Some 4,000 railway stations have closed in Britain, many under the short-sighted austerity measures of Dr Richard Beeching in the 1960s. If there is a silver lining to the closure of railway lines, it is the way in which many fine buildings have been cherished by new owners. Some have been converted into high-quality B&Bs and self-catering accommodation, and a few have won National Railway Heritage Awards for sensitive restoration.
Not all the buildings are station buildings: some are signal boxes, others are converted railway carriages or accommodation built by the old companies for railway staff. Most are in holiday areas and some are at stations that are still open to passengers, giving visitors the green option of arriving by train. Groceries can be pre-ordered from nearby supermarkets and some proprietors can provide hampers of local produce.
1. Rowden Mill, Herefordshire
Rowden Mill, on the Leominster-Worcester line, has been closed since 1952 and still looks as though a train could arrive at any moment. Two tiers of signalled tracks house a converted saloon car with lounge-diner, kitchen, shower room, bunk beds and double beds in two rooms with a barbecue and picnic table on the landscaped platform.
The Parcel Office has been transformed into an open plan studio with shower room, wood burning stove and home cinema with large screen and speaker system. The covered station building has a lounge, double bedroom and bunk beds in the porter’s room. The National Trust properties of Brockhampton and Berrington Hall are nearby.
From £100-£200 per night with discount on weekly rates (rowdenmillstation.uk).
2. St. Germans, Cornwall
The second station west of Brunel’s Royal Albert Bridge over the Tamar is St Germans, which takes its name from the nearby Celtic priory. The enclosed garden within the station area contains a remarkable collection of five historic carriages, the oldest dating from the 19th century, all of which have been converted to provide high-quality accommodation for 1-10 people. One has been adapted for wheelchair access.
Arrive by train, or live in Devon or Cornwall, and you’ll get £50 off your booking. Nearby is Port Eliot Manor House, with lovely walks through the estate and along the tidal Lynher estuary, and there’s a great café in the stable block.
Short winter breaks from £390, summer weeks from £840 (railholiday.co.uk).
3. Coed and Bleiddiau, Tan and Bwlch, Gwynedd
What could be better than arriving at your cottage by narrow gauge steam train, with your own private platform? This little cottage was built in 1863 for the manager of the Festiniog Railway (now “Ffestiniog”), which transported slate from the quarries at Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. It later became a holiday cottage used by the composer Sir Granville Bantock and the Arabist Harry St John Philby.
Today it has double and twin rooms and guests can travel free of charge on the Ffestiniog Railway during their stay. The approach road is rough, narrow and steep. Birdwatchers can see nightjars, goshawks and even ospreys on the wooded slopes and there is a 30km network of paths around Llyn Mair lake. Guests can change at Blaenau Ffestiniog for Caernarfon and at Porthmadog for Transport for Wales trains.
From £504 for 4 nights (landmarktrust.org.uk).
4. The Signal Box, Loddiswell, Devon
The branch line to Kingsbridge from the main junction at Brent was considered one of the most beautiful West Country railways because of the beauty of the Avon Valley. The station and signal box form an enchanting landscaped setting beside the river. The signal box sleeps four people in two ground floor bedrooms with a spiral staircase leading to the open plan kitchen, dining and sitting area with wonderful views through the large windows.
The coast at Salcombe is just south of Kingsbridge and there are numerous pretty villages in the South Hams.
From £649 for seven nights (loddiswellstation.co.uk).
5. The Old Railway Station, Petworth, West Sussex
The listed wooden station building at Petworth lost its raison d’être in 1955, but was saved by conversion into a two-bedroom en suite B&B. Four elegant Pullman carriages have also been modified to create six Classic Pullman and two King Pullman Carriage rooms, all en suite. The waiting room has become a 20-seat dining room, where breakfast and afternoon tea are served. Heating is provided by a biomass boiler.
The attractive market town of Petworth, with its National Trust house and park, is a few miles away and there are many attractions nearby, including Goodwood, Parham Park and the fascinating Weald & Downland Living Museum, which shows BBC One programmes. The repair shop.
From £165 per night (old-station.co.uk).
6. The Station Agent’s House, Manchester
Few railway structures come close in historical significance to this city centre house: it was the superintendent’s home at the world’s oldest railway station, opened in 1830 by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. The Georgian house predates the railway era, having been built in 1808 and is Grade I listed. The interior had been significantly affected by a 1980s conversion, so the Landmark Trust had greater freedom to create four bedrooms with generous living space and a lift between the main floors.
On the doorstep are several 19th-century railway warehouses that house the Science & Industry Museum, and within walking distance is Castlefield, a textbook example of urban renewal, crisscrossed by canals and listed railway viaducts, including a bridge converted into a linear garden by the National Trust.
From £780 for four nights (landmarktrust.org.uk).
7. Dentstation, Cumbria
You can’t get much more remote in England than this wild spot on the moors, five miles above the village it’s named after. At 1,150 feet above sea level, it’s the highest station in England, served by Leeds-Carlisle trains. The stationmaster’s house is so exposed that it’s paved on three sides and was an early pioneer of double glazing. It’s been converted to provide two double bedrooms with a large kitchen with Aga and a sitting room with open fire. The shower room has underfloor heating.
Trains can be used for linear walks, with Ribblehead and its famous viaduct to the south, Garsdale to the north, and the historic towns of Kirkby Stephen and Settle a short distance away. Settle’s Museum of North Craven Life, in a 17th-century house called the Folly, is well worth the trip, and the station signal box has been preserved to illustrate the complexity of mechanical signalling.
From £460 for three nights (dentstation.co.uk).
8. The Old Station, Allerston, North Yorkshire
It was 1950 when the last passenger boarded a train at Ebberston station, actually in Allerston, just five miles from Pickering and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Set in five acres, three imaginatively converted carriages sleeping 4-6 people and the Ticket Office with two double bedrooms (adults only) provide a perfect base for the North York Moors and the Scarborough coast.
The Ticket Office lounge contains one of the beautiful North Eastern Railway maps, made up of 64 glazed tiles made by Craven Dunnill of Jackfield in Shropshire, now part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum. Children’s toys, games and bicycles are provided. Cycle hire is available at Dalby Forest and at Hawsker station for trips along the Scarborough-Whitby line.
From £848 per week (theoldstationallerston.co.uk).
9. The Old Signal Box, Wall, Northumberland
Hexham’s first station on the Border Counties Railway, Wall, lost its passenger service in 1956, but the station building and stone signal box remain. The latter has been converted into a well-appointed snug for two with underfloor heating.
As the name suggests, the Wall is a good base from which to explore Hadrian’s Wall and walk a section of the footpath that runs parallel to it, with the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall Country Bus running for linear walks. Kielder Forest is just a couple of miles to the north-west.
From £550 per week (theoldsignalbox.co.uk).
10. Off the Rails, Plockton
Arrival by train at this working but unstaffed station is via one of the most beautiful train journeys in Britain, from Inverness to the Skye stepping stone at Kyle of Lochalsh. Plockton is two stops short of the terminus, and the elegant 1897 station building has been converted into a well-equipped two-bedroom holiday home. The original varnished pine interiors give a warm atmosphere to the former gentlemen’s waiting room and stationmaster’s office, now a kitchen/diner and bedroom respectively, while the former gents’ toilet is now a wet room and sauna.
Nearby attractions include Dunvegan, Armadale and Eilean Donan castles and famous gardens benefiting from the Gulf Stream, such as Inverewe, Attadale and the Lochalsh Woodland Garden at Balmacara. There are plenty of great walks nearby.
From £650 per week (plocktonstation.co.uk).