ECML - which side has the best views?

[TXMISTA]

I will be travelling on LNER from King's Cross to Edinburgh in the near future. It's my first time in many years travelling on the ECML and I was wondering what side of the train I should be sat on for the best views?

 

[xotGD]

The East (righthand) side.

Durham castle and cathedral. Northumberland coast. Plenty more.

 

[TXMISTA]

The East (righthand) side.

Durham castle and cathedral. Northumberland coast. Plenty more.

Thanks a lot!

 

[tbtc]

IMHO the ECML is pretty unremarkable south of York (not knocking it, but it's fairly flat countryside, not much to make much of a difference which side you sit on, other than there's sometimes something interesting in the sidings on the western side of Doncaster station, but you may not see them too well depending on whether the train passes through at speed/ whether the other platforms are occupied)

Eastern side:
York Minster, as you leave York
The hills of the North Yorkshire Moors in the distance as you zoom through Northallerton etc
Durham (the view as you pass through the station, the contrast between the tightly packed terraced houses crammed on a hillside with the castle/ cathedral at the top of the hill, the River Wear snaking around Durham to make the land very a great place to defend hundreds of years ago but also forcing everything together into a limited space)
Chester le Street looks a lot better to the east of the train, as you pass over the town
Angel Of The North (high on the hill, a minute after you pass the greyhound track at Birtley)
A really niche one, but I loved the terraced houses of Gateshead, as a child. Growing up on a modern housing estate, the terraces off Saltwell Road felt exotic, like watching (1980s sitcom "Bread") - they've been partly knocked down/modernised since, but I was captivated by them as a lad
Better view over the Tyne as you leave County Durham and enter Northumberland (both sides look good, but there are more bridges to the east, including the Metro services that sometimes "race" you across the river, so I find it more interesting)
Heaton (as you leave Newcastle)
Lindisfarne (on a clear day)
Spittal beach as you near Berwick
Better view over the Tweed (again, like Gateshead/Newcastle, both sides of the train are good, but there's more to the east hand side, as the train curves from Tweedmouth into central Berwick, the Tweed looks good at high tide and low tide)
The clifftop view of the North Sea as you cross the border (although the sign welcoming you into Scotland is in the "blink and you'll miss it" category!)
The view over the Firth of Forth to Fife, you leave Edinburgh behind and head through East Lothian

Western side:
Craigentinny
Arthur's Seat

So the eastern side is a clear winner IMHO, but there's still better views from the western side of the train north of York than there are from either side of the train south of York - hope you have a great journey and the sun shines for you

 

[Ken H]

IMHO the ECML is pretty unremarkable south of York (not knocking it, but it's fairly flat countryside, not much to make much of a difference which side you sit on, other than there's sometimes something interesting in the sidings on the western side of Doncaster station, but you may not see them too well depending on whether the train passes through at speed/ whether the other platforms are occupied)

Eastern side:
York Minster, as you leave York
The hills of the North Yorkshire Moors in the distance as you zoom through Northallerton etc
Durham (the view as you pass through the station, the contrast between the tightly packed terraced houses crammed on a hillside with the castle/ cathedral at the top of the hill, the River Wear snaking around Durham to make the land very a great place to defend hundreds of years ago but also forcing everything together into a limited space)
Chester le Street looks a lot better to the east of the train, as you pass over the town
Angel Of The North (high on the hill, a minute after you pass the greyhound track at Birtley)
A really niche one, but I loved the terraced houses of Gateshead, as a child. Growing up on a modern housing estate, the terraces off Saltwell Road felt exotic, like watching (1980s sitcom "Bread") - they've been partly knocked down/modernised since, but I was captivated by them as a lad
Better view over the Tyne as you leave County Durham and enter Northumberland (both sides look good, but there are more bridges to the east, including the Metro services that sometimes "race" you across the river, so I find it more interesting)
Heaton (as you leave Newcastle)
Lindisfarne (on a clear day)
Spittal beach as you near Berwick
Better view over the Tweed (again, like Gateshead/Newcastle, both sides of the train are good, but there's more to the east hand side, as the train curves from Tweedmouth into central Berwick, the Tweed looks good at high tide and low tide)
The clifftop view of the North Sea as you cross the border (although the sign welcoming you into Scotland is in the "blink and you'll miss it" category!)
The view over the Firth of Forth to Fife, you leave Edinburgh behind and head through East Lothian

Western side:
Craigentinny
Arthur's Seat

So the eastern side is a clear winner IMHO, but there's still better views from the western side of the train north of York than there are from either side of the train south of York - hope you have a great journey and the sun shines for you

Near Thirsk you will see the white horse of kilburn. Again east side. West side you can see the Dales which are nicer than Nothing York Moors (I am biased!)

East side again but the glimpse of Alnmouth is worth a look. Before you get to Alnmouth Station.

 

[Marton]

I believe that the original LNER had corridor stock arranged to have the compartment on the East.

On the views. There used to be Peterborough Cathedral visible I’m sure. A concrete shopping centre is now in the way.

Further north the Scott designed Parish Church (an American once asked me if it was Lincoln Cathedral!) is, for normal tourists, better than the loco shed and carriage works. Some may wish to see Grantham for its links with a certain politician.

Lindisfarne can be seen on the East as can Newcastle Castle.

 

[greyman42]

Just North of Alnmouth, to the East, there is a installation that appears to be high security. Does anyone know what it is?

 

[xotGD]

Just North of Alnmouth, to the East, there is a installation that appears to be high security. Does anyone know what it is?

RAF Boulmer

 

[Marton]

Just North of Alnmouth, to the East, there is a installation that appears to be high security. Does anyone know what it is?

RAF Boulmer? Never noticed it myself.

 

[XAM2175]

Durham (the view as you pass through the station, the contrast between the tightly packed terraced houses crammed on a hillside with the castle/ cathedral at the top of the hill, the River Wear snaking around Durham to make the land very a great place to defend hundreds of years ago but also forcing everything together into a limited space)

A really niche one, but I loved the terraced houses of Gateshead, as a child. Growing up on a modern housing estate, the terraces off Saltwell Road felt exotic, like watching (1980s sitcom "Bread") - they've been partly knocked down/modernised since, but I was captivated by them as a lad

Two of my favourites as well!

I was also about to add that a niche west-side view I enjoy is seeing the Emley Moor transmitting tower as you pass through Wakefield, but then I remembered that you won't do that on your way to Edinburgh

 

[30907]

On the views. There used to be Peterborough Cathedral visible I’m sure. A concrete shopping centre is now in the way.

Easily visible approaching from London.

Quite unusual IMO for such a long distance route to have such a preponderance of views to one side.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

All I can immediately think of to see on the left hand side is the Alexandra Palace.

 

[swt_passenger]

RAF Boulmer? Never noticed it myself.

I’d suggest that’s because there’s much less to see than a few years ago, there used to be a couple of fairly massive rotating radar aerials, but the newer radar technology firstly got smaller, and then they resited the main radar further inland and somewhat higher, just west of Alnwick. The majority of the important stuff is buried underground. But it’s still possibly one of the most important RAF operational sites in the whole country.

 

[xotGD]

From the left hand side you can see where I was born and where I used to live.

Also the National Railway Museum, which might have some steam locos parked up outside.

 

[greyman42]

All I can immediately think of to see on the left hand side is the Alexandra Palace.

There is a landfill site just before Dunbar!

 

[Ken H]

Not been down the ECML for years. Have all the brick kilns round Peterborough gone?

 

[D6130]

There is a landfill site just before Dunbar!

That's the worked-out limestone quarry for the adjacent Oxwellmains cement works. The currently-used quarry is on the East side of the line....between it and the sea. A couple of miles South of the cement works you will pass the rather sinister-looking Torness nuclear power station and its high-security siding for loading and unloading nuclear flasks. Just past Dunbar you can see the elegant tapering kilns of the Belhaven Brewery and a bit further on the towering masses of the Bass Rock, surrounded by sea, and North Berwick Law, on land. Approaching Longniddry, you will pass the ruins of Redhouse Castle and between Longniddry and Prestonpans, the medieval Seton Collegiate Church.

Returning to the Southern part of the route, other sights not yet mentioned on the East side of the line include:
Hatfield House - just South of the station.
St Andrew's Church, Woodwalton - in the middle of nowhere a few minutes North of Huntingdon (the prototype for the Hornby village church model).
St Wulfram's Church, Grantham - just North of the station, with its tall, elegant Gothic spire (and the Belmont Arch on the hill in the background).
Lincoln Cathedral - visible on its hilltop about 15 miles from the line from various points between Newark and Tuxford.
Cottam (closed) and West Burton power stations - between Newark and Retford.
Doncaster Minster - just North of the station.
Drax Power Station - between Doncaster and York.
The Sidings Restaurant and Hotel - consisting of old Mark 1 carriages and situated lineside about 5 miles North of York.
Otterington station museum - between Thirsk and York, with its restored signal box and wierdly-painted Mark 2 carriage.
Penshaw Monument - looking like a soot-blackened ancient Greek temple on the horizon a few miles East of Chester-le-Street.
Warkworth Castle - sticking up through the trees mid-way between Widdrington and Alnmouth.
Dunstanburgh Castle - the ruins of which can be briefly glimpsed across the fields a few miles North of Alnmouth.
Bamburgh Castle - on its rocky hill, can be seen looking backwards for several miles along the coast when passing Lindisfarne.
Reston Central new station (Duns and Chirnside Parkway?) almost ready to open in a one street village in the middle of nowhere.

....and finally, the sealed-up and by-passed remains of Penmanshiel Tunnel - just North of Grantshouse loops (the highest point on the line), which collapsed while being enlarged in 1979, resulting in the deaths of two men, whose bodies are permanently entombed within. There is a small monument nearby.

Which brings us back to where we began....

 

[greyman42]

Lincoln Cathedral - visible on its hilltop about 15 miles from the line from various points between Newark and Tuxford.

I never knew that! I am surprised it has not cropped up somewhere on the forum before now. Is it easily visible or only on a very clear day?

 

[Merthyr Imp]

I must say I've never seen Lincoln Cathedral from the main line north of Newark, although admittedly I don't go that way very often. But I would say that at best it's not very noticeable.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I never knew that! I am surprised it has not cropped up somewhere on the forum before now. Is it easily visible or only on a very clear day?

It has been mentioned before, but some time ago.

It's not visible if it's a misty day, and it's better seen if it's winter rather than summer for reason of leaves on intervening trees reducing the opportunity to see it. You do need to know exactly where to look, though.