The Steam Dreams Rail Co., has released an exhilarating new 2020 schedule of over 40 day trips and excursions for passengers to fully enjoy the romance of steam travel alongside visits to high profile gardens, natural beauty spots and historic towns for topical and seasonal celebrations.

Travelling in vintage carriages with the option of delicious at seat dining or an on board range of snacks and drinks, all departures offer a range of ticket prices from Premium Standard to luxurious Pullman Style Dining as well as special prices for groups of family and friends. www.steamdreams.co.uk

Mother's Day Specials: Sunday 22nd March

There are two opportunities to treat mums to a grand experience with special Mother's Day departures on Sunday, 22nd March. Board at London Victoria to steam down to historic Winchester with plenty of time to explore its gothic Cathedral and attractive boutique shops, cafes and galleries before returning. Alternatively enjoy an afternoon at the stunning Mottisfont (supplement applies). All ladies aboard will receive a gift and dining passengers will also enjoy a Champagne Breakfast on the outward journey and a two course supper on the return. Prices from £79pp for Premium Standard, £175pp for Premier Dining and £225pp for Pullman Style Dining.

Alternatively join a three and a half hour circular tour from Winchester with a beautiful run through rural Hampshire along the South Coast while enjoying a celebratory Champagne Afternoon Tea. Prices from £49pp for Premium Standard and £149pp for Pullman Style Dining.

'This sceptred isle'..…. on St George's Day : Thursday 23rd April

A wonderful opportunity to celebrate the birthdates of England's patron Saint and the Bard himself on 23rd April with a patriotic steam departure from London Paddington through Euston, Slough, Reading, Oxford and Warwick to Stratford-Upon-Avon. To celebrate Shakespeare's birthday the town is alive with vibrant pageantry and street performances; key venues offer special events for all the family and the museum guest book is reopened just for the day so visitors have the chance to sign their name, as Charles Dickens and John Keats have before. Prices from £109pp for Premium Standard, £209pp for Premier Dining and £269pp for Pullman Style Dining.

'Carson, we'll have tea now'….Highclere Castle : Sunday 3rd May

In early May, travel in full Downton Abbey style to Highclere Castle to visit this most sumptuous grand country house built in 1842 by architect Sir Charles Barry and explore the magnificent 500 acre park, landscaped by Capability Brown. Board at London Victoria or join at  Slough or Reading, then alight at Newbury for Highclere Castle, or continue on to the Georgian town of Bath before returning. Prices from £109pp for Premium Standard, £209pp for Premier Dining and £269pp for Pullman Style Dining.

ends 

For further information contact WixHill PR:

Tim Fordham-Moss / Pippa Evans

tim@wixhill.co.uk / pippa@wixhill.co.uk

+44 (0) 771 491788 / + 44 (0) 7545 522292

Editor's Notes:

61306 Mayflower

Built for the London & North Eastern Railway in 1948, 61306 Mayflower is one of two surviving B1 Class locomotives. Designed as mixed traffic locomotives capable of hauling express passenger trains as well as freight traffic, the B1s are powerful, go anywhere engines and worked across most of the UK rail network from East Anglia to Scotland.

Mayflower was built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow but was delivered post-nationalisation and acquired the number 61306 by British Railways. She was first allocated to Hull Botanic Gardens Depot followed by a spell at Hull Dairycotes Depot before being finally transferred to Low Moor Depot, Bradford. She was the last B1 in service, her final trip was hauling the 'Yorkshire Pullman' from Leeds in September 1967.

Mayflower was immediately purchased for preservation and was initially based at Steamtown in Carnforth. She was fully restored for mainline operation and worked a number of railtours in the 1970's. Acquired by Steam Dreams owner David Buck in 2014, she returned to the mainline in 2015 before being withdrawn for an extensive overhaul. Resplendent in the early British Railways apple green livery as she was originally given when delivered in 1948 she returned to full mainline operation in early 2019.

Mayflower has two cylinders, 6 driving wheels, a firebox grate area of 30 square feet and can operate at 75mph.

Carbon Offset

The Steam Dreams Rail Co. is the first rail charter to be carbon neutral. Every year the company makes a donation to carbon reduction projects, to offset the carbon emissions that steam engines produce.

This year, Steam Dreams Rail Co. is sponsoring a solar project based in India, supporting India in the transition to a low carbon economy through renewable energy generation and ask all their passengers to contribute a small £1 voluntary supplement towards this cause. www.eco-act.com.

About The Steam Dreams Rail Co.

• The first trip left London for Salisbury in 1999 and was an immediate success
• Almost two decades later, the company is proud to be offering day trips to more than 35 different destinations and picking up passengers at over 100 stations across the UK every year
• As well as day trips, Steam Dreams offers a number of multi-day tours around the British Isles and Continental Europe. In autumn 2021, the company will be including a tour of New Zealand in their programme.
• The company has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence every year since 2015, and was short-listed for Best Rail Holiday Provider in the inaugural Silver Travel Awards.