the times Saturday December 18 202134 Travel
show-stopping finale. Carriages swoosh
past the looping estuary at Alnmouth
and the distant castles at Bamburgh and
Lindisfarne, crossing onto Scottish soil
beyond the viaduct at Berwick. The train
valiantly scales North Sea cliffs beforeJust the ticket: all aboard Britain’s
You don’t have to splash out on swanky
sleepers to have a spectacular ride.
Oliver Smith picks the UK’s best stretches
route between the Scottish and English
capitals — trains zoom at 125mph along
a mostly humdrum stretch of line. If
you’re travelling north, however, that
changes beyond Newcastle, where the
Northumberland coast puts on aExeter to Totnes
For holidaymakers on a westbound train
from Paddington, the adventure truly
begins once you pass Exeter St Davids.
Here, Brunel’s majestic mainline nudges
the banks of the Exe before almost
diving into the sea at Dawlish, the train
rumbling inches from bucket-and-spade
beaches, burrowing deep into sandstone
tunnels and re-emerging into daylight
to be sloshed by breaking waves below.
The line only grudgingly turns inland
by the bobbing boats at Teignmouth,
before passing through green fields to
reach bohemian Totnes. Stay at the
Bull Inn in Totnes.
Details B&B doubles from £135
(bullinntotnes.co.uk)
Chester to Llanfair PG
The North Wales Coast Line connects
to Holyhead’s waiting ferries — although
any Dublin-bound passengers might
glance out of the window and feel a pang
of sorrow that they aren’t staying in
Wales. Leaving Chester, there are
distant views of Liverpool’s twin
cathedrals beyond the Wirral. Gradually
the foothills of Snowdonia rise, the sea
appears and the train storms through the
medieval walls at Conwy. The climax is
Stephenson’s Britannia Bridge, where
the rails soar over the whirlpools of the
Menai Straits before stopping at a small
village with an epic name,
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob
wllllantysiliogogogoch. Stay at
Château Rhianfa, a short taxi ride from
“Llanfair PG”.
Details B&B doubles from £159
(chateaurhianfa.co.uk)
Glasgow to Mallaig
The West Highland Line traverses a
tapestry of landscapes: the boggy mire
of Rannoch Moor, the silvery expanse of
Loch Lomond and the many silent
glens where passing trains are witnessed
only by blinking stags. For northbound
passengers, though, the line saves the
best for last: the Glenfinnan Viaduct
provides a sublime view out across the
shores of Loch Shiel and the spot
where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his
standard to start the Jacobite Rebellion.
Passengers gaze on blooming heather
in autumn and snow-dusted munros in
winter: views that would have anyone
reaching for their sword. Stay at Hotel
Dakota in Glasgow.Details Room-only doubles from £120
(dakotahotels.co.uk)Inverness to Kyle of
Lochalsh
The Kyle of Lochalsh line has seen off
the threat of closure many times, and
still rumbles doggedly among chilly
lochs and sullen glens on its march from
the North Sea to the cusp of Skye.
Westbound trains trace the Beauly Firth
out of Inverness, before striking into
the wilderness proper, where solitary
stations with empty platforms punctuate
the wide open spaces. The terminus is
Kyle of Lochalsh station: the platforms
set by a pier where passengers once
changed for Skye-bound ferries. These
days brave folk steel themselves for a
walk across the blustery bridge to the
island instead. Stay at Rocpool Reserve
Hotel in Inverness.
Details B&B doubles from £135
(rocpool.com)Newcastle to Edinburgh
The East Coast Mainline is the main railGlenfinnan Viaduct, Inverness-shire