The Railway Touring Company · Escorted rail holiday

The Great Britain XVIII

The Great Britain XVIII, a rail journey with The Railway Touring Company

An 8-day steam-hauled tour of Great Britain from London Paddington to Penzance, Chester, the Settle & Carlisle line, the Scottish Highlands, Fort William, Aberdeen and Newcastle, returning to London Euston.

Day by day

  1. Day 1railovernight: Penzance

    Steam from London Paddington along the Dawlish Sea Wall to Penzance

    Leaves London Paddington along Brunel's Great Western Railway via Slough, Reading and the Berks & Hants line through Newbury, the Vale of Pewsey and Westbury. Joins the Bristol-Plymouth route at Cogload Junction for the climb to Whiteball Summit, descends to Exeter, then runs along the Exe Estuary and the Dawlish sea wall through Teignmouth to Newton Abbot, climbs Dainton Bank and the South Devon incline via Totnes, crosses the Tamar on Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash, and continues via Truro and Hayle to Penzance.

  2. Day 2overnight: Chester

    Heading across the Welsh Marches and over the Cefn Viaduct to Chester

    Returns from Penzance via Plymouth and Exeter to Taunton and Bristol, crosses the four-mile Severn Tunnel into Wales, tackles the Welsh Marches route north through Abergavenny and Hereford to Shrewsbury, then crosses the Cefn Viaduct over the river Dee via Gobowen to Chester.

  3. Day 3overnight: Carlisle

    Over the Settle & Carlisle Line through Hope, Aire & the Eden Valley

    The Delamere Forest line to Northwich, through Altrincham and south Manchester to Chinley and the Hope Valley line through the Peak District, diverting via Barnsley and Horbury Junction to Wakefield Kirkgate, through the Aire Valley to Hellifield, then the Settle to Carlisle line over Ribblehead Viaduct and Ais Gill summit, descending through Appleby and the Eden Valley to Carlisle.

  4. Day 4railovernight: Fort William

    Journey north into the Scottish Highlands

    Crosses the Scottish border at Gretna Junction, follows the former Glasgow and South Western Railway via Dumfries and Kilmarnock to Glasgow Central (or the Caledonian route via Beattock Summit if required), then the West Highland line via Craigendoran, Rannoch Moor and Corrour Summit (the highest main line station in Britain) to Fort William.

  5. Day 5railovernight: Fort William

    Optional excursion: steam along the Jacobite route from Fort William to Mallaig

    An optional return steam-hauled trip on the West Highland Extension railway, crossing the Caledonian Canal at Banavie, the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Lochailort and Loch Eilt, Arisaig and Morar to Mallaig, with views to the Isle of Skye.

  6. Day 6overnight: Aberdeen

    Steam across the West Highland Line to Perth & Aberdeen

    A southbound run on the West Highland line past Loch Lomond and through north Glasgow to Croy, then Stirling, Perth, along the Tay through the Carse of Gowrie to Dundee, Carnoustie, Arbroath, Montrose and Stonehaven to Aberdeen.

  7. Day 7railovernight: Newcastle

    From The Granite City to Geordie Shores: steam via Dundee & the Tay Bridge

    A coastal run from Aberdeen to Dundee via Stonehaven and Montrose, crossing the Tay Railway Bridge into Fife, across the Forth Bridge to Edinburgh, then south along the East Coast Main Line over the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick to Newcastle.

  8. Day 8

    From the North East to the Capital: a Midland Main Line journey

    South through Durham and Darlington to York, then an unusual route via Doncaster, the Barrow Hill line, Chesterfield, the Erewash Valley, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray and Corby to the Midland main line at Kettering, the Marston Vale line to Bletchley, and the West Coast Main Line to London Euston.

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