Coast & Country: Railway Walks

Julia Bradbury begins her exploration of Britain's lost rail empire in the heart of the Peak District, with a walk along the popular Monsal Trail. Limestone cliffs and gorges abound, not to mention the tunnels and soaring viaducts of the Midland Railway--one of the most dramatic and unlikely main lines ever built.

The stunning Mawddach estuary is the setting for Julia Bradbury's second railway walk. The area between Dolgellau and the coastal resort of Barmouth is one of the least-visited parts of Snowdonia, but in the 1860s it received a great rush of holiday-makers, all using the new railway that connected this stunning valley to the cities of England.

Tin and copper once made the area around Redruth the richest patch of land in the country. They also inspired great engineering feats and some pioneering tramways--the forebears of Britain's rail empire. Julia Bradbury has her work cut out as she crosses an entire country, winding past Cornwall's crumbling engine houses, following a railway that hasn't operated in 140 years.

Julia Bradbury's first walking foray into Scotland has a very distinct flavour to it: whisky! The Speyside Way is one of Scotland's great walking routes, and between the villages of Craigellachie and Ballindaloch, it follows the route of the railway that once served a remote area and a world-famous drinks industry.

The backstreets of Weymouth seem an unlikely spot to explore railway history, but as Julia Bradbury discovers, there was once a short railway that ran south from Weymouth and across the unique coastal features of Chesil Beach and Portland. The walk is the ideal platform for learning about the history of Portland Harbour and the tied isle's most famous export: Portland Stone.

Julia Bradbury's last railway walk is epic, in more ways than one. Not only is this the longest and arguably most dramatic walk yet, but it passes through the unruly territory of Scottish clans and Rob Roy. The Highlands were a place to be wary of…until the railway arrived, that is.