station, then wends its way north to Seaton Delaval, near Whitley Bay, and to Blyth. The line’s terminus at Ashington is near the Woodhorn Museum, a former colliery in what was once the largest pit village in the world.
The Northumberland Line (northumberlandline.uk) is scheduled to start services this August.
STEAMING THROUGH WALES
Steam Dreams operates trips on vintage trains all over Britain, including to Chester and Castle Howard. In September, its new Paddington to Pwllheli option travels along the Cambrian Coast Line through Snowdonia, where passengers can enjoy excursions on the Ffestiniog railway, the Snowdon Mountain Railway, and the Welsh Highland Railway. The return leg involves steam-hauled trips along the North Wales Coast Line.
Steam Dreams (01483 209888; steamdreams.co.uk) offers a five-day Welsh Dragon trip from £995 per person, with Pullman upgrades available, and includes all transport and hotels.
A VERY WILTSHIRE WINTER
In December 2024, a new Wiltshire tour visits the Avon Valley Railway, with mulled wine and afternoon tea served aboard the heritage carriage hauled by a steam locomotive. The tour then continues to Stonehenge, Longleat’s Festival of Light, and a wreath-making workshop in Salisbury.
Great Rail Journeys (01904 734154; greatrail.com) offers the seven-day A Wonderful Wiltshire Christmas trip for £1,195 per person, including transport and accommodation at the Mercure White Hart Hotel.