Читать книгу Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain - Julian Holland - Страница 29

Our journey westwards from Basingstoke to Salisbury follows the same route as the celebrated ‘Atlantic Coast Express’ which ran between London Waterloo and seaside resorts in North Devon and North Cornwall until 1964. The magnificent Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ Pacifics which once thundered along the track with their trainloads of holidaymakers are now just a distant memory. Today’s travellers are carried in air-conditioned comfort in South West Trains’ diesel multiple units with trains stopping at the intermediate stations of Overton, Whitchurch, Andover and Grateley. At Andover the remaining stub of the long-closed Midland & South Western Junction Railway can be seen trailing in from the north – this little-used branch line still serves the MOD Depot at Tidworth.

The entire journey is through rolling Hampshire and Wiltshire farmland, with the last 6 miles following the valley of the River Bourne through the quaint-sounding villages of the Winterbournes. On the approach to Salisbury, trains take the northern curve of the triangular Tunnel Junction before entering Fisherton Tunnel and arriving at the city’s busy junction station. Salisbury’s attractions are but a short walk from here.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Salisbury cathedral with its 404-ft-high spire and oldest working clock in the world; 14th-century city walls and their five gates; ancient market at Poultry Cross; ghost tours; landscaped water meadows alongside the River Avon

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

2 per hour (Mon-Sat)

1 per hour (Sun)

36 MILES 40 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

New-build Class ‘A1’ 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ speeds across Hurstbourne Viaduct on the Basingstoke to Salisbury line with an enthusiasts’ special train in 2009.

The beautiful Gothic nave in Salisbury Cathedral.