Great Western Coffee Shop

The top ten places in the world to visit are listed in the Rough Guide - see newspaper listing of them (http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Rough-Guides-10-world-cities-2016-Hull-compares/story-28458228-detail/story.html?). Just one in the British Isles.

But where would YOU visit - for pleasure trips - by rail in the British Isles?  Choose five, at least one of which (to keep us on forum subject) must be vaguely "Across the West"

My starter ... for some of the top opportunities I would take up ...

Portrush
Southport
Pevensey Bay
Lisselton
Pembroke Dock

I will be choosing to visit Gunnislake and Looe, as haven't had the pleasure in a few years for riding those branch lines.

Anywhere different in general for me. I like to spontaneously explore. I will go out for the day with a Rover bus or rail ticket and have no plans - The only thing I check is that it is possible to get home from wherever I go a few minutes before I get on the bus or train

Limerick Junction
Wick
Caernarfon
Gunnislake (as I had to pick one in the GWR area it'll have to be the one line I've only travelled once before)
Pickering

Portishead
Marsh Barton
Wootton Bassett
Reading Green Park
Wimslow

.....oh b****r, you did say in 2016.... ::) :P ;)

I am not really an overseas type and there is so much of this country I want to visit - sometimes for the second or third time to catch up on things I missed on the first or second occasion.

In no particular order

Minehead
Matlock
Great Yarmouth
Stranraer
Ardrossan Harbour

In order to keep this as a family outing, I've asked Lisa for her five.  And that adds
Carlisle (via Settle)
Fort William
Penzance
Portsmouth Harbour
York

Billy (and Gypsy) have added theirs too
Billy (of course) agrees Fort William
Billericay
Gypsy Lane
Gipsy Hill
Barking

My top 5 would be..

London
Plymouth
Newcastle
Liverpool
Glasgow

And I would go by train to these as when you book in advance you can get really cheap tickets and plus I have a railcard also 👍🏼

5 not sure they are top

Exmouth (relative)
Leeds
Burton upon Trent (boat blacking)
Stranraer by train to get some of the last Token working.
Pitlochry

Real top

Harz system

My top 5 would be.........

Corrour;
Tyndrum Lower;
St Bees;
Bere Ferrers;
Sugar Loaf.

Purely for photographic reasons.

I would like to visit some places which are on branch lines I have never explored..so in this case the motivation is the journey rather than the destination

I would have included Henley On Thames but did this end of 2015

So...for 2016...

Marlow branch line
Severn Beach Line
Severn Valley Line
Oxford to Marylebone (may have to wait a bit)

Thatcham to Penrith (Via Euston)...this has a different motivation because the only  hotel I choose to stay at (rather than the ones I get told to stay at) is at the Northern end of the Lakes.

Stop off at Shirehampton and I'll buy you a pint in The Lamplighters!

I may just take you up on that! I hope my excitement ref travelling on the Servern Beach line is well founded - years ago when I lived in South Wales occasionally I would take the back road from the bridge to Bristol which I believe takes you near Severn Beach

For 2016:
Okehampton
Kidderminster (for SVR)
Fort William
Fowey
Didcot (or maybe Swindon)

Fort William seems to be coming up quite a bit! Indeed, it is on my list too.

I am hoping to visit Scotland for my honeymoon this summer and we are planning to train as much as we can as whisky the rest. My list is something like:

London Euston
Fort William
Mallaig
Somewhere else in Scotland (any suggestions?)
Across the west, I would like to visit Salisbury this year - it has been a while.

If you are on the West side of Scotland, Oban is worth a visit and the train journey from Crianlarich is good too.

(http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/2015t/oban.jpg)

"The Keith and Dufftown Railway is an eleven mile line linking the World's Malt Whisky Capital, Dufftown, to the market town of Keith." - http://www.keith-dufftown-railway.co.uk

Oban is accessible by sleeper for around 3 weeks this year while works happen on the Fort William line. A trial to see whether the sleeper might service there permanently I'm told

As a slight aside there was a segment on BBC Breakfast today about someone who commuted weekly from Scotland to Euston - I believe it was an 11 hour journey but it showed some footage of life on board the sleeper. May be worth a view if you are considering this

Thank you for bringing that to my attention, I will have a look! And thank you everyone for other suggestions. Highland Rover/Freedom of Scotland Travelpass are definitely on the cards for this!

The sleeper on Friday night north & Sunday south is surprisingly full of weekly commuters - got talking to a few of them just before Christmas....

I can see that being long enough as an operational trial; market-wise, three weeks in midwinter may be limited in what it tells you.

I do note that
a) The West Highland Sleeper is said to be a significantly quiet train
b) The Inverness sleeper calls at Newtonmore - around 40 miles away from Fort William - some 2 hours later in the evening ad some 2 and a half hours earlier in the morning
c) Running to Oban would save some hour on the train's journey
d) Oban may be an attractive summer market, with tourists catching boats to the inner and outer Hebrides, perhaps not all wanting their cars.  Also Oban is not close to other sleeper routes in the way the Fort William and Inverness services pass within 30 miles of each other.

As I stopped traveling for work back in the summer, I now get to choose when and where I go (mostly!). Here are mine:

St Ives.
Barnstaple - been to Barnstaple lots of times but never by train.
Portishead
Thurso
Pwllheli

Three of which are not too far from Taunton, I suspect that has something to do with me having to fund my rail travel myself now!

As an aside, I bought a book listing some closed railways that are now cycle and/or footpaths around the country so I've started doing some of those. I dragged the kids out on the "Stop line trail" between Ilminster and Chard last week - cue much teenage muttering and "I can't be away from the Xbox for more than two minutes" grumbles.

Back in 1990, the wife and I enjoyed the experience of a coach tour to the western Highlands - based at Fort William. One of the day trips was to Oban - an easy trip by road. I managed to persuade the coach driver/courier to let me catch the train back from Oban to Fort William. He thought I was mad, choosing a four hour train trip instead of a one hour coach ride! I am glad I did though as it was one of the most enjoyable train trips I've ever made in the UK. I also kept a cine camera rolling for the entire trip.

The following day, the coach went to Mallaig and - yes, you guessed it - both me and the wife caught the train back from Mallaig to Fort William instead of the coach!

(http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww255/PhilWakely/IMG_0060_zpsaspipoh8.jpg)

Younger members of the forum may need to Google "Cine Camera" :)

Video 8 mini cassettes to be precise  :)

If you are on the west coast have a look at Oban

OK I know the OP suggested "5 places to visit" but on reflection I would like to visit all stations which are covered by the current OLE program before the overhead works make their appearance - accepting that in some cases it is too late. Ideally I would like to get a photograph of "before" and "after". Could be a team project in the making :)

And if it helps anyone, Virgin East Coast have a "Superfly" Sale on (until 8th January - book by 9pm) with one-way Standard Class tickets from London to Leeds and York from ^5; also Newcastle and Edinburgh for higher fares. Special offers on 1st Class also. Travel this Spring, but for all T's & C's see their website

I'm taking advantage of that sale to visit the National Railway Museum in York next week.

Was unaware of this, many thanks Steve for posting

Likewise, I've now just used the offer for me and the family to York, I expect the NRM will be priority whilst up there.

It's a very good offer, but somewhat surprising that Virgin East Coast have gone ahead with it. VTEC are carrying Virgin West Coast passengers from London to Scotland through January while the WCML is closed due to the flood damage to Lamington viaduct south of Glasgow.

I think my  father-in-law had one of those Video 8mm formats and it was a good format (I thought the still you posted was too good to be from a film format!)

However, it seems my post "ageing" the Cine Camera may have been premature!

http://www.wired.com/2016/01/super-8-camera/ (http://www.wired.com/2016/01/super-8-camera/)

That is because it was a still photograph taken by my good lady wife - you can just about see me holding my movie camera in the reflection in the window  :)

TeaStew just caught up with this thread.

If it's not been mentioned Dalwinne distllery (highest in Scotland I believe) is within walking distance of the station between Pitlochry and Aviemore.

Whilst in Pitlochry it's a pleasant walk up to the Edradour Distillery (smallest I believe) and back via Moulin Inn, which is a micro brewery, the advantage being it's downhill back to Pitlochry after!

However I believe both Dalwinne and Edradour now charge for tours no more free samples!
   

Now that I have cut down my working week, I've got a bit more spare time on weekdays off to do even more train trips from my local Redland Station. Old favorites and new targets are:

Bath - still new things to explore and discover in the area, even after all this time.

Cheltenham - my latest find and pregnant with possibilities. The GWSR station at the Race Course is on the edge of town.

Portishead - Getting more interesting every year and the railroad is coming...yeehah!

Stroud - with the canal restoration and the commons at Rodborough, Minchinhampton and Selsey along with lovely villages and towns (and pubs!).

Plymouth to Looe line - this years "must do" after previous Gunnislake Line jaunt with kid bro.

Special mention to Bradford on Avon, K&A canal, Iford House with Peto Gardens and 3 NT properties all nearby.

With the good lady at work still on those weekdays it's a good way of me keeping occupied sensibly! Also will be hopefully spending some time volunteering on the new Vale of Berkeley line in the not to distant.

To quote Robert Louis Stevenson in El Dorado:


Many have said that the best way to see Severn Beach is in a rear view mirror. There is little by way of entertainment there, and there is a two-hour stop-over between trains as a rule. Don't let that put you off, though. The Severn Estuary is an important place for wildlife, so if that floats your boat, or if you marvel at bridges, then take the camera, and take your time.

The journey is the prize here, and has been described by Thomas Cook's as one of the most scenic in Britain. For your ^3.00 investment (yes, that's all it costs for Temple Meads to Severn Beach and back) you get a little look at urban Bristol from a different viewpoint, and if infrastructure interests you, there's some of that too. Just after Lawrence Hill are the points into what used to be Temple Meads low level station, later the waste transfer depot, now used for hiding goods wagons during the day. Stapleton Road has a muriel depicting the history of the station and the diversity of the area in which it stands, along with some evidence of Four Track, Soon! Just past there, at Narroways Junction, one turns off the main line onto the SVB line proper, passing through Montpelier tunnel into the eponymous station. Enjoy looking down onto the A38 Cheltenham Road as you cross the bridge, and into genteel Redland. A passing loop at Clifton Down means there is often another train waiting to go. You then go into the Clifton Down tunnel, emerging into the Avon Gorge. You can't quite see the suspension bridge behind you, but Leigh Woods on the opposite side of the river is a different scene every day.

At Sea Mills, after passing under the A4 Portway, the station is as pretty as it could be, supported by some of the local people. The bridge has a 5mph limit, not being in the best of order, but still tentatively crosses the River Trym. This was the site of an important Roman port, and though it looks little more than a ditch after a few hundred metres, the Trym was navigable as far as the middle of Westbury on Trym in the middle ages. A Roman road led from here to Thornbury then Gloucester - hurriedly tarmaced over to form Long Cross in Lawrence Weston. Between here and Shirehampton, the major feature is the Horseshoe Bend in the Avon. It was this that brought about the demise of Bristol as  the second biggest port in England. Ships grew too big to negotiate the bend, hence the building of Avonmouth and Portbury docks - and the railway line you are travelling along. Leaving Shirehampton, you have time to see the viaduct at Pill, on the opposite side of the Avon, serving Royal Portbury Dock and soon to carry trains to Portishead, before entering the maritime and industrial heartland that is Avonmouth. The first part of the trip out of there takes you through the big boys in the dock sidings - I have never been through there without there being at least one train waiting to fill up with coal at the end of the conveyor at St Andrews Road. This transports coal under the river from Portbury, so doubling the amount the dock can shift. After the goods line branches off right towards Henbury, Filton, and the main line, you have a couple of miles of scenic views of the River Severn before hitting Severn Beach itself. On the way, you may notice the large Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Seabank power station. It has been turning natural gas into 1.1GW of electricity for 15 years, and still looks modern. (On the way, you may have noticed some wind turbines. These generate large subsidies and, on the odd occasions when they turn, enough electric to make it worth turning Seabank down slightly).

Apart from that it's quite boring.

For my five, I would head for:
Fort William
Whalley (Lancs)
Penzance
Carlisle (from Settle or Leeds, obviously)
Snaefell - I had to have one electric service.

Wasn't that station actually called Bristol St Philip's?

Just thought of another place.

The Pennine Real Ale trail basically Leeds to Manchester via Standedge stopping of at local stations for a pint.

Probably needs several trips, but not at a weekend!   

Even better by boat!

A very long and slow way to get from Leeds to Manchester. Sounds great!

Having done what research I can since you posted, I believe you may be spot on (as per usual). I thought that St Philips was a separate station from that which was at the end of the line that ran to below Temple Meads, but I now understand that following extensive track remodelling by the Luftwaffe, that station was abandoned, and the terminus moved back to Midland Road. I understand that one wall of that station still remains. I must have a look for it.


That may need googling too! Although if anyone wants to buy a video camera and a few Video 8 mini cassettes, let me know.