The Great Britain XV

From the flat Fens to the Suffolk coast, from the rugged Welsh coastline to the soaring summits of Scotland, you’ll experience all Great Britain has to offer on this long-awaited Grand Steam Tour.

For nine days you’ll explore the length and breadth of Britain, hauled by classic restored steam locomotives through contrasting scenes of mountains, fields, farms and rivers.

• From the comfort of your Premier or First-Class coaches, you can watch the world go by whilst enjoying fine dining, accompanied by top-class hotels for your overnight stays. 
• You’ll start from London heading Southwest. The famous Dawlish Sea Wall, Plymouth and the Welsh Marshes beckon before heading to Chester and the North Wales Coast to Holyhead.
• After a mini break in Llandudno, your route heads north through Cumbria, and over several challenging summits to Edinburgh for an overnight stay. 
• There’s an optional trip to the Granite City of Aberdeen before you return south to Carlisle and then along the spectacular Settle and Carlisle line over the Pennines to Blackpool. 
• You next head to the seaside resort of Scarborough via the Calder Valley and York, enjoying the routes through previous industrialised landscapes. Then it’s on to the unique Fens, then through idyllic East Anglian landscapes to Kings Lynn. 

Saturday 15th April 

Steam hauled from London to Bristol

Your Great Britain XV tour leaves the London Paddington Terminus of the former Great Western Railway (GWR) and makes its way towards Reading, passing through the West London suburbs. Engineered by Brunel, the GWR main line crosses the Wharncliffe Viaduct and the impressive Maidenhead brick arch viaduct across the Thames. After Reading, you take the Berks & Hants line through Newbury, following the Kennet and Avon Canal over Savernake Summit and through the picturesque Vale of Pewsey, en route to Westbury. 

The Great Britain travels through Somerset to Taunton before taking on the long climb up to Whiteball Summit and entering Devon. A long descent follows through the Culm Valley to Exeter, and a service break. Leaving Exeter, you follow the Exe estuary through the delightful village of Starcross before you glimpse the ocean at Dawlish. With wonderful views of the coast from the comfort of your carriage you follow the famous Dawlish sea wall through Dawlish and several tunnels to Teignmouth. Heading inland past Newton Abbot the Great Britain tackles the extremely steep climb up to Dainton Tunnel, followed by the equally arduous ascent of Rattery Bank beyond Totnes. Running along the southern edge of Dartmoor National Park, you descend sharply to Plymouth and a break for the afternoon. There’ll be time to visit the historic city of Plymouth, with its famous shopping centres, the iconic Hoe and the ancient Barbican.

After your locomotive has been turned and serviced, you return to Exeter steam hauled, climbing the 1 in 40 gradients of Hemerdon Bank from Plymouth, ascending Dainton Bank once more. After one more glimpse of the sea wall at Dawlish, you arrive at Exeter for a water stop. Climbing Whiteball bank once again you head for Taunton, continuing across the Somerset Levels through Bridgwater before arriving at Bristol Temple Meads. You transfer to a hotel in Bristol for the evening. 

Sunday 16th April 

Travel onwards to Wales; North Wales Coast to Llandudno

This morning, your train leaves Bristol Temple Meads station and climbs up to Filton station. Here it joins the South Wales main line and passes through the Severn Tunnel towards Newport. You then join the Welsh Marches route at Maindee Junction and head northwards through Abergavenny in the shadow of the Black Mountain, climbing hard through Pontypool Road and beyond Abergavenny to Llanvihangel Summit. This scenic line crosses frequently between Wales and England as you follow the border on the way to Hereford, and a water stop.

Leaving Hereford, you continue northwards to Leominster, Ludlow, with its castle and racecourse, and climb to the summit of the line at Church Stretton, overlooked by the Long Mynd plateau. Descending through the Shropshire hills, you reach Shrewsbury, a major junction for a number of routes. Enclosed by the river Severn, the town boasts over 500 listed buildings. From Shrewsbury you ascend the steep incline of Coton Hill Bank and pass through Gobowen and Chirk before reaching Wrexham. At Saltney Junction, you enter England once again to cross the river Dee and enter Chester.

After a reversal at Chester, you now make your way westwards along the North Wales Coast line, passing through Rhyl before reaching Llandudno Junction. After a pause for water, you’ll cross the Conwy Estuary on Stephenson’s tubular bridge, with Conwy Castle overlooking the station. From your carriage window you enjoy fabulous coastal views towards Puffin Island and the Isle of Angelsey as you follow the edge of Snowdonia. Reaching Bangor you cross the Menai Straights on the Britannia Bridge, with scenic views of Telford’s historic suspension bridge. On Anglesey, you cut across the centre of the island and pass through the Valley region before arriving at Holyhead. This marks the end of your steam haulage for the day. You then return to Llandudno Junction diesel hauled and transfer to your nearby hotel for two nights.

Monday 17th April 

Free Time in Llandudno

Today is a day of leisure for you to enjoy Llandudno, a coastal town in north Wales.
It’s known for North Shore Beach and the 19th-century Llandudno Pier. Northwest of the town, the cliffs of Great Orme headland jut into the sea.

Tuesday 18th April

Farewell to Wales, head north to Edinburgh

After your mini break in the Llandudno area, you depart Llandudno Junction steam hauled for a lengthy journey northward, travelling through Wales, England and Scotland. You first follow the coastal route back to Chester, and branch off via Frodsham to join the West Coast Main Line at Warrington. Running via Preston and Lancaster, your locomotive pauses at Carnforth to be replaced by a fresh one to take you north to Carlisle and Edinburgh. 

Leaving Carnforth, with its Brief Encounter film celebrity status, you battle the gradients almost immediately and head for Oxenholme. With views of the approaching Lake District hills from your window, you head through the Lune Gorge and race along towards Tebay. At maximum speed, your locomotive starts the challenging climb of the 1 in 75 gradients across Shap Fells to Shap Summit, 916 feet above sea level. Once over the summit, lesser gradients descend through Penrith as your locomotive runs at speed towards Carlisle, and another deserved service break.

Continuing northwards from Carlisle, you cross the border at Gretna and enter Scotland. Once through Beattock, the long climb to Beattock Summit, 1015 feet above sea level, begins. The fast express trains of the golden age of steam would often stop at Beattock for a banking locomotive to be added to the rear for extra traction. Once clear of the summit, descending gradients guide you through the sweeping wide valley of the Upper Clyde towards Carstairs. Here you branch off and head for Edinburgh. Arriving early evening, you transfer to your hotel for an evening of Scottish hospitality in this vibrant Scottish Capital.

Wednesday 19th April 

Optional trip to Aberdeen; Forth Bridge crossing; time in the ‘Granite City’

Your optional journey today follows the route of the trains that once connected Scotland’s east coast city of Aberdeen with Glasgow and Edinburgh. These expresses had names to reflect the status of their journeys, including, from Glasgow to Aberdeen, The Granite City, The Bon Accord and The Saint Mungo, with The Aberdonian running from King’s Cross to Aberdeen. 

You leave Edinburgh Waverley and make your way through Princes Street Gardens to Haymarket, following the former North British route to the Forth Bridge. The Forth Rail Bridge was opened in 1890 and is 2467 metres long (1½ miles), still the longest steel cantilever bridge in the world. Take in the spectacular views as you cross the Firth of Forth and enter Fife before following the coastline through Burntisland and Kirkcaldy to Ladybank. Here you take the direct link to the ‘Fair City’ of Perth as immortalised by Sir Walter Scott. 

From Perth, you follow the Caledonian Railway’s line along the north bank of the Firth of Tay, through a fertile area known as the Carse of Gowrie, towards Dundee. The Tay railway bridge and road bridge connect Fife to Dundee across the Tay. Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition ship RRS Discovery now rests there. Attractive coastal running takes the line to Arbroath, famous for its haddock Smokies. You next climb hard against the gradient through Lunan Bay and catch more glimpses of the North Sea on the approach to Montrose via its sweeping causeway across the river South Esk. 

From Montrose, you follow the Caledonian route inland to Stonehaven, with rising gradients most of the way. Coastal views appear again at Stonehaven and your journey to Aberdeen closely follows the cliff tops, offering tantalising views of the ocean. At Aberdeen, there’ll be time for a break in the Granite City, to browse and explore its busy shops and broad streets. After Aberdeen, you return to Dundee and Perth by the same route and follow the Caledonian line to Stirling. This includes the long climb up to the summit at Gleneagles. After Stirling, your route will be via Larbert and Falkirk Grahamstown as you make your way eastwards through Linlithgow to Edinburgh Waverley for an overnight stay.

Thursday 20th April 

South into England to Blackpool

Leaving Edinburgh, you head southwards back to England via Carstairs and again through Beattock. A highlight of the journey will be the run up the Clyde Valley to Beattock Summit, the opposite direction to your journey two days before. You get up to speed once clear of Beattock and run to Lockerbie, and a water stop. Crossing the border at Gretna, you make your way to Carlisle for a short break while your steam locomotive is serviced. 

Leaving Carlisle, you take the Midland Railway’s Settle and Carlisle route over the Pennines. This impressive 71-mile line travels over the roof of England at Ais Gill Summit, which is 1169 feet above sea level. With its many viaducts and tunnels, this is a real spectacle that includes varied scenery and very long climbs to thrill both newcomers and enthusiasts alike. You pause at Appleby to take water from the working water column located there. After the vastness of Dent Dale, the Ribblehead viaduct is the line’s iconic structure and its lofty position affords excellent views of the three peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen y Ghent. After Settle, there’s a water stop at Hellifield before you continue along the lush Ribble Valley through Clitheroe and over Whalley Viaduct. Your steam locomotive works hard to climb the long gradient of Whalley bank before passing through Blackburn en route to Preston. It’s now just a short journey across the Fylde to Blackpool North where you’ll stay the evening in this popular resort, famous for its three piers, vast promenade, tower and seafront trams.

Friday 21st April 

Blackpool to Scarborough via the Calder Valley

Leaving Blackpool, you return across the Fylde to Preston and retrace your previous steps back to Blackburn, to take the Calder Valley route to Yorkshire. You’ll pass through a number of mill towns on the way from Blackburn, including Accrington and Burnley. The Leeds and Liverpool canal also follows the railway as it skirts these iconic industrial locations. At Burnley, you join the Calder Valley line that runs via the 749 feet Copy Pit Summit, a very steep climb all the way from Burnley, graded at 1 in 65. In active steam days, banking locomotives would again be attached to freight trains going over the summit. Nearby Rose Grove shed provided much of the motive power for this line and its bankers before being taken out of service in 1968.

Descending towards Hall Royd Junction, you join the line from Manchester via Rochdale and follow the steep-sided Calder Valley line through Hebden Bridge and Brighouse towards York. The route passes through many former coalfields and has an air of industrialisation from the days of the Yorkshire mining industry.

After York, famous for the National Railway Museum and the historic city centre, you take the Scarborough line and follow the river Derwent on its meandering course to the east coast. The line twists and turns through the Derwent Valley at Kirkham Abbey, noted for its Cistercian Abbey. Also nearby is the historic Castle Howard house, once served by its own station. You pass through the large market town of Malton and continue eastwards with the Yorkshire Wolds visible in the distance to Scarborough, your destination this evening. One of Yorkshire’s top seaside resorts, it has two bays and a castle, plus two beaches and a number of working cliff lift railways. 

Saturday 22nd April

Scarborough to the heart of the fens, Spalding, then to Kings Lynn in Norfolk

Leaving the seaside resort of Scarborough in the morning, you retrace the previous day’s route back through Malton to York. Here you follow the East Coast main line as far as Doncaster where it branches off to take the Great Eastern and Great Northern Joint line towards Gainsborough. Leaving South Yorkshire, you enter Lincolnshire and run via Saxilby to Lincoln, whose lofty cathedral can be seen for miles around. From Lincoln, you follow the Joint line through the rural Lincolnshire countryside to Sleaford and on through vast agricultural landscapes to Spalding. Known as the Heart of the Fens, Spalding is famous for its tulips and agricultural produce.

From Spalding, you join the Great Northern line to Peterborough and take the East Coast Main Line at Werrington Junction. Entering Peterborough, the great cathedral overlooks the city as you cross the river Nene and head across the Fens towards March. The flat terrain stretches eastwards, with striking views of Ely cathedral on the horizon. Skirting Ely you join the King’s Lynn branch and pass through Downham Market before arriving in King’s Lynn for your overnight stay in local hotels. King’s Lynn is a busy historic market town and port with cobbles lanes and two market places, located on the River Great Ouse, where you will spend your last night on the Great Britain tour.

Sunday 23rd April 

Kings Lynn to Felixstowe and to London Liverpool Street

Departing King’s Lynn this morning, you will head back to Ely, and then branch off the Cambridge line at Ely Dock Junction and join the rarely travelled route by steam over the Bury St Edmunds line via Soham. Continuing eastwards , you now join the East Anglia main line from Norwich at Haughley Junction and head for Ipswich. You will continue on to the East Suffolk Line as far as Westerfield Junction, where you will take the Great Eastern Railway’s branch to Felixstowe, which will be a rare opportunity to travel over the branch by a steam hauled charter train. You return towards Ipswich diesel hauled as far a Claydon, where you reverse direction again to continue steam hauled.  Normally a very busy branch line with frequent freight workings to and from the Port of Felixstowe, your steam hauled return journey will surely attract a lot of interest from the locals!

Leaving Claydon you’ll pass through Ipswich, Colchester and Chelmsford enroute back to London Liverpool Street. You arrive late afternoon to mark the end of your exciting and contrasting nine-day tour around fabulous Great Britain.