Nothing beats a scenic train journey, whether it’s passing through breathtaking countryside or whizzing by tiny villages. With its impressive mountains and lush green valleys, Wales is home to more than its fair share of beautiful train journeys.
One of the most scenic Welsh railway journeys is the Heart of Wales line, starting in Llanelli in southwest Wales and going all the way to Craven Arms in Shropshire. The Heart of Wales Line itself is more than 150 years old and stretches across 121 miles in total, taking in 28 stops along the way - some of which are by request.
It’s a spectacular journey, but the best part is it only costs £13 one way, so it won’t break the bank. Our colleague Robert Harries at WalesOnline decided to hop on board and experience this scenic railway journey for himself, here’s what he found out.
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When my editor asked me to sit on a train for a full working day to take in the sights of Wales’ most scenic and beautiful railway journey, I jumped at the chance and headed straight for Llanelli. Admittedly, the most scenic route in the country doesn’t start off great.
It’s a drizzly day adding a further grey sheen to the bottom of the town’s Station Road but my remit is simple: enjoy the train ride and marvel at the scenery which surrounds. I’m hopping from side to side on the train, trying to find the best viewpoint for the majesty ahead.
The first highlight comes as we pass the Loughor estuary. As someone who grew up in Carmarthen, I took the train journey between my hometown and Llanelli for granted as a youngster; it’s only when friends came with me that the beauty of the stretch which winds past Ferryside registered with me. Loughor is much the same; it stand outs from the gloom early on in this epic journey, which will take about nine hours in total, including the wait to come home at the other end.
It’s quite busy for an unseasonably miserable spring weekday morning; loud ramblers and rambling walkers both fill the two carriages which will eventually take me to Craven Arms. Along the way it will stop at: Bynea, Llangennech, Pontarddulais, Pantyfynnon, Ammanford, Llandybie, Ffairfach, Llandeilo, Llangadog, Llanwrda, Llandovery, Cynghordy, Sugar Loaf, Llanwrtyd, Llangammarch, Garth, Cilmeri, Builth Road, Llandrindod, Pen-y-Bont, Dolau, Llanbister Road, Llangynllo, Knucklas, Kinighton, Bucknell, Hopton Heath, and Broome.
As we reach to Ffairfach we’re really into the rural nature of this journey, passing rivers and streams and fields filled with sheep. Soon the colourful row of terraced houses that were probably built just to be on a Llandeilo postcard sit high above a hill on my left, and we rumble on at pace towards Llandovery.
The journey offers great value for money, for £13 (one way) you can literally travel through the heart of Wales and take in all that it has to offer. The Transport for Wales train is clean and tidy, but only one toilet on a train full of day trippers leaves me dancing awkwardly in that little wobbly-floored bit in between carriages, waiting my turn.
One tip worth knowing is bring a flask; I wasn’t expecting a First Great Western bar carriage but I wrongly and stupidly assumed there would be a coffee trolley - and now I can’t be properly shaken from my slumber until I get to another country and I get off at my destination, still 17 stops away.
Despite a lack of caffeine, I am quickly jolted out of my seat as we hurtle past Cynghordy and towards the wonderfully named stop of Sugar Loaf. With the tree-lined mountains rising up around, it could easily double as the Swiss Alps in summertime.
Yet most people on the train would not even have realised that we had just gone through Sugar Loaf because it’s a request stop where nobody ever requests a stop. To get off you need to have a polite word in the ear of the conductor who will invite you into the cockpit (or whatever that bit on a train is called) when the time is right and allow you to squeeze out onto a deserted platform surrounded by no shop, no ticket office, no houses and no passengers.
This journey also takes me to some of the most picturesque and pretty little towns and villages in the country - surrounded by red bricks and tiles, country pubs, a glorious viaduct - and more or less directly into the quaint gardens of those who live along the line. I don’t know what that’s like for the people living behind those front gardens, to have a busy train puncturing your tranquillity every few hours, but for me it’s spectacular, like strolling through a human-sized model village.
By the time I get off at Craven Arms I feel like I’ve seen an honest advert for what Wales is: it’s gorgeous but you can never ever rely on the weather. In one journey I’ve glared out at rain, wind and beautiful sunshine. Absolutely and typically Welsh.
And even though the weather has been very fitting for a journey through Wales, I can’t wait to come on this train again during the peak of summer to bask in the glory of it from behind glass not smeared with rain. It’s well worth the £13, the time, and the lack of phone and internet signal. More than three hours of sitting down looking out of the window; more than three hours where my phone barely left my pocket. It’s wonderful. Now for that elusive coffee and a long wait across the border, before I get to see it all again on my way home.
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