Rail travel isn’t always stampeding down platforms, squeezing into a train corridor or sweating in a stuffy carriage. Sometimes it can be quite nice, actually. In fact, on the right day and the right route, gazing out of a train window as it glides along the track is surely one of the most romantic ways to watch the world go by.
That’s what we think here at Time Out (just take a look at our guide to the world’s most scenic rail journeys) and the people at National Geographic seem to agree. The travel magazine has just revealed its pick of the 19 best train trips in the world right now, and there’s one British route among them.
The list includes the likes of Norway’s luxury new Norient Express, central Asia’s opulent Golden Eagle and Mexico’s mountainous El Chepe. And joining their ranks is the UK’s very own Heart of Wales line, which chugs from Craven Arms in England to Llanelli in west Wales. The Welsh line pulled up in 11th place with National Geographic naming it the best for slow travel.
Sometimes described as the ‘railway line that time forgot’, Nat Geo said it loves the Heart of Wales for its ‘lo-fi charm’, ‘rustic stations’ and for bringing passengers by pretty Welsh spa towns, majestic castles and rolling wilderness. The 30mph train takes around three and a half hours from one end to the other and a tickets start from £18. We’ll see you on the platform!
Britain by rail
For more beautiful British train journeys, behold Time Out’s list of the most picturesque in the UK. While you’re at it, why don’t you admire the country’s most magnificent train stations, too? And in other rail news, a brand-new train route will soon connect two of the UK’s most popular beach towns, Stoke-on-Trent's Victorian train station has received a stunning multi-million pound makeover and the UK’s ‘worst connected’ train station is getting a revamp.
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