Photo: David P Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThrough the Evenlode valley and the Cotswold hills from Oxford by Charlbury, Kingham and Moreton-in-Marsh to Evesham, Worcester and the Malverns.
The Cotswold Line was Brunel's Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway of 1853, and still uses broad-gauge-era stations. From Oxford it heads north-west along the Evenlode valley through Hanborough (for Blenheim Palace), Combe, Finstock and Charlbury, then Ascott-under-Wychwood, Shipton and Kingham, the stop for Stow-on-the-Wold and the Cotswold villages.
The line climbs to a summit near Moreton-in-Marsh, then descends through Campden Tunnel and Honeybourne into the Vale of Evesham, crosses the Avon at Evesham and reaches Worcester, with its cathedral above the Severn. Beyond Worcester the route continues through Great Malvern, in the lee of the Malvern Hills, and Colwall and Ledbury tunnels to Hereford.
GWR runs Class 800 bi-mode trains from Paddington through Oxford. Charlbury, Kingham, Moreton and Great Malvern are all good stops.
Port Meadow, Cornbury Park in the Evenlode valley, Bredon Hill and Worcester Cathedral are on the left heading north-west.
Sides are given facing the direction of travel. Miles are approximate from the start of the journey.
No dedicated ranger covers the whole line; the Oxfordshire Day Ranger (£22) reaches only the Oxfordshire stations. Off-peak day returns are the usual option.
Yes, roughly hourly from Paddington to Worcester and a few through to Hereford.
Only in part; stretches were redoubled in 2011 but long single sections remain.
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.