Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain

13¾ MILES 30 + 15 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 1

(Eridge)

Restored Southern Railway Class ‘M7’ 0-4-4T No. 53 makes a fine sight while heading a train on the Spa Valley Railway between Eridge and Groombridge.

The moated Tudor castle at Hever was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife.

HYTHE TO DUNGENESS

The world-famous Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway runs for 13½ miles along the Kent coast from Hythe to the enormous shingle bank headland at Dungeness. Built to a gauge of 15 in, it was the creation of a wealthy racing driver and a miniature locomotive engineer and opened in 1927. It is a one-third scale, fully signalled, double-track main line (between Hythe and New Romney) with express trains operating at up to 25 mph, hauled by scale versions of LNER and Canadian steam engines. A single-track extension was opened between New Romney and Dungeness in 1928.

Trains depart from Hythe’s overall-roofed station in a southwesterly direction along the double-track route between the expanse of Romney Marsh and the coastline. Serving the coastal ribbon development of bungalows, chalets and holiday camps, trains call at Burmarsh Road, Dymchurch, St Mary’s Bay and Warren Halt before arriving at the railway’s headquarters at New Romney. Here, workshops, engine shed, model railway and café are found. Beyond New Romney, trains on the single-track line negotiate a series of level crossings as they make their way through a landscape interspersed with fishermen’s shacks and dominated by the lighthouses and nuclear power stations at Dungeness. After dropping off their passengers, trains take a 360-degree loop here before heading back to Hythe.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Light Railway Café; National Nature Reserve; RSPB bird observatory; beach fishing; lighthouse open to public; 1930s concrete acoustic ‘listening ears’; fishermen’s wooden cottages

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

3-9 per day (end March-Oct, Christmas and New Year)

NB Hythe can be reached by bus from Folkestone

13½ MILES 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

Built in 1927, No. 8 ‘Hurricane’ hauls a train near New Romney on the 15-in-gauge Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway.

TENTERDEN TO BODIAM

This is an extremely pleasant day trip taking a leisurely journey in a vintage steam-hauled train to visit one of England’s finest moated castles. With its headquarters today in Tenterden, the Kent & East Sussex Railway was originally built and owned by the legendary Colonel Holman F Stephens, and opened between Headcorn and Robertsbridge in 1905. This delightful rural line led a precarious existence until it was nationalized in 1948 and finally closed in 1961. Since then it has been gradually reopened westwards from Tenterden Town station, reaching Bodiam in 2000. The missing link from here to the national rail network at Robertsbridge is currently being rebuilt.

From Tenterden, trains descend in a westerly direction to Rolvenden station then head south, calling at Wittersham Road station towards the water meadows of the peaceful Rother Valley. After crossing the county border from Kent into East Sussex, trains call at Northiam (for Great Dixter House and Gardens) before following the valley westwards to Bodiam Station where the village, Castle Inn and National Trust castle are all within easy reach.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

National Trust’s 14th-century moated Bodiam Castle (NT); Castle Inn; Colonel Stephens Museum (Tenterden)

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

5-8 per day (Trains operate every day in August, but only on certain days for the rest of the year. See railway’s website for details.)

NB Tenterden can be reached by bus from Ashford

10½ MILES 50 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

A vintage steam train approaches Northiam station on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

HASTINGS TO RAMSGATE

The first half of this railway trip follows the Marshlink Line from Hastings to Ashford, which survived a threatened closure in the 1963 ‘Beeching Report’. From Hastings’ ultra modern station, diesel multiple units leave in a northeasterly direction, immediately passing through Mount Pleasant Tunnel to call at Ore. Here the third-rail double-track electrification ends and the single-track line begins, burrowing through Ore Tunnel before following the valley of the River Brede, calling at Three Oaks, Doleham and Winchelsea and arriving at Rye station, where there are staggered platforms and a passing loop. The most famous landmark here is the Grade II-listed white smock windmill that stands close to the railway. From Rye the railway heads across the Royal Military Canal to cross the vast expanse of Romney Marsh in a dead-straight line to Appledore station, where there is a freight-only branch line trailing in from Dungeness nuclear power station on the coast.

The single-track section ends at Appledore and trains soon cross the Royal Military Canal once more, calling at Ham Street, then paralleling the busy A4020 to the outskirts of Ashford. Passengers must change trains at Ashford International station to continue their journey to Ramsgate. From Ashford, electric trains head northeast along the Great Stour Valley, calling at Wye, Chilham and Chartham before diving under the Dover main line to arrive at Canterbury West. From here, the final part of this journey takes trains through Sturry to Minster, where the electrified line from Dover joins at a triangular junction. Ramsgate is but a short distance east of Minster and is also the end of the line for the Hitachi high-speed ‘Javelin’ service from London St Pancras (#litres_trial_promo). A regular Thanet Loop bus service links the 1920s Grade II-listed brick-built station with the town centre and harbour.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Blue Flag beach; marina; seafront parade with bars and restaurants; maritime museum; motor museum; Regency and Victorian architecture; cliff-top promenades; street market (Friday and Saturday)

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

1 per hour

56¼ MILES 1 HOUR 37 MINUTES (Mon-Sat) 1 HOUR 55 MINUTES (Sun)

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 1

(Ashford International)

The busy Royal Harbour and marina at Ramsgate.

FOLKESTONE TO MARGATE

Trains for Ramsgate depart from Folkestone’s 1960s station and soon burrow through Martello Tunnel to start their scenic, coast-hugging journey to Dover. Set immediately below the world-famous White Cliffs, the railway passes through the long Abbotscliffe Tunnel, the shorter Shakespeare Tunnel and finally the even shorter Harbour Tunnel, to arrive at Dover Priory. This 1930s station is awkwardly sandwiched between two tunnels, and trains for Ramsgate head off through Priory Tunnel and Charlton Tunnel before branching off the Faversham line at Buckland Junction. From here, the railway follows a curving S-shape route to Guston Tunnel before heading off in a northeasterly direction through Martin Mill and Walmer to reach the seaside resort of Deal. Not far from the sea, the main station building here is the original structure built in 1847, while nearby Deal Castle was built for Henry VIII as an artillery fortress in the 16th century.

From Deal, trains head inland to the historic town of Sandwich. Located on the River Stour, Sandwich was made a Cinque Port in the 12th century but silting-up of the river and shifting sands have now left it two miles from the sea. Leaving Sandwich, trains head north to Minster Junction then turn east to Ramsgate. Here, passengers need to change trains for the short journey around the coast via the seaside resort of Broadstairs to Margate. The impressive 1920s Grade II-listed station building was designed by Edwin Maxwell Fry and is located just a short walk from the beach and Marine Terrace.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

harbour; beaches; amusement park; Shell Grotto; Turner Contemporary art gallery; Old Town

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

1 per hour

34½ MILES 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 1

(Ramsgate)

The modern Turner Contemporary Art Gallery in Margate.

DAY TRIPS FROM LONDON