The golden age of travel still exists in the UK, with heritage railway tours offering luxurious seating, top food and plenty to drink on a range of tours. The heritage trains range from diesel and special electrics, and the most eye-catching of them all, the steam trains.

(c) Railway Touring Company

While it’s fun to watch a steam train rushing past, but they can only do so if people are on board, so why not be one of those people in 2021? Be one of the people inside the train waving back as excited bystanders wave at you.

All things going well, by early Summer we’ll be out of the worst of the covid crisis, and many of us will be itching for a holiday break – so I’ve compiled a list of heritage train trips to choose from.

The tours vary a great deal from a chance to tour around the countryside in standard class heritage trains, through to a luxury restaurant on wheels. Personally, if you’re going for a special treat, try to go for the meals, as they really evoke the air of the upper-class golden age of travel at the turn of the 19th century.

After the year we’ve all had, a bit of pampering is richly deserved.

Prices start from £60 for an evening loop around London, though champagne dinners to week-long holidays.

(c) Belmond

And you don’t need to be a railway enthusiast to travel on heritage trains.

These tours are aimed at people seeking a nice day out, and most people travelling by heritage train are general interest travellers who come with their partners, family and friends.

Most of the day tours include a few hours at a notable town to visit and look around before heading home.

All tours listed below start and return to London, unless otherwise stated.

• Loco type Mixed – part of the trip will be steam hauled, and part will be diesel or electric.
• Loco type HST – restored Intercity 125 train
• Covid – there are fewer seats being offered so they can space people along the train, and each operator has its rules for safe travel at the moment. I’ve started the list from April, as lockdowns are likely to be over by then.
• Caveat Emptor – I’ve done the best to check details, but always go by the train tour operator’s website for the latest most up to date information.

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Date

Tour name

Prices from

Duration

Description

Loco type

April 2021

8th April
London to Highclere, Bath & Bristol

£109

Day trip

London to Bristol

Steam

16th April
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

17th April
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

17th April
London to the Settle & Carlisle Railway

£119

Day trip

London to Carlisle

Mixed

21st April
Historic Bath

£465

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

23rd April
Murder Mystery Lunch

£340

Afternoon

Round trip with a murder mystery twist

Unknown

24th April
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

24th April
Royal Highland Pullman

£370

3 days

London to the Scottish Highlands

HST

24th April
The Merchant of Norfolk

£119

Day trip

London to Norwich

Unknown

27th April
London to Oxford & Stratford-Upon-Avon

£109

Day trip

London  Stratford Upon Avon via Oxford

Steam

May 2021

2nd May
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

4th May
London to York

£119

Day trip

London to York

Steam

6th May
Historic Oxford

£425

Day trip

London to Oxford

Unknown

6th May
Blenheim Palace

£425

Day trip

London to Blenheim Palace

Unknown

7th May
The Shetlander

£1,725

7 days

London to the Shetland Islands

Mixed

7th May
The Golden Age Of Travel

£395

Afternoon

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

15th May
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

15th May
Shrewsbury in Springtime

£79.50

Day trip

London to Shrewsbury

Unknown

19th May
Historic Bath

£480

Day trip

London to Bath

Steam

20th May
Surrey Hills with Flying Scotsman

£109

Afternoon

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

20th May
Surrey Hills with Flying Scotsman

£99

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

22nd May
The Edinburgh Explorer

£99

Day trip

London to Edinburgh

HST

22nd May
The Cumbrian Mountain Express

£99

Day trip

London to Settle & Carlisle

Mixed

23rd May
London to Oxford with Flying Scotsman

£109

Day trip

London to Oxford

Steam

26th May
Historic Bath

£425

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

27th May
The Cock O’the North

£1,695

6 days

London to northern Scotland

Mixed

27th May
Murder Mystery Lunch

£340

Afternoon

Round trip with a murder mystery twist

Unknown

27th May
London to Salisbury with Flying Scotsman

£119

Day trip

London to Salisbury Cathedral

Steam

June 2021

1st June
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

4th June
The Golden Age Of Travel

£395

Afternoon

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

5th June
The Buxton Spa Express

£99

Day trip

London to the Peak District

Mixed

6th June
London to Southampton with Flying Scotsman

£119

Day trip

London to Southampton

Steam

7th June
The Summer Highlander

£1,530

6 days

London to Scottish Highlands

Mixed

8th June
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

12th June
The Cotswold Venturer

£99

Day trip

London to Worcester

Steam

15th June
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

16th June
Historic Bath

£425

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

17th June
London to Cambridge with Flying Scotsman

£109

Day trip

London to Cambridge

Steam

19th June
The Derbyshire Rose

£79.50

Day trip

London to Chatsworth

Unknown

19th June
The White Rose

£144

Day trip

London to York

Mixed

20th June
London to Portsmouth & The Isle Of Wight

£99

Day trip

London to Portsmouth

Steam

22nd June
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

25th June
The Dinner

£405

Evening

Round trip

Unknown

26th June
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

26th June
The Cumbrian Mountain Express

£99

Day trip

London to Settle & Carlisle

Mixed

29th June
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

30th June
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

July 2021

2nd July
Murder Mystery Lunch

£325

Afternoon

Round trip with a murder mystery twist

Unknown

3rd July
The Bournemouth Express

£99

Day trip

London to Bournemouth

Steam

5th July
Tribute to the Bournemouth Belle

£399

Day trip

London to Bournemouth

Steam

6th July
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

7th July
Heart of Scotland

£1,455

6 days

London to Inverness and the Isle of Bute

Mixed

8th July
The Far North and Orkney

£1,595

8 days

London to northern Scotland

Mixed

9th July
The End of Southern Steam

£99

Day trip

London to Weymouth

Mixed

9th July
The Golden Age Of Travel

£325

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

12th July
Arran and Kintyre

£1,695

6 days

London to northwest Scotland

Mixed

13th July
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

15th July
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

16th July
The Dinner

£360

Evening

Round trip

Unknown

17th July
The Cheshireman

£99

Day trip

London to Chester

Steam

18th July
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£280

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

18th July
London to Salisbury

£79

Day trip

London to Salisbury Cathedral

Steam

20th July
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

22nd July
The Kentish Belle

£99

Day trip

London to Canterbury and Margate

Steam

22nd July
English Lake District

£1,395

7 days

London to the Lake District

Mixed

24th July
The Elizabethan

£370

3 days

London to Scotland

Mixed

24th July
The West Somerset Steam Express

£99

Day trip

London to the Quantock Hills

Steam

24th July
The Golden Age Of Travel

£395

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey Hills

Steam

26th July
The Western Isles

£2,099

8 days

London to northwestern Scotland

Mixed

27th July
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

30th July
Glorious Goodwood

£600

Day trip

London to Goodwood Racecourse

Unknown

31st July
London to Weymouth

£109

Day trip

London to Weymouth

Steam

August 2021

1st Aug
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

3rd Aug
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

4th Aug
Historic Oxford

£425

Day trip

London to Oxford

Unknown

4th Aug
Blenheim Palace

£425

Day trip

London to Blenheim Palace

Unknown

5th Aug
The Dorset Coast Express

£99

Day trip

London to Weymouth

Steam

7th Aug
The Aln Valley Venturer

£98.50

Day trip

London to Alnmouth via Newcastle

Unknown

10th Aug
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

12th Aug
The Far North and Orkney

£1,595

8 days

London to northern Scotland

Mixed

14th Aug
The West Somerset Steam Express

£99

Day trip

London to the Quantock Hills

Steam

14th Aug
The West Country Explorer

£1,275

5 days

London to the West Country

Mixed

17th Aug
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

19th Aug
The Dorset Coast Express

£99

Day trip

London to Weymouth

Steam

20th Aug
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

21st Aug
The Cotswold Venturer

£99

Day trip

London to Worcester

Steam

24th Aug
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

26th Aug
The Cock O’the North

£1,695

6 days

London to northern Scotland

Mixed

28th Aug
London to Cambridge & Great Yarmouth

£109

Day trip

London to Great Yarmouth via Cambridge

Steam

31st Aug
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

September 2021

2nd Sept
GBRf 2021

TBA

4 days

Around the UK

Diesel

2nd Sept
The Dorset Coast Express

£99

Day trip

London to Weymouth

Steam

3rd Sept
The East Anglian

£1,595

6 days

London to East Anglia

Mixed

3rd Sept
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

8th Sept
Severn Valley Enterprise

£99

Day trip

London to Kidderminster for a trip over the Severn Valley Railway

Steam

8th Sept
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey

Unknown

9th Sept
The Swanage Belle

£99

Day trip

London to Southampton via Swanage

Mixed

10th Sept
The Golden Age Of Travel

£395

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey Hills

Steam

11th Sept
The Golden Arrow

£99

Day trip

London to Canterbury and Dover

Steam

13th Sept
Devon Belle

£370

2 days

London to Devon coast

Steam

13th Sept
The Summer Highlander

£1,530

6 days

London to Inverness

Mixed

14th Sept
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

16th Sept
English Lake District

£1,395

5 days

London to the Lake District

Mixed

17th Sept
The Shetlander

£1,725

7 days

London to Shetland Islands

Mixed

19th Sept
London to Chichester & Goodwood Revival

£89

Day trip

London to Goodwood racecourse

Steam

21st Sept
The Sunset Steam Express

£59

Evening

Round trip via the Surrey Hills

Steam

22nd Sept
Historic Bath

£425

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

22nd Sept
Longleat

£425

Day trip

London to Longleat House

Unknown

23rd Sept
London to Highgrove, Lydney & Cardiff

£119

Day trip

London to Cardiff (and Highgrove)

Steam

24th Sept
The Dinner

£405

Evening

Round trip

Unknown

October 2021

1st Oct
The Golden Age Of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

6th Oct
Bristol & Brunel’s SS Great Britain

£500

Day trip

London to Bristol

Steam

6th Oct
Historic Bath

£500

Day trip

London to Bath

Steam

8th Oct
Murder Mystery Lunch

£340

Afternoon

Round trip with a murder mystery twist

Unknown

9th Oct
The Settle & Carlisle Explorer

£99

Day trip

London to the Settle Viaduct

HST

15th Oct
The Dinner

£405

Evening

Round trip

Unknown

16th Oct
The Yorkshireman

£99

Day trip

London to York

Mixed

20th Oct
Historic Bath

£425

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

29th Oct
The Golden Age Of Travel

£395

Afternoon

Round trip via Surrey Hills

Steam

30th Oct
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

30th Oct
Blackpool Illuminations

£99

Day trip

London to Blackpool

HST

November 2021

3rd Nov
Historic Bath

£425

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

12th Nov
The Golden Age of Travel

£340

Afternoon

Round trip via Kent

Unknown

14th Nov
Champagne Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

19th Nov
Murder Mystery Lunch

£340

Afternoon

Round trip with a murder mystery twist

Unknown

20th Nov
The Golden Age Of Travel

£365

Day trip

Round trip via Surrey Hills

Steam

20th Nov
The Cheshireman

£99

Day trip

London to Chester

Steam

25th Nov
The Christmas Sussex Belle

£99

Day trip

London to the Sussex coast

Mixed

26th Nov
Winchester Christmas Market

£435

Day trip

London to Winchester

Unknown

27th Nov
The York Yuletide Express

£109

Day trip

London to York

Steam

December 2021

1st Dec
Bath at Christmas

£435

Day trip

London to Bath

Unknown

2nd Dec
Christmas Lunch

£420

Afternoon

Round trip

Steam

3rd Dec
Festive Afternoon Tea

£315

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

4th Dec
The Lincoln Christmas Express

£99

Day trip

London to Lincoln

Steam

4th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£380

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

5th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£380

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

7th Dec
The Bath and Bristol Christmas Express

£99

Day trip

London to Bristol stopping at Bath

Steam

7th Dec
Canterbury Christmas Carols

£435

Day trip

London to Canterbury

Unknown

8th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£380

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

9th Dec
Salisbury Carols

£435

Day trip

London to Salisbury

Unknown

10th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£380

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

11th Dec
The Birmingham and Shrewsbury Christmas Express

£99

Day trip

London to Shrewsbury stopping at Birmingham

Steam

11th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£420

Afternoon

Round trip

Steam

11th Dec
The North Wales Coast Explorer

£99

London to Crewe

HST

16th Dec
Canterbury Christmas Carols

£435

Day trip

London to Canterbury

Unknown

17th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£380

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

17th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£375

Afternoon

Round trip

Steam

18th Dec
The Christmas White Rose

£109

Day trip

London to York

Steam

18th Dec
Christmas Lunch

£380

Afternoon

Round trip

Unknown

31st Dec
New Year’s Eve Dinner

£405

Evening

Round trip

Unknown

Incidentally, only one of the tour operators offers a search filter by departure town, which seems an odd omission, and made compiling this list considerably more onerous than it should have been.

There are also the many heritage lines that have their own dedicated railways around the UK to consider if you fancy those.

And finally, there’s a new regular steam shuttle running between London Waterloo and Windsor in the summer months.

List of UK heritage train tour operators
A1 Steam (Tornado)
Belmond British Pullman
Charity Railtours
GBRf Charity Railtours
Hastings Diesels
Intercity
Midland Pullman
Nenta Traintours
Northern Belle
Pathfinder Railtours
Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust
Rail Charter Services
Railway Touring Company
Retro Railtours
Royal Windsor Steam Express
Saltburn Railtours
Saphos Tours
Scottish Railway Preservation Society
Statesman
Steam Dreams
Sunset Steam Express
UK Railtours
Vintage trains
West Coast Railways