Main line steam, heritage diesels, Pullman dining trains and the scenic lines you can ride on any ticket. We map each route mile by mile, so you get the window with the view.
Book the wrong side of the Settle–Carlisle and you’ll spend Ribblehead staring at a hillside. Every journey on this site has a strip map listing the viaducts, lochs, castles and coastlines in order, with the window you’ll see them from.
Ingleborough, Whernside, the view down Dentdale and Wild Boar Fell are all on the left heading north; the Pennine escarpment is on the right in the Eden Valley.
Sides are given facing the direction of travel. Miles are approximate from the start of the journey.
From a Black Five barking up to Glenfinnan to a single-car unit rattling down the Heart of Wales line.
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Main line steam specials hauled by preserved locomotives
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Heritage diesel and electric railtours and track-bashing specials
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Pullman-style fine dining and touring trains
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Britain’s most beautiful national rail lines on an ordinary ticket
SteamScotland's famous steam train from Fort William to Mallaig over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, past Loch Shiel and the silver sands of Morar.
SteamCoast-to-coast Wednesday steam excursion across Lancashire and Yorkshire to York and Scarborough, with two alternative routes.
SteamWest Coast Railways' summer steam train over the Settle to Carlisle line from York or Chester, marking the route's 150th anniversary in 2026.
SteamSingle-leg main line trips behind Flying Scotsman in autumn 2026, operated by Vintage Trains and sold by Fox & Edwards from £99.
DieselClass 37 enthusiast tour from Great Yarmouth via Norwich, the Soham branch and Ipswich to Liverpool Street, returning via Seven Sisters and Cambridge North.
LuxurySeven-course lunch aboard the Northern Belle along the West Highland Line past Loch Lomond and Rannoch Moor, from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
A handful of the views waiting on Britain’s railways. Tap any photo to enlarge.
Scenic lineEngland's most celebrated main line, climbing from the Yorkshire Dales over Ribblehead Viaduct and Ais Gill summit into the Eden Valley.
Scenic lineOften voted the world's most scenic railway: Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Ben Nevis and Glenfinnan Viaduct on one ordinary ScotRail ticket.
Scenic lineCoast-to-coast across the Highlands from Inverness to the Skye ferry port, ending on a shelf blasted along the shore of Loch Carron.
Scenic lineAcross mid Wales by Talerddig summit to the Dovey estuary, then along Cardigan Bay over Barmouth Bridge to Harlech and the Llŷn Peninsula.
Scenic lineA slow, single-track wander through the empty hills of mid Wales, with the Sugar Loaf summit, Cynghordy Viaduct and 30 mostly request-stop stations.
Scenic lineBrunel's railway along the Exe estuary and the open sea at Dawlish and Teignmouth, the most photographed stretch of main line in Britain.
Signed in the colours of the old British Railways regions.
Charter trains on the national network are run by a handful of specialist companies rather than the everyday train operators. They hire the locomotive, the coaches and the crew, and pay Network Rail for a path. Dates are set months ahead and the best seats go fast, so we put every known departure on one board and link straight to the operator’s booking page.
Scenic lines are ordinary timetabled services that happen to run through extraordinary country. Any ticket will do, rover tickets often make them cheaper, and our strip maps tell you which side of the carriage to sit on in each direction.