Читать книгу Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain - Julian Holland - Страница 9

The first 4½ miles of this railway trip to the surfing capital of Britain follow the Cornish main line from the town of St Austell to the china clay harbour town of Par. Soon after leaving St Austell the railway heads towards Carlyon Bay, where there are views across St Austell Bay to Gribbin Head. Passengers change trains at Par station before resuming their journey on what is now marketed as the ‘Atlantic Coast Line’ to Newquay.

Trains for Newquay take a 180-degree turn from Par station before joining the route of the former Cornwall Minerals Railway near St Blazey. The railway was opened in 1874 and followed the route of earlier horse-drawn tramways built alongside the Par Canal to carry china clay down to Par Harbour for onward shipment. Modern china clay trains still use this route from Goonbarrow Junction.

North of St Blazey, the railway threads through the heavily wooded Luxulyan Valley, now designated a World Heritage Site for its early 19th-century industrial remains, before passing under Treffry Viaduct. Built in 1844 this historic structure carried an aqueduct and a horsedrawn tramway serving local mines. West of tiny Luxulyan station – now a request stop, as are all the other intermediate stations on the line –Goonbarrow Junction is the limit of the china clay service and also the site of the only passing loop (still controlled by semaphore signals) on this single-track branch line. After Bugle and Roche stations the railway crosses a nature reserve on Goss Moor before reaching St Columb Road station. The view to the south along this stretch is dominated by huge china clay workings, which have the surreal appearance of a lunar landscape. A freight-only branch from Burngullow (west of St Austell) to Parkandillack still serves the china clay industry. Quintrell Downs is the penultimate station, followed by our journey’s end at Newquay station. The current single-platform affair here is in marked contrast to the original 3-platform structure that was also served by trains from Chacewater and Perranporth until the line’s closure in 1963. The world-famous surfing beaches of Newquay are but a short walk from the station.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

harbour; Discovery Trail; 9 beaches; surfing from Fistral Beach; Trenance Gardens; South West Coast Path

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

6 per day (Mon-Sat)

5 per day (Sun, summer)

3 per day (Sun, winter)

25¼ MILES

1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 1

(Par)

Fistral Beach in Newquay is one of the premier surfing locations in Britain.