Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain. Julian Holland

      TUNBRIDGE WELLS TO HEVER

      This delightfully short train journey can only be currently undertaken on Saturdays from April to October but the destination of Hever Castle is well worth the effort. The first part of our journey is along the Spa Valley Railway from Tunbridge Wells West station to Eridge – this section was closed by BR in 1985 and was completely reopened in 2011 as a heritage railway. Passenger services are either steam hauled or provided by a diesel multiple unit, with trains calling at High Rocks Halt and Groombridge before heading south to parallel the national rail network line from Hurst Green to Uckfield, as far as Eridge.

      Passengers for Hever board a northbound train at Eridge for the 15-minute journey along the mainly single-track line to Hever, calling en route at Ashurst and Cowden then passing through Mark Beech Tunnel to arrive at their destination. The attractive village of Hever and its castle are about a 20-minute walk from the station via the signposted Eden Valley Walk.

      Hever Castle has a fascinating history. It was built in the 13th century and from 1462 to 1539 was the seat of the Boleyn family. King Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, spent her childhood there but following her execution in the tower of London in 1536 and the death of her father in 1539 the castle became the property of the king. He then bestowed it to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, as a settlement following the annulment of their marriage. After passing through several other owners the castle was bought in 1903 by American millionaire, William Waldorf Astor, who restored it to its former glory.

       DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

      15th-century Hever Castle (home of Ann Boleyn) with its mazes, lakes and gardens

       FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

      Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge 5 per day (Sat-Sun, Mar-Oct) Eridge to Hever 1 per hour (Sat)

       13¾ MILES 30 + 15 MINUTES

       NUMBER OF CHANGES: 1

       (Eridge)

       Restored Southern Railway Class ‘M7’ 0-4-4T No. 53 makes a fine sight while heading a train on the Spa Valley Railway between Eridge and Groombridge.

       The moated Tudor castle at Hever was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife.

      HYTHE TO DUNGENESS

      The world-famous Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway runs for 13½ miles along the Kent coast from Hythe to the enormous shingle bank headland at Dungeness. Built to a gauge of 15 in, it was the creation of a wealthy racing driver and a miniature locomotive engineer and opened in 1927. It is a one-third scale, fully signalled, double-track main line (between Hythe and New Romney) with express trains operating at up to 25 mph, hauled by scale versions of LNER and Canadian steam engines. A single-track extension was opened between New Romney and Dungeness in 1928.

      Trains depart from Hythe’s overall-roofed station in a southwesterly direction along the double-track route between the expanse of Romney Marsh and the coastline. Serving the coastal ribbon development of bungalows, chalets and holiday camps, trains call at Burmarsh Road, Dymchurch, St Mary’s Bay and Warren Halt before arriving at the railway’s headquarters at New Romney. Here, workshops, engine shed, model railway and café are found. Beyond New Romney, trains on the single-track line negotiate a series of level crossings as they make their way through a landscape interspersed with fishermen’s shacks and dominated by the lighthouses and nuclear power stations at Dungeness. After dropping off their passengers, trains take a 360-degree loop here before heading back to Hythe.

       DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

      Light Railway Café; National Nature Reserve; RSPB bird observatory; beach fishing; lighthouse open to public; 1930s concrete acoustic ‘listening ears’; fishermen’s wooden cottages

       FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

      3-9 per day (end March-Oct, Christmas and New Year)

      NB Hythe can be reached by bus from Folkestone

       13½ MILES 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

       NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

       Built in 1927, No. 8 ‘Hurricane’ hauls a train near New Romney on the 15-in-gauge Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway.

      TENTERDEN TO BODIAM

      This is an extremely pleasant day trip taking a leisurely journey in a vintage steam-hauled train to visit one of England’s finest moated castles. With its headquarters today in Tenterden, the Kent & East Sussex Railway was originally built and owned by the legendary Colonel Holman F Stephens, and opened between Headcorn and Robertsbridge in 1905. This delightful rural line led a precarious existence until it was nationalized in 1948 and finally closed in 1961. Since then it has been gradually reopened westwards from Tenterden Town station, reaching Bodiam in 2000. The missing link from here to the national rail network at Robertsbridge is currently being rebuilt.

      From Tenterden, trains descend in a westerly direction to Rolvenden station then head south, calling at Wittersham Road station towards the water meadows of the peaceful Rother Valley. After crossing the county border from Kent into East Sussex, trains call at Northiam (for Great Dixter House and Gardens) before following the valley westwards to Bodiam Station where the village, Castle Inn and National Trust castle are all within easy reach.

       DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

      National Trust’s 14th-century moated Bodiam Castle (NT); Castle Inn; Colonel Stephens Museum (Tenterden)

       FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

      5-8

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