Coastal Railways With Julie Walters

Often named the world’s most scenic railway, Scotland’s West Highland Railway traverses lands of beauty and lore. Julie rides the iconic Jacobite steam train across the stunning Glenfinnan viaduct and alights at the home of WWII’s Special Operations Executive. Then she journeys to the Isle of Skye to hear a traditional storyteller, before meeting the famously cute Highland cattle.

In Newcastle, Julie hops a high-speed train bound for Edinburgh. She stops first in a beautiful coastal town, then makes her way inland to Alnwick, where the former train station is now a book shop that started the “Keep Calm and Carry On” craze. Near the Scottish border, Julie soaks up the spectacular cliffside scenery before heading to North Berwick and the biggest gannet colony on Earth.

Julie experiences the wonders of the Great Western Railway, from the seaside tracks of Dawlish to the “British Riviera” town of Torquay. A heritage steam line brings her to Kingswear and its haunted castle, followed by smugglers tales in the fishing village of Polperro. She then journeys along the coast to St Ives and views opulent cakes in Penzance before boarding the sleeper back to the city.

In Tywyn, Wales, Julie sees the heritage steam railway that was the inspiration for Thomas the Tank Engine. Traveling over the beautiful Barmouth Bridge to Boston Lodge, she tries her hand at carriage painting before catching the Ffestiniog railway through Snowdonia National Park. Next, she meets a very lucky sheep farmer at Llandudno, and her last stop is Liverpool, where her acting career began.