AI might be all the rage right now, but no technology has transformed Britain’s fortunes quite as much as the railway. On September 27, 1825, the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway chugged into service, marking the birth of Britain’s modern rail network. Railways drove the Industrial Revolution, underpinned the Empire and helped to turn Britain into one of the world’s superpowers; 200 years later, Britain’s love affair with the locomotive endures.

True, our trains might not be quite the envy of the world any more, but many of us (including me) still harbour a soft spot for the golden age of rail. To commemorate this landmark bicentennial, we’ve chosen 12 special places to stay around the UK with a connection to our railways. From grand station hotels to signal boxes, romantic carriages and converted ticket offices, it’s a treasure trove for train buffs. All aboard!

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1. The Grand, York

Dining area of The Grand, York.

The Grand is the only five-star hotel in York

Two minutes’ walk from York station, this ostentatious Edwardian edifice was built in 1906 as the headquarters for the NER (North Eastern Railway), a purpose it served for a century. With its high-ceilinged corridors, stone floors and spiral staircase, it has all the pomp and confidence of Britain in its industrial heyday. After falling into disuse in the 2000s, sympathetic (and expensive) renovations have restored its grandeur: it’s York’s only five-star hotel. Most of the original building survives, including much of the wood panelling and marble detailing, while old-fashioned touches like the top-hatted doorman hark back to a more elegant age of rail travel. A modern extension has added swish suites with glass balconies overlooking the city’s rooftops. There is also a cookery school, while the Steel tasting menu in the refined Legacy restaurant is inspired by railway dining through the ages.
Details B&B doubles from £249; tasting menus from £100

2. St Pancras London

St Pancras London Hotel at sunset.

Some suites at St Pancras London have views over the station

JIRI LIZLER

Originally called the Midland Grand when it opened in 1873, this monument to the Victorian railway was designed by George Gilbert Scott, a leading light in the gothic revival movement. With its spires, arches, gables and gargoyles, it feels closer to a cathedral than a station hotel. At the time it was one of the most expensive hotels to be built in the UK, with rooms decorated in gold leaf and hydraulic lifts serving every floor. However, it proved so costly to run, it closed in the 1930s and was turned into offices. It reopened in 2011 after a £150 million renovation, and it’s rather fabulous, with its stained glass, stonework, frescoed ceilings and monumental central staircase. The best suites have views over St Pancras station, and the Suite to Seat service ensures guests get a seamless transition straight on to the Eurostar. Don’t miss dinner in the old ticket hall, followed by a cocktail in the vaulted Gothic Bar.
Details B&B doubles from £335; mains from £18

3. The Balmoral, Edinburgh

The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, featuring a room with windows overlooking Edinburgh Castle and the Scott Monument.

The Balmoral originally opened as the North British Station hotel

At the northern end of the East Coast line, the Balmoral has been an Edinburgh landmark since 1902, when it opened as the North British Station hotel at No 1 Princes Street. It’s a stonking example of the Scottish baronial style, topped by turrets, balustrades and a clock tower that famously runs three minutes fast (except at new year). The hotel’s modern Scottish style is the work of Olga Polizzi, whose family own the Rocco Forte chain. Expect tasteful tartans, woodland-inspired wallpapers and subtle nods to Scottish nature. The Deluxe rooms with views over the old town are worth the splurge. A sumptuous afternoon tea is served in the glass-domed Palm Court, while the Scotch bar has 500 whiskies to sample; thankfully, Waverley station is within tottering distance.
Details B&B doubles from £518; mains from £20

4. The Old Railway Station, Petworth, West Sussex

The Old Railway Station Petworth.

Pullman carriages have been converted into rooms at this Sussex stay

In the sleepy Sussex backwater of Petworth, this charming spot was originally a station stop on the Midhurst-Petworth line operated by London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Closed as part of Dr Beeching’s cuts in 1966, it’s been lovingly updated since the 1980s. There are two rooms in the main station house, with eight more spread across four Pullman carriages parked up outside. Breakfast is served in the old waiting room, or you can ask for an “onboard” service to be delivered direct to your carriage. You’re on the northern edge of the South Downs too, so it’s a super stop-off for hikers.
Details B&B doubles from £165; set menus from £47.50

5. The Waiting Room, Heacham, Norfolk

The Waiting Room at the Old Station Heacham.

The Waiting Room occupies the site of the old Heacham station

Generations of Norfolk holidaymakers once made a beeline for the seaside along the King’s Lynn to Hunstanton line, but Beeching put an end to such jaunts in 1969. The old Heacham station, three miles south of Hunstanton, now offers a choice of either a vintage first-class carriage (complete with working signal and white picket fence) or the Victorian waiting rooms, where you can sit on the platform and look over the grassy garden. Holme Dunes, Brancaster beach and the RSPB reserve at Snettisham are on the doorstep, or for an extra train fix try a trip on the steam-powered Wells & Walsingham Light Railway (from £11; wwlr.co.uk).
Details Three nights’ self-catering for two from £267 (oldstationheacham.com)

6. The Railway Cottage, Williton, Somerset

A patio table and chairs outside a brick cottage as a steam train emerges from a tunnel in the background.

The cottage was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer behind Clifton Suspension Bridge

TINA DOWNHAM

The best way to arrive at this old ganger’s cottage near Taunton is in steam-powered style aboard the West Somerset Railway (£33; west-somerset-railway.co.uk), which chugs between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard for 20 miles, making it England’s longest standard-gauge heritage line. Both the line and the stoutly built brick cottage have an illustrious heritage: they were built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the pioneering engineer behind the GWR, Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain. The cottage offers three bedrooms sleeping six, plus a cute garden with an outdoor hot tub: you can sip tea and watch the trains shuttle past the front door, or look out towards the distant Quantock Hills. For couples, a converted brake van is also available for hire.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for six from £595 (handpickedcottages.co.uk)

• Explore our full guide to Rail holidays

7. The Old Snowdon Ranger station, Caernarfon, Gwynedd

This little cottage was once a ticket office for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway. It sits at the foot of the Snowdon Ranger path, one of the most popular routes up Wales’s highest mountain. It’s small and simply decorated but offers fine mountain views and has a lovely hillside garden, ideal for sitting out at sunset. The cottage is served by three trains a day run by the Welsh Highland Railway, which travels between Caernarfon and Porthmadog.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for two from £359 (railwaystationcottages.co.uk)

8. Rowden Mill station, Bromyard, Herefordshire

Interior of Rowden Mill Station, showing a dining area, living area, and windows overlooking green trees.

The saloon coach at Rowden Mill station sleeps four

Fans of The Railway Children will feel right at home here: this spick-and-span station looks as perfect as a film set. There’s a handsome 1960s-styled saloon coach sleeping four, a studio for two inside the old parcel office, and the pick of the trio, a two-bedroom cottage inside the old station, which still has its canopy and passenger platform. A stretch of the original track runs through the garden. The retro styling throughout is lovely, and Worcester and Hereford are both less than half an hour’s drive away.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for two from £206 (rowdenmillstation.uk)

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9. Signal Box, Newtonmore, Highland

The Signal Box, a light blue two-story house with black trim and external stairs leading to the second floor, next to a rural train platform.

Signal Box makes the most of the views of the Cairngorms

NIGEL RIGDEN

Wrapped in pale blue cladding and offering a panorama of the Cairngorms range, this converted signal box stands alongside the station in Newtonmore, right in the heart of the national park. It’s laid out in reverse, with the bedroom and shower room on the ground floor, and the living space upstairs with wraparound windows to make the most of the views. A cosy wood-burner keeps things toasty even in winter. Newtonmore is on the Highland Main Line between Perth and Inverness, an atmospheric way to arrive.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for two from £641

10. The Midland Hotel, Morecambe, Lancashire

Dining table set with wine glasses and cutlery, overlooking a bay at sunset through large windows.

The Midland Hotel has a decent restaurant that serves hearty fare

The architect Oliver Hill designed this hotel on the edge of Morecambe Bay in the early 1930s for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. It’s a rare surviving example of the streamline moderne style, with stark white render and a slinky, curving concrete façade. Originally the hotel featured sculptures by Eric Gill and artworks by the war artist Eric Ravilious, but sadly these are lost, save for two sculpted seahorses outside. Now grade II listed, it feels more corporate than in its heyday, but if you get a sea-facing room, the coastal vistas are as majestic as ever and there’s a decent restaurant serving steaks and pies. Morecambe is a cinch to reach by train via the West Coast Main Line.
Details B&B doubles from £113

• 21 of the quirkiest hotels in the UK

11. The Old Station, Allerston, North Yorkshire

The Old Station Allerston, a brick building with yellow-framed windows and a sign for Ebberston.

There is a choice of accommodation options at Allerston station, including the old ticket office

Allerston station offers accommodation in the old ticket office or one of three British Rail Mk II First Class Corridor carriages dating from the 1960s. Vintage signs and original train fixtures make the carriages feel authentic to the period, and there are two acres of gardens to explore. It’s five miles from Pickering, HQ for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (nymr.co.uk): if you’re lucky, your stay might coincide with one of the Flying Scotsman steam services, which run several times a year (from £54).
Details Three nights’ self-catering for two from £394 (theoldstationallerston.co.uk)

12. Sprat & Winkle, Houghton, Hampshire

An open-plan living area with a blue sofa facing a TV, and a kitchen with a breakfast bar and two wooden stools.

The Sprat & Winkle carriage has the feel of a cosy cottage

JAMES OLIVER

You’ll have the whole platform at the former Horsebridge station (closed 1964) to yourself here: a jaunty green London & South Western carriage has been parked up at the end of the tracks. The carriage is a beauty, with a cute cottagey style, vintage luggage racks and light fittings reclaimed from the Orient Express no less; there are two bedrooms with space for four guests. In case you’re wondering about the curious name, it commemorates the Andover-Redbridge line that ran from 1865 to 1967 and was nicknamed the Sprat & Winkle line, possibly due to its proximity to the mudlands of the River Test, where winkles may at times be found. The river is one of England’s finest chalk streams, and legendary for its trout fishing: alternatively, the 44-mile Test Way is popular with walkers.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for four from £681

Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments