Britain from the Rails - Nagy-Britannia vasúton - Bradt útikönyv

Thoroughly updated, it includes a full, fascinating guide to the new Borders Railway in Scotland, plus details of the new route from London to Oxford and expanded coverage of the eccentric Jolly Fisherman line in Lincolnshire and the charming Cotswold line from Oxford to Hereford. Also included are more details of the Far North line from Inverness to Wick and Thurso.
'Now, finally, the network has a book to be proud of!' So said one reviewer of the first edition. Branch lines and 'secret railways' are covered, and so too are the popular routes such as the glorious East Coast main line to Scotland and the Great Western to Penzance. Regional treats include the famed West Highland Line in Scotland, the Settle and Carlisle railway in the north of England, and entire chapters dedicated to 'Wales Rails' and 'East Anglia: A Circular Tour'.
Additional information ranges from the practical - such as a guide to the layout of some of the country's main termini - to the 'Inside Track: a window-gazer's guide to stuff to look out for on your journey' and intriguing train trivia. The best historic and preserved railways are also included, as are Ben's Top Ten Rail Journeys.
Ben le Vay says: 'There are endless books about trains, about the history of the railways, about stations, signal boxes, carriages, wagons. as specialist as you like. There are also myriad books about British cities and countryside, about what is wonderful and fascinating about different patches of our unique island. But there were none that successfully combined the one type of book with the other (after all, you look at the country while sitting on trains) until now. And this is I do with deep knowledge, love and enthusiasm for both parts.'

Contents

Introduction:

Rail Britannia!

Who is

this book for? A lot of people…, How to use this book, Ben’s top ten rail

journeys

Chapter 1          The Glorious East Coast Main Line to

Scotland

King’s

Cross to York: record breakers, York to Edinburgh: to the world’s first

railway, Edinburgh to Aberdeen: Firth to last

Chapter 2          Scotland: Rails to Romance and Beauty

The basic

layout, Glasgow and Edinburgh termini, Planning ahead in Scotland, The West Highland

Line: Glasgow-Crianlarich-Fort William-Mallaig and the Oban branch: the iron

road to the isles, The Highland Main Line: Inverness to Glasgow (and

Edinburgh), Britain’s first new domestic line for many decades, the fascinating

Borders Railway, Seaside excursions: two great days out from Scotland’s two big

cities, The Great North of Scotland Railway: Inverness to Aberdeen, The Skye

Railway: the very strange story of ‘the most beautiful line in Europe’, The

intriguing Far North Line: from Inverness to Wick and Thurso put into sharp

focus

Chapter 3          The North of England: Chuffing ‘eck,

That’s Grand!

Midlands

mentions, The North of England: overview and recommended lines, The wonderful

Settle & Carlisle Railway: don’t Settle for anything less! Leeds to Lancaster

and Morecambe: a useful connector, brief encounters and a great comedian, The

Cumbrian Coast Line: right round the Lake District, The Lake District by train?

What are those words worth?! No missing Lincs in Lincolnshire: Nottingham to

Skegness – the Jolly Fisherman Line seen in a fresh perspective

Chapter 4          Great Western: God’s Wonderful Railway

The GWR:

trunk, branches and twigs, Keeping great company: the GWR’s great history,

London to Penzance: best of the West, The Berks & Hants route: Kennet

Valley and Vale of Pewsey, The GWR strikes north: expanded detail on the lovely

Cotswolds, Golden Valley and Banbury, West Country branches: Devon and

Cornwall’s cream, Wessex lines: undiluted Old England at her best, The GWR

route into South Wales: branch lines to Dai for. New ways to Oxford – the first

new route linking London to a major British city for almost 100 years

Chapter 5          Wales Rails

Fire-breathing

dragons: & going for a spin with the best connected, Welsh rare bits and

best bits, North Wales and the Marches: a fantastic circular route or splendid

separate days out, The Heart of Wales Line: Shrewsbury to Swansea, a real rural

rail survivor

Chapter 6          East Anglia: A Circular Tour to See

the Best of This Unique Region

Bargain

Anglia, Hitchin to Cambridge: teetotal recall, dozy crossing keepers and snooty

dons, The Breckland Line: Cambridge to Norwich – islands in the Fen to blasted

heath, Really recommended for the ride, Norwich-Lowestoft: Queen of the Lot,

The lovely East Suffolk Line: Lowestoft to Ipswich (for London): swinging

stuff, London Liverpool Street to Norwich via the Great Eastern Main Line (plus

fabulous branches)

Chapter 7          South Western from Waterloo: Take Me

to the Sunshine

Waterloo:

welcome to Britain’s biggest and busiest station, Waterloo to Woking: another

Britain’s busiest, Woking to Southampton: Martians to maritime, Southampton to

Weymouth: the New Forest and two Hardys’ Wessex, The Portsmouth Direct Line:

Woking to Pompey, ups and Downs, Waterloo to Exeter: the West of England Main

Line

Chapter 8          South and Southeast: From Dirty

Weekends to Bo Peep

The

Brighton Line: premier holiday route, London Victoria to Brighton: what to look

out for from Thames to Channel, Brighton Line Branches,

Brighton-Hastings-Ashford: towns, gowns and Downs, Hastings Direct and the Kent

Coast: catch the 1066

Chapter 9          Britain’s ‘Secret Railways’

Manchester

to Glossop and Hadfield, The Welsh Valleys: Merthyr and branches, The Ebbw Vale

line: Film stars and a phoenix, Vale of Glamorgan: Where you can find coastal

beauty, a TV hit, a vital scrap of history and forgotten disaster, London’s new

Orbital Railway: Outer Circle Line or rail M25?

 Appendix 1        The Inside Track

A window-gazer’s guide to ‘rail things’: stuff to look out for on your journey,

Train trivia.

Appendix 2        Useful Information

Books on railways: read between the lines, Steamy affairs: best historic and preserved railways.

Index