Interest hub

Scenic trains in Britain

Heritage and steam railways, mountain and miniature railways, viaducts and rail museums.

Facts last checked Oct 25, 2026. Britlens is independent: see our editorial policy.

Babbacombe Cliff Railway, Torquay, Paignton & Brixham
Babbacombe Cliff Railway, DevonPhoto: Kolforn, CC BY-SA 4.0
Glenfinnan Viaduct, Fort William, Glencoe & Ben Nevis
Glenfinnan Viaduct, The Scottish HighlandsPhoto: AyaanAhmed4Real, CC BY-SA 4.0
Wells and Walsingham Light Railway, Wells, Holkham & Blakeney
Wells and Walsingham Light Railway, Norfolk and the BroadsPhoto: Timothy Titus, CC BY-SA 3.0

Places from the lists below; each photo links to the guide page that lists it.

Where to start

Reasoned from our data counts

These three destinations have the most matching places in our guides. That shows where our coverage is deepest for this interest, not an official ranking.

  • Yorkshire

    7 matching places.

    Most in: North York Moors (4), Harrogate & Knaresborough (1).

  • Devon

    5 matching places.

    Most in: Exmoor & Lynmouth (2), Dartmoor (1).

  • The Scottish Highlands

    5 matching places.

    Most in: Fort William, Glencoe & Ben Nevis (3), The Cairngorms: Aviemore & Grantown-on-Spey (2).

For a hand-picked route, see the themed trip Scenic railways and railway heritage (5 stops in York, Manchester, The Cotswolds, Elsewhere in Britain). More: all themed trips.

Map

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The places are listed below.

44 places. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab).

All 44 places, by destination

A short list of railways we hold in the guides. Schedules and fares: use each operator's site.

Yorkshire7places

Devon5places

The Scottish Highlands5places

Norfolk and the Broads4places

Wales4places

Manchester2places

The Jurassic Coast2places

The Lake District2places

York2places

Bath1place

Brighton & Hove1place

Bristol1place

Cambridge1place

Cornwall1place

Leeds1place

Lindisfarne (Holy Island)1place

Newcastle and Gateshead1place

Sheffield1place

The Cotswolds1place

The Peak District1place

How we matched these places

We search the type label and name of every sight in our guides for this interest. Places we have not listed, or that our data labels differently, will be missing. Data checked Oct 25, 2026. Hearts save a place to My trip.

More

Sources

Official pages read on Oct 25, 2026. Rules, prices and opening times change: check the source before you rely on it. Counts and rankings on this page come from Britlens place data and are not official figures.

No external source is cited on this page; every figure is computed from our own data.