Wanderlust UK – September 2019

25 BESTEUROPEANRAILJOURNEYS

72 wanderlust.co.uk September 2019

23

BrockenRailway,

Germany

Bestfor...Savingyourlegs

Thejourney:DreiAnnenHohne

toBrocken(19km; 51 minutes)

Wesay...ThesummitofBrocken

(theHarzmountains’loftiestpoint)

isadoddleforthesesteamtrains

(hsb-wr.de;inGerman).Theyclimb

thickpinesandwildlowermeadows

uptothe1,141mpeak,formingone

ofthreelinesontheHarzRailway,

Europe’slongestnetwork(140km)

stillrunningdailysteamtrains.

Toptip:Buyaone-wayticketand

hikebackdown,walkingthefamed

8kmtrailtoTorhaus.

24

Ffestiniog

Railway,Wales

Bestfor...SteamingSnowdonia

Thejourney:BlaenauFfestiniogto

Porthmadog(21.7km; 1 hour 15 mins)

Wesay...Operatedbytheoldest-

survivingtraincompanyinthe

world,theFfestiniogRailway

(festrail.co.uk)hasrunforalmost

200 yearsthroughSnowdonia

NationalPark,andhasagleaming

troupeofsteamlocomotives.

Therouteisarichfeastofrivers,

waterfalls,mountainsandancient

woodlands,withaloopingspiral

sectionlendingsomethrills.

Toptip:AddontheWelshHighland

Railway–Ffestiniog’ssisterroute

• betweenPorthmadogand
  Caernarfontoextendyourfun.

25

Belmond

Grand

Hibernian,Ireland

Bestfor...SeeingIrelandinstyle

Thejourney:DublintoWestport

andback(1406km; 5 days)

Wesay...AsiftheEmeraldIsle’s

landscapesweren’tlushenough,

theBelmondGrandHibernian

(belmond.com)o‘ersaive-star

lourish,withtop-notchservice,

deluxesleepersandlashings

ofsinglemaltwhiskey.Takethe

‘LegendsandLoughs’tripfor

acoast-to-coastjourneywithstop-

o‘satCork,GalwayandKillarney

NationalPark.It’saconviviala‘air

thatdoesn’tskimpontheinedining

andhaslivemusiceveryevening.

Toptip:Foramorehumbletrain

trip,catchtheDARTfromDublinto

Bray–a50-minutejauntpastpretty

harboursandemptybeaches.

ANDFORMORETRAINS...

Wepicksometheworld’smost

adventuroussleeper-trainescapes

(p74)andoeryouexpertadvice

ontheenduringheadacheof

bookingEuropeanrailtrips(p142).

DID YOU

KNOW?

The Ffestiniog

Railway began in

1832 as a way to

haul slate down

from the mountain

quarries to the

river by gravity;

it was only 32

years later that it

added passenger

carriages, and

is still run by the

same company

that began it. Alamy

⊳