
The Railway Touring Company
The Dorset Coast Express
Steam day trip from London to Weymouth via Bournemouth and Dorset coast
The Railway Touring Company · Steam day trip
Steam day trip from London to the Dorset coast at Swanage

The Railway Touring Company's Swanage Belle is a one-day steam excursion departing London Victoria and traveling south through the English countryside to the Dorset seaside town of Swanage. The locomotive, No. 34028 Eddystone, hauls the train through Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Poole, where passengers glimpse Poole Harbour before the journey continues via the reopened heritage line from Wareham to Swanage, passing Corfe Castle. Upon arrival in Swanage, passengers have roughly three hours to explore the sandy beach and Victorian pier, or to walk the mile to Durlston Castle and Country Park, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Jurassic Coast. The return journey departs late afternoon, initially diesel-hauled but reverting to steam power after Southampton, before arriving back at London Victoria late evening. Three fare tiers are offered: Standard Class with a reserved seat, First Class with morning and afternoon refreshments, and Premier Dining with a full English breakfast and four-course dinner served at your seat on board.
Across 4 checks, this price has held at £120 every time.
Each point is a day we checked this operator's own page, not a weekly average, and the line holds flat between checks rather than guessing at movement we did not see. 1 of 4 point is a live read of the operator's page. Hollow points are values shown when the trip was first listed here and never confirmed with the operator.
One reading is held out of the price above and this history: a supplement. We only price on the operator's package from-price, read from its own page.
Steam-hauled departure from London Victoria (picking up at Clapham Junction*, Brentford, Staines, Woking and Basingstoke), via Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole to Wareham, then the reopened heritage link past Corfe Castle to Swanage. Around three hours free time in Swanage before the diesel/steam-hauled return via Romsey and Salisbury to London Victoria late evening. *Clapham Junction is an option to disembark on the return only.