Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain

Bristol Zoo; Clifton Suspension Bridge; boat trips; ‘SS Great Britain’; Bristol Harbour Railway; Cabot Tower; Bristol Cathedral; St Nicholas Church Museum; Bristol Harbour Festival (end July/early August); International Balloon Festival (August); Industrial Museum; Museum & Art Gallery; Banksy street art; 17th-century Llandoger Trow pub; jazz and blues at the 18th-century The Old Duke pub

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

3 per hour (Mon-Sat)

2 per hour (Sun)

45 MILES 32 MINUTES (DIRECT) / 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

Overlooked by the colourful terraced house of Clifton, Brunel’s restored ‘SS Great Britain’ is a major tourist attraction in Bristol.

BRISTOL TO SEVERN BEACH

Considered by some to be one of the most scenic railway lines in Europe, the branch from Bristol to Severn Beach certainly boasts a variety of scenery (some man-made) along its route. It was opened in stages between 1863 and 1922 and today’s service consists of half-hourly trains between Temple Meads station and Avonmouth, with services extended to and from Severn Beach every 2 hours.

Trains leave Temple Meads station in a northerly direction, taking the main line through Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road stations before diverging at Narroways Junction. Here the line, now single track, heads west through suburban woodland and the short Montpelier Tunnel before calling at Montpelier station. Redland station follows, while at Clifton Down station there is a passing loop before trains plunge into the gloomy depths of mile-long Clifton Down Tunnel. Emerging high above the Clifton Gorge, trains run alongside this winding and tidal stretch of the River Avon through Sea Mills and Shirehampton stations before reaching Avonmouth.

From Avonmouth the scenery becomes more spectacularly man-made in the shape of chemical factories, an LPG terminal and the gigantic coal discharging plant close to St Andrews Road station. Looking more like a giant Anthony Caro sculpture, this brightly coloured structure is used for loading imported coal onto merry-go-round coal trains destined for distant power stations. To the north, freight trains take the Henbury Loop Line at Hallen Marsh Junction while our diesel railcar rattles along the last lonely 3 miles alongside the Severn Estuary. Disused chemical works punctuate the flat landscape before the train ends its journey at the minimal station of Severn Beach. Across the road are massive flood defence walls from which there is a panoramic view across the muddy estuary to South Wales and upstream to the new Severn Crossing. After gulping in the bracing sea air, taking a riverside walk and enjoying an ice cream it is time to retrace our steps back to Temple Meads.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

bird watching; conger fishing; views of Severn Crossing road bridge; Severn Way long-distance path

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

1 every 2 hours (Mon-Sat and summer Sundays)

2 per day (winter Sundays)

13½ MILES 37 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

Passengers travelling by train to Severn Beach are treated to fine views across the Severn Estuary to Wales.

SALISBURY TO BATH

Our scenic journey to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath starts at Salisbury’s busy junction station. From here trains head west to Wilton Junction where the line divides – the West of England main line from Waterloo to Exeter continues west while Bath-bound trains take a northwesterly route along the Wylye Valley, skirting round Salisbury Plain to Warminster. Trains pass a string of picturesque and peaceful villages en route, such as Wylye, Codford and Heytesbury, which lost their stations nearly 60 years ago. Warminster station is located on a sharp curve and its short platforms are a problem for long modern trains. The nearby town is famous not only for its military connections but also for sightings of UFOs in the 1960s and 1970s. From Warminster trains continue to skirt around Salisbury Plain before heading north to the important junction station of Westbury.

With the famous White Horse visible on the hillside to the east, trains leave Westbury in a northerly direction across the Wiltshire Plains before calling at the market and brewing town of Trowbridge. A short distance north of the station, Bath-bound trains branch off westwards at Bradford South Junction – here the single-track line to Melksham and Thingley Junction continues northwards – before reaching Bradford-on-Avon’s attractive station. From here the railway keeps company with the River Avon and the Kennet & Avon Canal along the winding, wooded valley to Bath. Trains serve Avoncliff station (a request stop), where the canal crosses the river and railway on one of John Rennie’s fine aqueducts, and Freshford en route. Now heading north up the valley, the railway passes under Rennie’s graceful Dundas Aqueduct that carries the canal over river and railway. Bathampton Junction is soon reached, where trains join Brunel’s former broad-gauge Great Western Railway as far as Bath. On the final approach, passengers are treated to fine views across this historic city before the railway crosses the River Avon to deposit visitors at the conveniently located station. From here it is but a short walk into the city centre.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Abbey; Roman Baths; Thermae Bath Spa; American Museum (free shuttle bus); Georgian architecture (Royal Crescent); Sydney Gardens; Victoria Art Gallery; Green Park station (for Saturday farmers’ market); Kennet & Avon Canal; Pump Room; Pulteney Bridge; Two Tunnels Greenway

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

1-2 per hour (Mon-Sat)

1 per hour (Sun)

41½ MILES 1 HOUR

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

Pulteney Bridge and the River Avon in Bath.

YEOVIL TO WEYMOUTH

A day trip to the seaside beckons and what better way to travel than by rail to Weymouth, on the Heart of Wessex Line. Our journey starts at Yeovil’s Pen Mill station, opened in 1854, which features an island platform, passing loop, signal box and semaphore signals. Heading south along the Yeo Valley, the single-track railway soon passes under the Waterloo to Exeter main line before starting its 10-mile climb to cross the South Dorset Downs through Evershot Tunnel, passing through the tiny rural request stop stations of Thornford, Yetminster and Chetnole en route. The last 2 miles up to the tunnel feature a 1-in-51 gradient which severely tests the steam-hauled excursion trains from Bristol that still run along this route on Sundays in the summer months.

Reaching the summit of the line, trains emerge from Evershot Tunnel and head downhill into the valley of the River Frome before halting at Maiden Newton station, which until 1975 was the junction for the branch line to Bridport. From here the railway continues its descent down the valley, criss-crossing the river, to the historic town of Dorchester. After pausing at Dorchester West station, trains soon join the Bournemouth to Weymouth electrified main line and head uphill for 2 miles, past the Iron Age hill fort of Maiden Castle to Bincombe Tunnel. Then it is downhill all the way, through Upwey Wishing Well, before trains terminate at Weymouth station. From here it is but a short walk to the town’s superb sandy beaches, Punch and Judy stall, renowned fish and chip shops and bustling harbour.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

sandy beaches; water sports; Punch & Judy; busy harbour; sea-fishing trips; Rodwell Trail (railway walk to Isle of Portland)

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

8 per day (Mon-Sat)

5 per day (Sun)

27½ MILES 50 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

Holidaymakers sit on the beach at Weymouth to enjoy a traditional Punch and Judy Show.

SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ENGLAND

Overlooked by the famous local landmark, a restored white smock windmill, a Hastings to Ashford diesel train on the Marshlink Line crosses the River Rother at Rye.

SOUTHAMPTON TO WEYMOUTH

The railway journey from one of Europe’s most important commercial sea ports to one of Britain’s premier seaside resorts first follows the shore of the Test Estuary before entering the former royal hunting ground of the New Forest at Ashurst. For the next 10 miles the railway meanders through forest and heathland, with trains calling at Beaulieu Road and Brockenhurst stations – the latter is the junction for the branch line to Lymington with its ferry service to the Isle of Wight. At Sway the railway leaves the forest behind and heads towards the coast to serve the continuous ribbon development of the resort towns of Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole that grew up following the coming of the railway in the late 19th century.

From Poole the railway heads across Holes Bay to Hamworthy before skirting around Poole Harbour to reach the historic town of Wareham. Here, in the not-too-distant future, travellers will once again be able to change trains for the journey down to the seaside resort of Swanage. Beyond Wareham the railway heads west along the broad, lush valley of the River Frome to Dorchester, calling at Wool and passing the decommissioned nuclear power station at Winfrith en route. This countryside was not only immortalized in Thomas Hardy’s novels but has, in more recent times, been home to several large army-tank training grounds. From the county town of Dorchester the railway swings south to cross over and under the South Dorset Downs before finally descending to the seaside resort of Weymouth, host of the sailing events for the 2012 Olympic Games.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

sandy beaches; water sports; Punch & Judy; busy harbour; sea fishing trips; Rodwell Trail (railway walk to Isle of Portland)

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

2 per hour (Mon-Sat)