All Line Rover- Inspiration for routes (origin: MAN)

[NorthernUser]

Hi all

I've decided to treat myself to a long awaited All Lines Rover (1st) in July and will be starting my journey from Manchester Piccadilly on a Saturday- I just wanted to tap into the experience of my fellow enthusiasts for any ideas/inspiration on how to make the most out of the ticket- especially the first class offering- any recommendations or itinerary ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Some parameters I was hoping to apply:
- Travelling mainly in England/Wales, as I intend to do a separate tour of Scotland on their separate rover/Spirit of Scotland due to the journey times (I will likely use the sleeper service for the novelty as part of the All Lines Rover)
- Origin is Manchester Piccadilly, happy to stay over in hotels and don't plan to return to and from home during the week.
- I'd like to explore the South West as it is an area I've never been to, but want to also visit other areas too.
- I'd like to maximise the benefit of the ticket/freedom, and mileage traveled if possible with evenings or a couple of hours at key locations

Ideas so far:
- WCML 1st class Manchester Piccadilly- Euston/Paddington- Penzance with GWR (night/rest of day in Penzance/visit Land's End)
- ECML 1st class Kings Cross- Inverness- Aberdeen
- Heart of Wales line / Marshes route in Wales, maybe go to the Heritage railways in Snowdonia
- Rural branch lines in Cornwall/Devon/Dorset and along the South Coast incorporating Isle of Wight.

Any thoughts or ideas appreciated- if you've done an All line Rover before, I'd be interested to hear your experiences. I have extensively searched and read previous threads, but if there's any you feel would answer the above, please let me know!

Thanks all

 

[railfan99]

Many years ago on a trip from Australia, I managed to do all the branches from Penzance to Plymouth in a day.

From memory, Newquay was boring (but has some freight interest): I lacked time to explore the beach.

Gunnislake and Looe (the latter revisited in 2023) were excellent.

Falmouth Town/Docks? was OK. In 2023 at Truro (when it still had semaphore signalling), the GWR lady in the 1st class lounge said it had heavy school traffic: shortly after 0800 hours, I observed in excess of 100 alighting from a peak period morning weekday unit.

I also revisited St Erth - St Ives in 2023: beautiful. A meal in the town was pleasant. The beach was impressive.

A highlight was travelling on your 100kmh/60mph 'units' (green railcars) rocketing along the main line.

So please do them all.

In September 2023, the HOWL was terrific. A bonus was the ability to visit semaphore-signalled Shrewsbury.

Could I also recommend Newcastle UK to Carlisle, perhaps overnighting at Hexham as I did. Very scenic. Well patronised. Most enjoyable.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@NorthernUser. As you will have a First Class All Line Rover, would you prefer to concentrate primarily on routes that do offer first class accommodation? Did Manchester Piccadilly to Southampton Central (both ways) in first class with X Country a few years ago, and considered the experience / route to be most agreeable.

 

[Lee_Again]

If you're doing Scotland on another trip I'd avoid LNER to INV/ABD on this occasion. They are great trips but will burn hours.
Instead, maybe start with MAN to Edinburgh, via East Coast, then across to Glasgow Qu St, then GLA to London. Then use the sleeper to Penzance before making your way back to Plymouth and include some/all of the branches. Plymouth is a great base to start a day for longer trips to the South Coast, London, Midlands or Wales. This wouldn't work on a Saturday as the sleeper doesn't run Saturday evenings. But you get the idea...!
The North Wales/Cardiff express is a 'must' given the high quality First Class service. Check the timetable to ensure you position well. Hotels in Plymouth and Cardiff are plentiful and reasonable.
If you've done the ECML and/or WCML before, or happy to wait until the Scotland trip for those routes, then Glasgow to London via Dumfries, Settle, Leeds, Sheffield, Leicester is a more interesting and scenic option (but no 1st on Carlisle to Settle - not sure about Dumfries).
A great line for scenic value is Swindon to Cheltenham/Gloucester... be sure to get a FGW IET for 1st Class. Surely you've done Manchester to Sheffield and/or Leeds... have you done Manchester to Leeds via Hebden Bridge. Some of the minor routes in Wales are fantastic but very little in 1st.

 

[mike57]

I haven't used an all line rover, but have travelled extensively around the UK by rail for both business and pleasure.

As others have said, although very scenic the northern Scottish routes are going to burn a lot of time.

A few IMO underrated routes:
Reading - Redhill, the 'North Downs line'

Ashford - Hastings, a totally different feel to typical SE lines.

Our home line, Hull - Scarborough passes Beverley Minster, across Holderness, Bridlington, cliffs and sea views north of Brid briefly then over the chalk Wolds to Filey and Scarborough, then return to 'civilisation' via Malton to York, following Ryedale and then the River Derwent past the ruins of Kirkham Abbey and crossing the Ouse with views over York coming in to York.

Another thought, Sheffield - Derby via the 'Old Road' a few EM trains earlier and later in the day follow this route I assume to retain route knowledge for diversions.

 

[sh24]

Strong recommendation to make GWR Pullman Dining part of your trip.

Pullman Dining train | Book the ultimate train dining experience online | Great Western Railway

Experience one of the finest train dining experiences with GWR Pullman Dining. Savor gourmet cuisine and luxury service as you travel in first-class comfort.

www.gwr.com

It costs more, but is so very much worth it. Bowling along the Dawlish seawall on a summers evening finishing off your cheese accompanied with a glass of port is an top notch experience.

 

[Iskra]

The St Ives branch is a must and GWR Pullman dining if you can manage it and from Manchester the TfW loco hauled would make a lot of sense. TP on the WCML North have proper first class catering now too, so possibly worth a try.

 

[Trainguy34]

Strong recommendation to make GWR Pullman Dining part of your trip.

Pullman Dining train | Book the ultimate train dining experience online | Great Western Railway

Experience one of the finest train dining experiences with GWR Pullman Dining. Savor gourmet cuisine and luxury service as you travel in first-class comfort.

www.gwr.com

It costs more,

Just out of interest, how much is it roughly, it doesn't seem to say? (May be a hint but you never know!)

EDIT: Looked like the tab was playing up, found it!

 

[NorthernUser]

Many years ago on a trip from Australia, I managed to do all the branches from Penzance to Plymouth in a day.

From memory, Newquay was boring (but has some freight interest): I lacked time to explore the beach.

Gunnislake and Looe (the latter revisited in 2023) were excellent.

Falmouth Town/Docks? was OK. In 2023 at Truro (when it still had semaphore signalling), the GWR lady in the 1st class lounge said it had heavy school traffic: shortly after 0800 hours, I observed in excess of 100 alighting from a peak period morning weekday unit.

I also revisited St Erth - St Ives in 2023: beautiful. A meal in the town was pleasant. The beach was impressive.

A highlight was travelling on your 100kmh/60mph 'units' (green railcars) rocketing along the main line.

So please do them all.

In September 2023, the HOWL was terrific. A bonus was the ability to visit semaphore-signalled Shrewsbury.

Could I also recommend Newcastle UK to Carlisle, perhaps overnighting at Hexham as I did. Very scenic. Well patronised. Most enjoyable.

Thanks Railfan99 - I have always wanted to visit Looe/along the old branch lines with semaphores, etc, I'll add it to the list!

@NorthernUser. As you will have a First Class All Line Rover, would you prefer to concentrate primarily on routes that do offer first class accommodation? Did Manchester Piccadilly to Southampton Central (both ways) in first class with X Country a few years ago, and considered the experience / route to be most agreeable.

Good question- I'd be happy to travel standard class, just conscious of the need to get some value out of the upgrade price. Mind you, I suspect in comparison with an off peak single walk up fare in 1st, I'd only need to make around 4-5 first class journeys to make up the difference and then some with the access to lounges etc.

If you're doing Scotland on another trip I'd avoid LNER to INV/ABD on this occasion. They are great trips but will burn hours.
Instead, maybe start with MAN to Edinburgh, via East Coast, then across to Glasgow Qu St, then GLA to London. Then use the sleeper to Penzance before making your way back to Plymouth and include some/all of the branches. Plymouth is a great base to start a day for longer trips to the South Coast, London, Midlands or Wales. This wouldn't work on a Saturday as the sleeper doesn't run Saturday evenings. But you get the idea...!
The North Wales/Cardiff express is a 'must' given the high quality First Class service. Check the timetable to ensure you position well. Hotels in Plymouth and Cardiff are plentiful and reasonable.
If you've done the ECML and/or WCML before, or happy to wait until the Scotland trip for those routes, then Glasgow to London via Dumfries, Settle, Leeds, Sheffield, Leicester is a more interesting and scenic option (but no 1st on Carlisle to Settle - not sure about Dumfries).
A great line for scenic value is Swindon to Cheltenham/Gloucester... be sure to get a FGW IET for 1st Class. Surely you've done Manchester to Sheffield and/or Leeds... have you done Manchester to Leeds via Hebden Bridge. Some of the minor routes in Wales are fantastic but very little in 1st.

Thanks Lee_again agreed on Aberdeen/Inverness, they are further than I think! Good shout about Edinburgh via East Coast not a route I've done before, normally only routed via Carlisle. I used to live in Skipton so well familiar with the Calder Valley and S&C routes, definitely worth a revisit at some point though. I will have to revise RealTimeTrains to determine which trains are best for first class, I think the 1430 from Piccadilly used to be the posh mk4 train, but not sure. I'm familiar with all the routes directly out of Manchester except for the Marshes line beyond Shrewsbury. Thanks for the suggestions! I definitely intend to make use of the sleeper to Penzance, as well as Edinburgh probably with hotels in-between.

I haven't used an all line rover, but have travelled extensively around the UK by rail for both business and pleasure.

As others have said, although very scenic the northern Scottish routes are going to burn a lot of time.

A few IMO underrated routes:
Reading - Redhill, the 'North Downs line'

Ashford - Hastings, a totally different feel to typical SE lines.

Our home line, Hull - Scarborough passes Beverley Minster, across Holderness, Bridlington, cliffs and sea views north of Brid briefly then over the chalk Wolds to Filey and Scarborough, then return to 'civilisation' via Malton to York, following Ryedale and then the River Derwent past the ruins of Kirkham Abbey and crossing the Ouse with views over York coming in to York.

Another thought, Sheffield - Derby via the 'Old Road' a few EM trains earlier and later in the day follow this route I assume to retain route knowledge for diversions.

Thanks for this, mike57, I'll add these to the itinerary- I've not been to many areas in the SE either, so it'll be good to get around there. I will take onboard the advice on the Scottish routes, and have decided to do a spirit of Scotland at a later date, possibly Sept dependent on the weather.

Strong recommendation to make GWR Pullman Dining part of your trip.

Pullman Dining train | Book the ultimate train dining experience online | Great Western Railway

Experience one of the finest train dining experiences with GWR Pullman Dining. Savor gourmet cuisine and luxury service as you travel in first-class comfort.

www.gwr.com

It costs more, but is so very much worth it. Bowling along the Dawlish seawall on a summers evening finishing off your cheese accompanied with a glass of port is an top notch experience.

Thanks sh24, I didn't know this was a thing, but £37-44 for a meal sounds reasonable and the menu looks lush! I'll add it to the list- thanks!

The St Ives branch is a must and GWR Pullman dining if you can manage it and from Manchester the TfW loco hauled would make a lot of sense. TP on the WCML North have proper first class catering now too, so possibly worth a try.

Thanks Iskra, I will certainly try and get the mk4 to Cardiff if it isn't a 150XXX knowing my luck it probably will be haha!

Thanks all for your responses- really good ideas from all of you, so thank you!
Some great ideas to add, but any further suggestions as always greatly appreciated.

I presume you can book these tickets in advance at a booking office? I am looking forward to the freedom of it all.

 

[Bevan Price]

Avoid hotels in London area - can be mega-expensive. You are likely to find better value at seaside resorts. Don't rule out B&B places - some can be at least as good as well-known chain hotels.

From Manchester, you can reach Ffestiniog & Welsh Highliand lines using a Coast & Peaks Rover plus bus connections (e.g. from Bangor) - better to save your all-line rover for longer journeys.