4 Day Steam Train Tour

The Age of Steam (August Itinerary) - 4 Day Extended Tour - (Tour No. STEM02)

Highlights: Here we have two itineraries that celebrate the age of steam, and most especially the much-missed steam rail journey. But while of especial interest to the steam train enthusiast, they are not designed to be exclusive. We've planned tours that celebrate our landscape (from the Cotswolds to Devon), our ancient towns (like Stratford upon Avon and Ironbridge Gorge) and our cultural heritage while using the steam rail theme. And there are opportunities for the long-suffering enthusiast's partner to see alternative attractions while the dedicated visit museums!

Let us transport you back to a gentler age, when travel was less rushed, and the sound of the steam whistle and rattle of wheel on track were romantic sounds.

DAY ONE - WEDNESDAY

Depart London at 08.30. Today we drive through the magnificent Chiltern Hills and Oxfordshire countryside, first to the Didcot Raiway Centre Steam Day, where we'll enjoy the smell, sound and smoke of the steam engines and see the activities of a steam locomotive depot, including engines being coaled, watered and maybe turned on the turntable. There will the opportunity to ride on the 1930's trains during our visit. http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
Then the short distance to Swindon, and 'STEAM', the Museum of the Great Western Railway. Set in a restored Grade II listed building parts of which date back to the 1840s, this brand new museum celebrates the story of the men and women who worked on the GWR for seven generations. When the GWR Works closed on 27th March 1986 it was the end of an era; an era that lasted 143 years and made Swindon one of the most important industrial towns in the world. For over a decade, machines stood idle, tools lay undisturbed. Now transformed into a state of the art multi-million pound museum with famous locomotives, real rolling stock and superb displays of the stories of the people who made 'God's Wonderful Railway'.
http://www.swindonweb.com/steam

DAY TWO - THURSDAY

We are in an area known as England's West Country, and it's where we'll spend our next three days. This is a timeless land, the home and setting of works by Thomas Hardy who'd find much unchanged if he returned today 100 years after his death.
Again our steam theme give us the opportunity of enjoying various sites and some lovely, varied scenery, often viewed from a stately carriage window.

Our first highlighT of the day will be boarding the West Somerset Railway from Bishop's Lynard to Minehead. This was the train that featured in the Harry Potter films as the 'Hogwarts Express'. Its route takes us through 20 miles of glorious Somerset countryside as the train gently rolls back the years on its journey beside the Quantock Hills to the Bristol Channel.

In Minehead there's a choice. Rail enthusiasts can continue their love affair with a visit to the Somerset & Dorset Museum. As an alternative treat, however, other tour participants can either explore this seaside resort, or perhaps take a steamer out onto the Bristol Channel and enjoy another long-forgotten pleasure.

By way of complete contrast, we'll also visit the prehistoric caves at Cheddar Gorge as our final highlight of the day.

DAY THREE - FRIDAY

We'll begin the day at the Okehampton Railway Station visitors' centre. This is as much of an excuse to get us onto Dartmoor as it is to see a wonderfully restored Victorian station. Later we'll drive across the moors (made famous in Sherlock Holmes' Hound of the Baskervilles') to the historic and picturesque Buckfastleigh where we'll also see the famed Abbey.
Here we'll board the South Devon Railway. The line runs alongside the river Dart through stunning Devon scenery. You'll disembark at Staverton and take a walk along an ancient packhorse bridges, see a 14th century church and explore a village forgotten by the modern world.

Our final call of the day will be at the town of Totnes, one of Devon's jewels with a fine castle, museum and shopping to enjoy.

Naturally, there'll be an opportunity to sample a traditional 'Cream Tea' somewhere enroute!

Tonight we'll stop on the English Riviera, at one of the Victorian resort towns, and enjoy an evening beside the seaside.

DAY FOUR - SATURDAY

What a climax to the tour! We'll spend our day at the Great Dorset Steam Fair - the leading event of its type. Covering a 500 acre site, this unique fair gives insight into English way of life in late 1800s. Here you'll see the largest collection of steam and vintage equipment displayed anywhere in the world. There are fairground organs, fairground steam rides, heavy haulers, steam-driven cars and tractors. There are working displays. There are craft displays (ever wanted to see how a roof was thatched?). You'll see shire horses, and rare farm animal breeds. There are brass bands, folk musicians and dancers. And naturally, there's local food and some of the finest real English ale you'll ever drink! ) It's a unique event as a highlight of a unique tour!
If time permits, we'll complete our day with a visit to see the lovely Water Cress line that pulls its way through Jane Austen country on our return to London. .

We return to London by 18.00.

NOTE: Includes: Four days touring, three night's accommodation with breakfasts and dinners, all entrance fees and services of driver/guide and companion.

Tour No:
STEM02 - 4 Day Tour

Tour Departs:

Departs 24th August 2005

Price:

£445 Adult

Single Supplement £45

Departs 24th August 2005

21st Century Travel (U.K) Ltd, Langham House, Regents Street, W1Y 4DD, London, England (Part of the 21st Century Travel Group)