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Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides

Description:

"Easy-going, discursive and digressive, even those to whom trains are a closed timetable will find this a charming travelogue." - Stuart Maconie

Join travel writer and self-confessed "train nut" Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways on a zigzagging tour around the UK - where trains (proudly) began

In a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings started moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with engine-powered wheels. The contraption was called a "train". What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the worldwide railway revolution. Today, 1.3 million miles of tracks crisscross the planet.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of this groundbreaking event, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a journey around the country that invented trains, taking in many heritage lines maintained by armies of enthusiasts. On a long, circular series of rides beginning and ending in Darlington, Chesshyre enjoys the scenery, seeks out the history, dodges delays (best he can), reports on the current (often shambolic) state of British railways, and lets the rhythm of the clattering tracks reveal what it is about trains - especially wonderful old trains - that we love so much.

Read more

Review

Easy-going, discursive and digressive, even those to whom trains are a closed timetable will find this a charming travelogue. ― Stuart Maconie, author of The Full English: A Journey in Search of a Country and its People

What a pleasure to share this railway odyssey with Tom Chesshyre, whose intrepid wanderings and wry observations present an engaging portrait of Britain in 143 trains. ― Simon Bradley, rail historian and author of Bradley’s Railway Guide

This is a book to inspire even the most sluggish of armchair travellers. Not only a paeon to the many deep pleasures of train travel, it is full of practical details, hearty enthusiasm and quirky observations. In his 143 circular train visits all over Britain, Tom Chesshyre meets passengers, railway workers, bureaucrats and trainspotters, and listens to their stories of eccentric hobbies as well as their struggles with red-tape and timetabling and making things work. And although he conveys beautifully the romance of the golden age of steam travel, he never wallows in nostalgia, taking an infectious delight, for example, in the many Wetherspoons pubs he finds in railway stations all over the country. ― Lucy Lethbridge, author of Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves

Seasoned traveller that he is, Chesshyre still manages to give a fresh perspective to every new discovery on his journey round the nooks and crannies of the British rail network. ― Christian Wolmar, author of Blood, Iron & Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World

A splendid reminder that all (rail) roads lead to Darlington and that, as with food, so with trains: speed can be greatly overrated. Two hundred years on from the dawn of the railway, Tom Chesshyre brilliantly captures the enduring appeal of George Stephenson's world-changing creation. A must-read bicentennial tribute from a self-confessed railway 'nut' who is, mercifully, neither nerd nor trainspotter. ― Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.

Tom Chesshyre has a gift for transforming the seemingly mundane world of trains into a thrilling ride. Slow Trains Around Britain left me itching to grab a ticket and set off on my own cross-country rail adventure. ― George Mahood, author of Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

Mr Chesshyre has a perceptive ear, an antenna for gentle comedy and a knack for enlivening the mundane -- Kate Green ― Country Life

"Absorbing... richly illustrates the place railways continue to occupy in the British national psyche [and] should be made available to the Secretary of State for Transport" -- Travis Elborough ― Times Literary Supplement

He is a connoisseur of railway conversations, making him a British Paul Theroux in that respect. ― Andrew Martin, readingontrains.substack.com

From the Back Cover

Join travel writer and self-confessed "train nut" Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways on a zigzagging tour around the UK - where trains (proudly) began.

In a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings started moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with engine-powered wheels. The contraption was called a "train". What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the wor

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good read

p.b. · 7 September 2025

Very good informative read

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read

L. · 31 August 2025

Granddad loved this book

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good

C.B. · 4 September 2025

I really enjoyed this account of the author travelling the railways of Britain and the very interesting history he uncovers on the 200th anniversary of railways in this country. Well worth reading but I picked up on some errors and typos. Page 88 said Queen Victoria made her first rail journey in 1942! Page 180, the Battle of Trafalgar against the Spanish and no mention of the French, Page 201 we have Ryde Pier Head station then it becomes Ryde Head Pier!. Page 236 says The River Colne is a tributary of the Thames, it isn't. Also he drinks a up of tea at one point!None of this detracts really from a very good, enjoyable read but just feel the mistakes are a shame as otherwise it's great! Would have given 5 stars if could but for the errors/typos.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about Britains railways and more

A. · 14 May 2025

Tom has produced another great book about train travel. It’s kind of what he, and a few others, do very well. I have read all of his books…they are not all about trains but they are all very good. So is this one…clearly it’s about British trains and he captures both the many parts of Britain he travels through and of course the trains on which he travels beautifully. He has a lovely knack of telling us interesting stuff whilst making us smirk at and engage with the people and places he travels through. Many were familiar to me which is nice in its own way but many were new…also nice…a wonderful book, highly recommended…I have read a lot of travel literature and a lot about railways too…Toms books are up there with the best of these…

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

V. · 30 September 2025

I bought this for my husband, and he's loving it (particularly as we're also watching Michael Portillo's new BBC series 200 Years of the Railways). I have this feeling we're going to be going on a lot of train journeys...(NB: The descriptions of some of the places in the book - eg Carlisle - are limited to what seems to be the worst hotel & worst pub in town, so not really showing a true picture of the place.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read & Highly Recommend

S.J. · 9 May 2025

A lovely book. Read on one long haul flight to the US west coast. Sadly a journey not possible by train! An engaging journey across disparate parts of Britain and brings to life the many benefits & joys of train travel. But maybe more so that great truism in life that it about the journey not the destination. Enjoy.

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit disappointing, much like a rail replacement service.

O.H. · 13 June 2025

I started to read this as soon as it came through the post but I just couldn’t get into it. For the most part it wasn’t quirky or amusing enough. There were some good bits with reference to run down hotels and Wetherspoons but it wasn’t like some of his other books. There are lots of books out there with people travelling the U.K. but this just didn’t stand out in my opinion.An easy read though.

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining.

A. · 6 August 2025

Definitely encourages you to get on a train but very little information about many of the places visited. Not a travel guide.

A good guide

B.N. · 2 August 2025

Comprehensive and compact

Excellent

P.H. · 4 August 2025

Excellent history of some of Britain's steam eailways.

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Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides

Product ID: K1837995273
Condition: New

4.5

AED15355

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Type: Hardcover
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

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Imported From: United Kingdom

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BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

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Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

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Visit the Summersdale Store

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides

Product ID: K1837995273
Condition: New

4.5

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides-0
Type: Hardcover

AED15355

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United Kingdom

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.

If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

All product information, images, descriptions, and reviews originate from the manufacturer or from trusted sellers overseas. BOLO is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized retailer for most brands listed on our website unless stated otherwise.

While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

Description:

"Easy-going, discursive and digressive, even those to whom trains are a closed timetable will find this a charming travelogue." - Stuart Maconie

Join travel writer and self-confessed "train nut" Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways on a zigzagging tour around the UK - where trains (proudly) began

In a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings started moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with engine-powered wheels. The contraption was called a "train". What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the worldwide railway revolution. Today, 1.3 million miles of tracks crisscross the planet.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of this groundbreaking event, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a journey around the country that invented trains, taking in many heritage lines maintained by armies of enthusiasts. On a long, circular series of rides beginning and ending in Darlington, Chesshyre enjoys the scenery, seeks out the history, dodges delays (best he can), reports on the current (often shambolic) state of British railways, and lets the rhythm of the clattering tracks reveal what it is about trains - especially wonderful old trains - that we love so much.

Read more

Review

Easy-going, discursive and digressive, even those to whom trains are a closed timetable will find this a charming travelogue. ― Stuart Maconie, author of The Full English: A Journey in Search of a Country and its People

What a pleasure to share this railway odyssey with Tom Chesshyre, whose intrepid wanderings and wry observations present an engaging portrait of Britain in 143 trains. ― Simon Bradley, rail historian and author of Bradley’s Railway Guide

This is a book to inspire even the most sluggish of armchair travellers. Not only a paeon to the many deep pleasures of train travel, it is full of practical details, hearty enthusiasm and quirky observations. In his 143 circular train visits all over Britain, Tom Chesshyre meets passengers, railway workers, bureaucrats and trainspotters, and listens to their stories of eccentric hobbies as well as their struggles with red-tape and timetabling and making things work. And although he conveys beautifully the romance of the golden age of steam travel, he never wallows in nostalgia, taking an infectious delight, for example, in the many Wetherspoons pubs he finds in railway stations all over the country. ― Lucy Lethbridge, author of Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves

Seasoned traveller that he is, Chesshyre still manages to give a fresh perspective to every new discovery on his journey round the nooks and crannies of the British rail network. ― Christian Wolmar, author of Blood, Iron & Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World

A splendid reminder that all (rail) roads lead to Darlington and that, as with food, so with trains: speed can be greatly overrated. Two hundred years on from the dawn of the railway, Tom Chesshyre brilliantly captures the enduring appeal of George Stephenson's world-changing creation. A must-read bicentennial tribute from a self-confessed railway 'nut' who is, mercifully, neither nerd nor trainspotter. ― Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.

Tom Chesshyre has a gift for transforming the seemingly mundane world of trains into a thrilling ride. Slow Trains Around Britain left me itching to grab a ticket and set off on my own cross-country rail adventure. ― George Mahood, author of Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

Mr Chesshyre has a perceptive ear, an antenna for gentle comedy and a knack for enlivening the mundane -- Kate Green ― Country Life

"Absorbing... richly illustrates the place railways continue to occupy in the British national psyche [and] should be made available to the Secretary of State for Transport" -- Travis Elborough ― Times Literary Supplement

He is a connoisseur of railway conversations, making him a British Paul Theroux in that respect. ― Andrew Martin, readingontrains.substack.com

From the Back Cover

Join travel writer and self-confessed "train nut" Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways on a zigzagging tour around the UK - where trains (proudly) began.

In a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings started moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with engine-powered wheels. The contraption was called a "train". What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the wor

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good read

p.b. · 7 September 2025

Very good informative read

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read

L. · 31 August 2025

Granddad loved this book

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good

C.B. · 4 September 2025

I really enjoyed this account of the author travelling the railways of Britain and the very interesting history he uncovers on the 200th anniversary of railways in this country. Well worth reading but I picked up on some errors and typos. Page 88 said Queen Victoria made her first rail journey in 1942! Page 180, the Battle of Trafalgar against the Spanish and no mention of the French, Page 201 we have Ryde Pier Head station then it becomes Ryde Head Pier!. Page 236 says The River Colne is a tributary of the Thames, it isn't. Also he drinks a up of tea at one point!None of this detracts really from a very good, enjoyable read but just feel the mistakes are a shame as otherwise it's great! Would have given 5 stars if could but for the errors/typos.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about Britains railways and more

A. · 14 May 2025

Tom has produced another great book about train travel. It’s kind of what he, and a few others, do very well. I have read all of his books…they are not all about trains but they are all very good. So is this one…clearly it’s about British trains and he captures both the many parts of Britain he travels through and of course the trains on which he travels beautifully. He has a lovely knack of telling us interesting stuff whilst making us smirk at and engage with the people and places he travels through. Many were familiar to me which is nice in its own way but many were new…also nice…a wonderful book, highly recommended…I have read a lot of travel literature and a lot about railways too…Toms books are up there with the best of these…

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

V. · 30 September 2025

I bought this for my husband, and he's loving it (particularly as we're also watching Michael Portillo's new BBC series 200 Years of the Railways). I have this feeling we're going to be going on a lot of train journeys...(NB: The descriptions of some of the places in the book - eg Carlisle - are limited to what seems to be the worst hotel & worst pub in town, so not really showing a true picture of the place.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read & Highly Recommend

S.J. · 9 May 2025

A lovely book. Read on one long haul flight to the US west coast. Sadly a journey not possible by train! An engaging journey across disparate parts of Britain and brings to life the many benefits & joys of train travel. But maybe more so that great truism in life that it about the journey not the destination. Enjoy.

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit disappointing, much like a rail replacement service.

O.H. · 13 June 2025

I started to read this as soon as it came through the post but I just couldn’t get into it. For the most part it wasn’t quirky or amusing enough. There were some good bits with reference to run down hotels and Wetherspoons but it wasn’t like some of his other books. There are lots of books out there with people travelling the U.K. but this just didn’t stand out in my opinion.An easy read though.

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining.

A. · 6 August 2025

Definitely encourages you to get on a train but very little information about many of the places visited. Not a travel guide.

A good guide

B.N. · 2 August 2025

Comprehensive and compact

Excellent

P.H. · 4 August 2025

Excellent history of some of Britain's steam eailways.

Similar suggestions by Bolo

More from this brand

Similar items from “Railways”

Share with

Or share with link

https://www.bolo.ae/products/K1837995273