Photo: Phil Richards from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsFour miles along the cliffs above Carbis Bay and Porthminster beach to St Ives, widely rated the most beautiful branch line in England.
The St Ives branch leaves the Cornish main line at St Erth and follows the Hayle estuary past Lelant Saltings, the park-and-ride station opened in 1978 to keep cars out of St Ives, and Lelant. It then climbs onto the cliffs above the Hayle Towans and runs along the coast with the whole of St Ives Bay spread out below, past Carbis Bay and above Porthminster beach into St Ives.
The line was built by the Great Western in 1877 as its last new broad-gauge route. St Ives station stands above the harbour, a few minutes' walk from the Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum.
Class 150 units shuttle up and down all day. In summer, park at St Erth or Lelant Saltings and use the train; the town's streets are not built for cars.
The Hayle estuary, Godrevy Lighthouse and the beaches of St Ives Bay are all on the right heading to St Ives.
Sides are given facing the direction of travel. Miles are approximate from the start of the journey.
A £4.20 GWR ticket giving unlimited travel on the branch for a day; ideal for hopping between St Ives, Carbis Bay and Lelant.
Yes; most Paddington–Penzance trains call at St Erth with a branch connection.
The sleeper from Paddington reaches St Erth around 7.30 am, giving a full day in St Ives.
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.
Scenic lineA twisting single-track branch that reverses at Coombe Junction and follows the tidal East Looe river down a wooded valley to the fishing port of Looe.
Scenic lineOut of Plymouth beside the Tamar, over the 120-foot Calstock Viaduct and up a steep, reversing branch into the old mining country around Gunnislake.