Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide (Bradt Travel Guides) [Hardcover]

"We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world – sit back, relax and enjoy the ever changing landscape of Britain from the Rails!" Pete Waterman Obe, Chairman of the Waterman Railway Trust "Look out of those train windows and see another Britain. This is a richly researched and fascinating book, with a chuckle and a raised eyebrow at every page." Alastair Sawday "Whether you're a first-time visitor or time-served commuter, Benedict le Vay's book will open your eyes to the sights and history of Britain's best train journeys. And his choice of the top ten British train routes is spot on!" Mark Smith, The Man In Seat 61 "A quite superb, indeed incomparable, combination of maps, railway trivia, engineering isights and breathtaking landscape features to look out for." Michael Gove, The Times 'This elegant guide is perfect for people who really want to know what they are seeing when they idly look out of a train window. The maps and illustrations add to the joy of reading a gorgeous guide.' Adam Trimingham, Brighton Argus Magazine "Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide by Benedict le Vay, tells you what you should look out for from your carriage window on rail journeys from Aberdeen to Penzance and all points in between. This is a book that will gladden the hearts of all who love train travel." Frank Barrett, The Mail on Sunday 'Gloriously quirky labour-of-love' Wanderlust

There's a magical romance about trains that no other form of transport can capture. Meeting under an iconic station clock at a grand terminus. Gathering speed through city, town and country, swooping across viaducts, rattling across huge junctions and whistling through tunnels. At long last you are in a small Sussex beachside halt, or a Welsh valley country station, beside a quiet Norfolk waterway, or winding through a remote forest high above a Scottish loch. Dreamily you think, 'Do those same twin ribbons of steel really lead all the way back to the greatest city in Europe? Can this really be the very same seat?' Britain from the Rails travels to a world far from the endless queues and prodding security of ugly airport terminals. It abandons the cars to their motorway jams and soaring petrol prices, and revels instead in the gems of Britain's historic railway system.

Benedict le Vay is the author of several of Bradt's Eccentric guides including Eccentric Britain. He says, 'I've asked for my ashes to be blasted from the chimney of my favourite steam locomotive at my funeral. Hasn't everybody?'