Pack Your Bags and Hit the Rails With 15 of the UK's Most Scenic Train Rides

Route: Settle to Carlisle

Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

You'll get to travel through the Yorkshire Dales National Park on the Settle to Carlisle route, full of barns, valleys, and rolling hills. Great views come courtesy of Ribblehead Viaduct (pictured), which is comprised of 24 arches that are 400 metres long and 31 metres high. You can even travel by steam train.

Route: St Erth to St Ives

Journey time: 15 minutes

Travel along the Cornish coastline with views of Carbis Bay and Hayle Towans's golden sands, with the sea stretching out beyond, and backed by grassland and dunes.

Route: Base to peak of Mount Snowdon

Duration: 1 hour

Don't fancy trekking all the way up Wales's highest mountain? Hop on an 1896 locomotive at Llanberis Station and travel to the summit, with a 30-minute stopover to admire the view from 1,085 metres above sea level.

Route: Norwich to Yarmouth/Lowestoft

Journey time: 45 minutes

Journey alongside river banks, past charming villages, and through the wild marshes that feature in Charles Dickens's novels with a trip on the Wherry Lines — known as the gateway to the Southern Norfolk Broads.

Route: Londonderry to Coleraine

Duration: 50 minutes

Michael Palin apparently called this "one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world," which is quite the compliment given how far and wide he's travelled. The journey takes visitors along the coast, past landmarks like Mussenden Temple, and through a pair of long railway tunnels before arriving in Coleraine for connections to the famous Causeway Coast.

Route: Exeter to Dawlish

Duration: 11 to 30 minutes

When you see the waves crashing up to the tracks, it's not surprising to learn that the route was destroyed by a coastal storm in 2014. It's been rebuilt and runs along the River Exe — look out for otters, egrets, and seals on the sandbanks and estuary — finishing up by the sea in a quaint seaside town in Devon.

Route: Oxenholme to Windermere

Journey time: 20 minutes

Travel through the Cumbrian countryside, picturesque rural villages, and woodland paths as you head into the Lake District National Park and its world-famous scenery.

Route: London Euston to various cities in Scotland

Duration: 7 hours, 30 minutes to Glasgow; 8 hours, 10 minutes to Edinburgh; 10 hours, 5 minutes to Aberdeen; 11 hours, 5 minutes to Inverness; and 12 hours to Fort William

As you'd expect on a long-distance sleeper train, there's a wealth of wonderful scenery. Enjoy hillside views of Edinburgh Castle or the lochs and peaks en route to Fort William. New carriages in 2019 will offer upgraded "comfort seats" and en-suite cabins with double beds. You can even take your pet in your cabin or book your bike on board.

Route: Shrewsbury to Welsh Coast

Journey time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

If it's a coastal rail journey you're after, then you'll be inspired by this route from Shrewsbury in Shropshire to the Welsh countryside. Travel past Snowdonia National Park, the Dyfi Biosphere Reserve, and the Cambrian Coast. There are two branches from Machynlleth to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli.

Route: Sheffield to Huddersfield

Journey time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

This route through the South Pennines opened in 1850 and consists of no less than four viaducts made with Victorian engineering skills. In addition to the rolling countryside, you'll journey through villages and urban cities.

Route: Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog

Journey time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

You'll be able to say you've travelled through the longest single bore tunnel in Wales and been taken 240 metres above sea level on this 30-mile journey from Llandudno Bay through the rolling Welsh countryside of the Conwy and Lledr valleys to the rugged mountains of Snowdonia National Park.

Route: Marks Tey to Sudbury

Journey time: 19 minutes

You'll travel along the second largest brick-built structure in England on this line as you trundle across the 32 arches of Chappel Viaduct standing 23 metres high. Named after 18th century artist Thomas Gainsborough, the line is close to Gainsborough's House Museum, as well as the East Anglian Railway Museum.

Route: London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley

Duration: 4 hours 20 minutes

This iconic train quickly takes you the 630 km. from England's capital to Scotland's capital, passing by the Northumberland coastline, cities, countryside, and plenty of landmarks (like Newcastle's The Angel of the North) along the way.

Route: Plymouth to Gunnislake

Journey time: 45 minutes

Pass by sheep and cows in the rolling fields, pretty river crossings, and quaint villages as you head out of Plymouth and travel into the picturesque Tamar valley. Highlights include the views from Calstock Viaduct.

Route: Fort William to Mallaig

Duration: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Starting near Ben Nevis, the Jacobite steam locomotive travels through breathtaking mountainous hillsides. Harry Potter fans flock to the stunning Glenfinnan Viaduct (pictured) on this line, which was featured in the movies. Other notable landmarks on the route include the shortest river in the UK, Britain's westernmost mainland railway station, and the deepest seawater loch in Europe: Loch Nevis.