Travelling by train can be one of the most rewarding ways of taking in the country’s coastal scenery. Here, BEN LERWILL takes a look at eight of the most memorable rail journeys along the edge of Britain.
Llandudno to Holyhead
Llandudno Castle – picture credit: Conwy County Borough Council
Any rail line through North Wales is going to have views to coo over, but this hour-plus journey is especially notable for continuing over the Menai Strait onto the island of Anglesey. It travels via the diminutive city of Bangor – altogether now, “Didn’t we have a lovely time, the day we went to…” – and terminates close to the ferry port at Holyhead, where a 220 metre-high ‘mountain’ forms Anglesey’s highest point and provides some great coastal walks.
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St Erth to St Ives
It takes less than fifteen minutes to travel by rail between St Erth and St Ives, but it’s a deeply rewarding quarter-hour. The train trundles along a pretty stretch of Cornish coastline, including the golden sweep of Carbis Bay, making it arguably the most enjoyable way to arrive into St Ives itself. And if you’re staying awhile, don’t miss the Tate St Ives art gallery, which recently marked its 20th anniversary. The line also connects with services to Penzance in the south, making a coast-to-coast rail trip a viable option.
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Cumbrian Coast Line
Keeping close to the shoreline as it makes its way between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, the 82-mile Cumbrian Coast Line is punctuated by no less than 26 stations. It’s one of the lines travelled by Michael Portillo for the BBC series Great British Railway Journeys, and it’s not hard to see why it was chosen – the journey runs an impressive route, with fells and mountains on one side and the Irish Sea on the other. Much of the line dates back to the 1800s.
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Durham to Berwick-upon-Tweed
Durham Cathedral – picture credit: Visit County Durham
The hour-long journey from Durham to Berwick-upon-Tweed has plenty to recommend it. Its start and end points are notable destinations in their own right: Durham is a cobbled university city with a magnificent Romanesque cathedral, while the border town of Berwick, which still boasts Elizabethan walls, is the northernmost in England. And the journey itself? Highlights include medieval castles and some of Northumberland’s best sea views, not to mention the remarkable Holy Island of Lindisfarne. It forms part of the East Coast Main Line, and has in the past been named the most scenic rail route in Britain.
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Swansea to Pembroke Dock
Snaking across South Wales and taking in everything from soft Carmarthenshire hills to rugged coastal scenery, this two-and-a-quarter hour journey can be broken up into various sections, making it ideal for those who want to take in the region’s wildlife and cultural heritage. Several of the stations en route grant access to the handsome Pembrokeshire Coast Path, where a stroll might give the chance to spot anything from peregrine falcons to grey seals. Alternatively, disembark at Carmarthen to visit the medieval castle.
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Edinburgh to Dundee
Forth Rail Bridge – picture credit: Visit Scotland / ScottishViewpoint
Travelling north from the storied Scottish capital, the Edinburgh to Dundee service takes around an hour and quarter to ply a scenic course over the Firth of Forth and along the eastern coastline. En route to the waterside city of Dundee (where kids will find full-size bronze statues of Desperate Dan and Minnie the Minx), the train passes harbours and rolling Fife lowlands. There-s also the option to disembark along the way to visit the ‘home of golf’ at St Andrews – you’ll need to get off at Leuchars station, which is some ten minutes’ drive from the town itself.
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Norwich to Sheringham
Fish’n’chips. Long sandy beaches. Crab buckets. Norfolk’s traditional seaside resorts have drawn pleasure-seekers for centuries, and this rail journey takes in two of the best: Cromer and Sheringham. After leaving Norwich and picking its way across the open expanse of the East Anglian countryside, the train reaches the county’s northern coastline, where it first calls in at Cromer – which still has a Grade II-listed pier, complete with theatre – before continuing onto Sheringham, where there’s the chance to catch a heritage steam railway to nearby Holt.
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Winchester to Weymouth
Tracing a route from the medieval city of Winchester to the seaside town of Weymouth, this service takes close to two hours and makes use of a line that was once known – suitably grandly – as The Royal Wessex. As well as serving up sweeping Dorset coastscapes and a journey through parts of the New Forest, the ride also incorporates the likes of Bournemouth, Poole and Dorchester. If you continue all the way to Weymouth, meanwhile, you’ll be in a plum location for exploring the Jurassic Coast.
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