One of the best-known routes in the U.K., the Scottish Jacobite excursion runs from Fort William to Mallaig. The scenery remains one of the main attractions, but the "Harry Potter" films brought a new generation of visitors, depicting the "Hogwarts Express" crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The journey is about 67 kilometers (42 miles) each way and takes just over two and a half hours. There is a stop of just over an hour and a half at Mallaig before the return journey.
On a much smaller scale than the West Highland Line, the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, situated by Scotland's River Forth, is run by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society. After leaving the river, the train climbs through woods toward Kinneil. From Birkhill station, passengers can visit the Birkhill Fireclay Mine. The train then travels as far as Manuel. The journey takes around 30 minutes each way.
A very popular steam line in Wales, the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog Railway runs from Porthmadog through the lush scenery of Snowdonia to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Said to be the oldest independent steam company in the world, it opened in 1836 to carry slate down the mountains from the mines to Porthmadog. The journey takes about one and three-quarter hours each way, stopping at several stations.
In England, the Severn Valley Railway runs standard-gauge steam trains from Kidderminster in Worcestershire to Bridgnorth in Shropshire. A distance of 26 kilometers (16 miles), the route partly follows the River Severn, crossing the 200-foot Victoria Bridge; the bridge was featured in the film "The Thirty Nine Steps," starring Robert Powell. The train journeys through unspoiled English countryside, some of it viewable only from the train because of the sparse roads in the Severn Valley.
The official website calls it "the world's smallest public railway." The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a popular miniature steam railway with tourists and provides the same services to locals and students as a mainline train. Traveling from Hythe station in Kent, the train runs through the famous Romney Marsh to Dungeness, known for one of the largest shingle systems in the world.
There are seven stations from beginning to end. The journey takes around an hour and a half each way. Famously, the line was requisitioned by the British War Department during World War II and became the only miniature armored train in the world.
