Lonely Planet named Powys train ride among 'best in Europe'

The internationally famous travel guides have named the Powys line as one of the “best train rides in Europe” saying it is “Swansea to Shrewsbury the slow and, frankly, surreal way”.

The line has been ranked alongside some of the most picturesque lines in Europe such as Munich to Venice and the legendary Le Petit Train Jaune in the French Pyrenees.

The Lonely Planet reviewers said: “This is Swansea to Shrewsbury the slow and, frankly, surreal way. This one-carriage train traverses track through Wales and England that might easily have been consigned to a museum or an out-of-print book, but that has somehow defied time and logic to survive as a passenger route.

“Expect a spectrum of scenery, alternating from the sand-edged estuaries of South Wales, via bucolic farming towns and tracts of forest and hill country you probably never knew existed, through to one of England’s prettiest medieval cities.

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“This four-hour, 34-station zigzag passes almost no major sights or countryside villages, but a very high concentration of spectacularly zany ones.”

They said that the highlight of the journey was stopping off at “Sugar Loaf Station for a walk or picnic around the iconic nearby knoll of the same name” – famous for being one of the least used stations in the UK.

The Heart of Wales line was not the only UK journey to make the list. The Kyle of Lochlash line in Scotland which travels between Inverness and the Kyle of Lochlash also made the list while Settle to Carlisle was also praised in the list.