A New Tour for 2021: The Welsh Dragon

In September 2021, join us on this new tour which takes in the most beautiful railway lines in Wales. You will have three nights and two whole days exploring Snowdonia and North Wales to enjoy time at the internationally famous Italianate village of Portmeirion, visit beautiful houses and gardens or indulge your passion for steam with visits to the many great little railways of North Wales.

Fill in a form here to receive an email quote for your holiday.

Saturday 4^th – Wednesday 8^th September 2021

Highlights

• Journey over Barmouth Bridge and The Cambrian Coast
• The North Wales Coast
• The Welsh Marches

Day 1 – Saturday 4th September – London to Shrewsbury via the Welsh Marches

We depart, steam hauled with steam locomotive 61306 Mayflower, from London Paddington in the morning for an express run along the Great Western Main Line towards the Welsh Border.

Leaving England we are soon travelling along one of the most beautiful and lesser known routes in Southern Britain, hugging the ever widening Severn Estuary. Sit back and enjoy the relaxed pace of steam-hauled travel as we head into Wales with a brief stop at Gloucester before heading on towards the far West of the country.

At Newport we begin our journey over the beautiful Welsh Marches route with spectacular views of the Black Mountains including the famous Sugar Loaf. We travel through South Wales and pass Ludlow and Hereford before reaching Shrewsbury.

We will chug into the market town of Shrewsbury by the evening before settling into our hotels for the night.

Day 2 – Sunday 5th September – Shrewsbury to Pwllheli

After breakfast in the hotels, there will be time to explore Shrewsbury’s medieval streets and the Abbey and Castle before we depart, diesel hauled, for one of the most beautiful journeys in Britain. We travel up through the mountains of mid-Wales before we descend down to the West side of the country to Machynlleth, shortly before we reach the coastline of the Irish Sea. For the rest of our journey we are never more than a short distance from the sea as we climb up and down cliffs – a dramatic backdrop for those enjoying their lunch. We then cross the world famous two-mile-long Barmouth Bridge past the ancient capital of Wales, Harlech, and turn sharply west towards the LLeyn peninsular passing Porthmadog before arriving in Pwlhelli. From here, passengers who have booked the holiday package will be transferred to hotels in Snowdonia.

Days 3 & 4 – 6th & 7th September – Exploring Snowdonia
Snowdonia has so many famous tourist places to visit that there really is something for everyone! For lovers of steam railways there are of course several of the famous Little Trains of Wales in the area including the Ffestiniog railway, Snowdon Mountain Railway and of course the relatively recent addition of the 24 mile long Welsh Highland Railway that cuts through Snowdonia from Porthmadog to Caernarfon. Please note that travelling on these railways as an excursion with Steam Dreams is now sold out.

Optional Excursions away from railways include visits to Bodnant Gardens and some of the beautiful castles of the region at Beaumaris and Penrhyn.

Day 5 – Wednesday 8th September – North Wales to London

We meet at Bangor or Llandudno Junction and set off, diesel hauled, along the North Wales Coast line. We travel eastwards along the shoreline with views to Snowdonia to the South before passing through Flint and back into England at Chester and south to Crewe. At Crewe we have a short stop of around 30 minutes to switch to steam with Jubilee Class 45596 Bahamas taking over from the diesel locomotive. Resuming our journey we head south back through Shrewsbury.

For the second half of the day passengers will enjoy a scenic journey by steam as we head across the stunning Welsh Marches with spectacular views of the Black Mountains including the famous Sugar Loaf. We pass Ludlow and Hereford to South Wales, crossing over the River Wye with Chepstow Castle in full view and past picture postcard views of the Bristol Channel. From here we head back along the Great Western Main Line to Reading and London Paddington as we did on day one, arriving in the late evening.

For more information, or to book, please call the Booking Office on 01483 209888.  Alternatively, fill in the form below to register your interest in the trip, and a member of the booking team will reply with your holiday quote.