RAIL TRAVEL, FROM RAILS TO TRAILS Part 1

RAIL TRAVEL, FROM RAILS TO TRAILS, RAIL TRAVEL has had a bad press of late, but there remain plenty of branch lines offering excellent services to those who like to access the hills by train. These are especially useful for planning linear walks where a car can become an encumbrance, and so on the following pages we offer you a varied menu of six stationto- station walks across England, Scotland and Wales. The planning is part of the fun – start searching train company websites and you’ll come across some surprising options, especially in the summer when the growing network of heritage rail lines can be used. Whether you’re in Sussex, Cornwall, mid Wales, the North York Moors or the Highlands, there are options to explore. Check out our suggestions in this feature, and then you can start investigating the options on your doorstep or in the areas you'll be visiting this summer. All aboard!

1. Fife Coastal Path 

FIFE CIRCLE LINE 

START: North Queensferry station 

FINISH: Kinghorn station

The Fife Coastal Path is well served by public transport, with trains covering a good part of it. A grand day’s walk of about 20km starts at North Queensferry station, right underneath the majestic Forth Rail Bridge and with the two road bridges just to the west. A feature of the Fife Coastal Path is the many interesting towns and villages it visits. On this stretch you go through Inverkeithing, round Dalgety Bay and continue on to Aberdour, which has a very impressive castle and a lovely harbour with a marina. Offshore is the island of Inchcolm with the ruin of the ancient St Colm’s Abbey; it can be visited in summer by boat from South Queensferry.

The walk continues round Silversands Bay, ever popular with families, and on to Burntisland, still with a busy harbour area. From here to Kinghorn the path parallels the main road but with a little imagination it is easy to fi nd an alternative route. Kinghorn has a very attractive harbour and the walk passes the railway station, making it easy to get the train back to North Queensferry. The Fife Coastal Path is a walk of great variety, with beautiful wild fl owers in summer and an impressive range of birdlife at any time of year. One of its attractions is that you can pick it up almost anywhere, thanks to the excellent transport links.

2. The wilds of Rannoch 

WEST HIGHLAND LINE 

START: Rannoch station 

FINISH: Corrour station

Rannoch and Corrour on the West Highland Line between Glasgow and Fort William are two of the remotest stations in the UK. Linking them offers great opportunities for the adventurous hillgoer. For a glorious two-day expedition, walk east from Rannoch Station for 3km and then head north on the track known as the Road to the Isles. Don’t cross the bridge at NN436604 but head up the ridge on the right, giving you a bonus Corbett on Meall na Meoig before your fi rst Munro, Sgor Gaibhre. Drop west to the Mam Ban and easily ascend to the second Munro, Carn Dearg. from South Queensferry. The walk continues round Silversands Bay, ever popular with families, and on to Burntisland, still with a busy harbour area. From here to Kinghorn the path parallels the main road but with a little imagination it is easy to fi nd an alternative route. Kinghorn has a very attractive harbour and the walk passes the railway station, making it easy to get the train back to North Queensferry. The Fife Coastal Path is a walk of great variety, with beautiful wild fl owers in summer and an impressive range of birdlife at any time of year. One of its attractions is that you can pick it up almost anywhere, thanks to the excellent transport links. Dropping off to the north gives you an overnight camp around the head of Loch Ossian before day two begins with a warm-up stroll along Strath Ossian to the bridge at NN398730. Keep left here and then head steadily up to the next Munro, Chno Dearg. It’s an easy down-andup to Munro number four, Stob Coire Sgreadain.

For a big fi nale, return to the point where you started the climb of Chno Dearg, cross the Allt Feith Thuill and take the long ridge for nearly 4km to bag Beinn na Lap. From its summit you can see Corrour Station – and maybe even time your descent to meet the train. If you don’t fancy Beinn na Lap just follow the burns through the bealach between it and Garbh-bheinn to meet a path leading back to the station. There are almost endless possibilities in this area, and using the railway is without doubt the best way of doing them – and you get a superb train ride into the bargain.

3. Seaside and moorland 

NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY 

START: Whitby station 

FINISH: Goathland station

Not only is the volunteer-run North Yorkshire Moors Railway a pleasing opportunity to experience the Brylcreem-scented nostalgia of mid-20th Century rolling stock and panting steam trains, it’s also a convenient way to shuttle yourself around the moors. Its less glamorous sister, the Esk Valley Railway, extends it way out to the east, where it links up with mainline services in Middlesbrough. One particularly lovely walk is to cross 23km from the seaside at Whitby to the cute moorland village of Goathland. Start by taking the decommissioned Scarborough– Whitby railway line south, passing high over the boatyards of the Esk estuary as you cross Larpool Viaduct. At Hawsker, leave the cinder track to the cyclists and pick up Wainwright’s Coast-to-Coast, making for the moors via winding country roads and green lanes.

Wainwright’s route veers off into the woods of Maybeck – passing the honeypot beauty spot of Falling Foss and ultimately heading for Grosmont Station (also served by NYMR trains) – but if you’d rather keep the heather under your boots, stick to Shooting House Rigg a little longer. As you drop down into Newton House Plantation near the ruins of John Bond’s Sheep House, you’re entering prime territory for both bilberries and adders. Experience dictates that whichever one you’re looking for, you’ll usually fi nd the other. Clambering back up on to Whinstone Ridge, it’s a straight run over the moor and across the A169 before dropping directly onto Goathland station platform via a mix of gamekeeper tracks and signed footpaths.

sources: The Great Outdoors, July 2018

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