Now the Manchester to Buxton line has been included in a top ten list of rail journeys, as chosen by renowned British actor Tony Robinson. Tony gets on board to explain why..."This journey offers you a fantastic trip through the Peak District, although I'm cheating a bit with this one, as it's actually two lines; one from Manchester to Buxton and the other from Matlock to Derby, with linking buses across the High Peak Trail from Buxton to Matlock.
This is not a trip to do all in one go; stop off at the dramatic little town of Whaley Bridge and have a stroll around the historic Peak Forest Canal Basin.
Buxton lies in a gorge of the River Wye and has been a spa since Roman times.
In the 18th century it was the northern equivalent of Bath, and still has plenty of elegant Georgian buildings, including a recently refurbished opera house, which I've played twice in recent years to packed houses, and hardly been heckled at all.
Matlock has been described as "The Switzerland of England", because it lies in a steep-sided valley with the limestone crags of High Tor and Cat Tor rising vertically from the water's edge.
It's a spectacular town, a great place to stop for your lunch, but quite frankly you can't go wrong on this line; any stop off is an adventure."
Tony's Top Ten Rail Journeys
London – Whitstable
Cambridge – Lowestoft
Bristol Temple Meads – Weymouth
Carlisle – Newcastle
The West Highland Line
Leicester – Ely
Manchester - Derby
Edinburgh – Dundee
Shrewsbury – Aberystwyth
Swansea - Pembroke DockTo recreate any of these journeys and for up to the minute train information, visit
www.nationalrail.co.uk or call National Rail Enquiries 08457 48 49 50 (24 hours).
* What do you think? Do you agree with Tony's assessment of the Manchester to Buxton line? What is your favourite railway journey?
The full article contains 346 words and appears in Buxton Advertiser newspaper.
