Full steam ahead for the perfect day out

Families seeking the ultimate day out should put a trip on a very magical steam train excursion on their summer timetable, because even younger Mums and Dads won’t have had chance to take this sort of trip during their youth.

Regular steam train excursions along the southern Cumbrian coast are this year running for the first time in 25 years, thanks to schedules created by Kingfisher Railtours.

The trips are aboard the Cumbrian Coast Fellsman – hauled by a wonderfully restored steam locomotive that will be transporting passengers between Carnforth and Ravenglass, on August 2, 9, 23 and 30.

On arrival at Ravenglass, Kingfisher are hooking up with leading attractions, the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and Muncaster Castle, to help passengers fill their day with some further, optional and absorbing family entertainment.

The Cumbrian Coast Fellsman trip can start at either Carnforth, or Grange-over-Sands, the first stop down the line. Romantics will be sure to opt for Carnforth – the station used for the filming of movie classic, Brief Encounter and now home to the Brief Encounter refreshment rooms and a visitor centre.

Those aboard at Carnforth can enjoy passing the Leighton Moss Nature Reserve en route to Grange-over-Sands, but none of the scenery on this trip disappoints. Passengers are spoilt for choice, with stunning views over Morecambe Bay, with its many rivers estuaries and viaducts on the left and the dramatic landscape of the beautiful Lakeland Fells to the right.

The train will pass beautiful beaches at Cartmel, Duddon and Silecroft and quaint villages and other landmarks, each turn of the track producing a view that competes for attention from passengers and keen photographers alike.

On arrival at Ravenglass, ticket-holders have a choice. They can either relax in this quiet, coastal town, or decide to take one of two optional extensions to their day.

One option is to board the steam train affectionately known as ‘Ratty’, by those who have already come to love the delightful Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. One of the railway’s steam locomotives will take passengers on a seven-mile journey, on a 15-inch gauge line, through beautiful Lakeland valleys, to the foot of England’s highest mountains.

At the terminus at Dalegarth, passengers can then visit a well-stocked shop, the highly praised Fellbites Eatery, or the local village, if they wish, or else take a stroll towards the fells, to breathe in the wonderful, fresh Lakeland air.

Another option is to board a coach to historic Muncaster Castle, where visitors can tour the gardens, visit the headquarters of the World Owl Trust, or have fun in the indoor Meadow Vole Maze.

The gardens, once referred to as 'The Gateway to Paradise' by John Ruskin, will be of huge interest to anyone who loves plants, with the Sino-Himalayan garden, in particular, boasting rare varieties with which few gardeners will be familiar.

The World Owl Centre has a wide collection of these birds, from diminutive pygmy owls, to strange fish owls. A Meet the Birds show takes place during the afternoon, allowing visitors to learn much more about these reputedly wise old creatures.

In the Meadow Vole Maze, families can help the 2.5 inch, vertically challenged Max Meadow Vole find his way safely out of 7 foot tall grass, thanks to a realistic, sensory experience that communicates the dangers wild creatures face.

Whatever a passenger chooses to do, they will be transported back from Ravenglass, to disembark at either Grange-over-Sands or Carnforth, on the return journey.

Tickets for the steam train journey to Ravenglass alone cost £29 for an adult and £22 for a child in standard class accommodation, or £50 per adult and £33 per child in first class. Family tickets for standard class accommodation cost £72 for either two adults and two children, or one adult and three children. An additional £6 per head is payable for either the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway trip, or the trip to Muncaster Castle.

The Cumbrian Coast Fellsman departs Carnforth at 10.12 on each of the designated days and returns to Carnforth at 17.20.

To steam ahead and book this wonderful experience, visit Kingfisherrailtours.co.uk.