Ffestiniog Travel

Thursday 25 April to Saturday 4 May 2013

This year London celebrates its 150th anniversary as home to the world’s first underground railway. This tour takes an exciting look at our capital city, visiting some of the oldest and newest railways as well as visits to depots, and finding some of the hidden secrets of the London transport system.  We then move on to Kent where we travel behind the scenes at several steam railways.

Day 1   London Duck Tour

Meet at our central London hotel during the early afternoon prior to a sightseeing trip on the boat/road hybrid Duck.  Our route will include the world famous vista of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and 10 Downing Street before our dramatic splashdown into the Thames.

Day 2   Eurostar’s Temple Mills Depot

This morning we have the rare opportunity to take a guided tour of the Temple Mills depot where we will see Eurostar trains undergoing maintenance, and much more. During the afternoon we will take a walking tour discovering some of the closed stations and hidden sites of London’s railways.

Day 3   London Transport Museum and Depot

We travel to Covent Garden this morning where we visit the London Transport Museum and later on to Acton for a tour of the Museum Depot which houses over 370,000 items.

Day 4   London’s Preserved Railways

This morning we travel on the Epping and Ongar Railway which has recently reopened. We then move on to Kew Bridge Steam Museum, home to London’s only operating Steam Railway. The museum is housed in a London waterworks and most of the original engines are still in place.

Day 5   London Underground Tour

Travel across 150 years in just two hours as we move from London’s first ever Underground station to its most futuristic. We then move on to the docklands for a guided tour of the London Dockland Museum.

Day 6   Crossrail and the Post Office Railway

We start this morning with a walking tour around the Kings Cross and Tottenham Court Road area looking at signs of disused railway lines, goods yards and stations as well as the Crossrail visitor centre. During the afternoon we will have a private talk about the disused Post Office Railway.

Day 7   St Pancras Station

Today we have a guided tour of St Pancras station taking in both the history and recent refurbishment of the station before boarding a South Eastern Railway High Speed Service to Ashford International.

Day 8   Kent and East Sussex Railway

A visit to the Kent and East Sussex Railway where we have a “Behind the Scenes” day including the carriage and wagon workshops, the locomotive engineering facility, loco yard and Colonel Stephens Museum. Lunch is included. We then travel to Shepherdswell for a visit to the East Kent Railway and dinner will be included here.

Day 9 - Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

An all day visit to the world’s smallest public railway. There will be time for footplate rides, tours of workshops, offices and a look behind the scenes, lunch included.

Day 10 - Spa Valley Railway

We take the train to Tunbridge Wells for a visit to the Spa Valley Railway “The South East's friendliest steam railway!” where we have a ride on the train and a shed tour before travelling back to London together to say our farewells. Travel home independently.