Cornwall & Wales
Autumn Journey

London Victoria on a Friday afternoon is a fine place to begin seven days of exceptional travelling. The Britannic Explorer is waiting, and there is time to explore properly before departure: the dining carriages with their botanical interiors, the bar stocked with cocktails inspired by native botanicals, the Wellness Suite, and your own private suite, which becomes home for the next six nights.

Afternoon tea arrives as the city gives way to countryside, and this one has a distinctly Cornish character. Chef Simon Rogan has drawn on Cornwall's larder to create a spread that feels genuinely rooted in the region, and the traditional debate of jam first or cream first will no doubt generate the kind of lively conversation that improves any long journey.

The train passes through the North Wessex Downs and into the storied market towns of Somerset as the afternoon light softens. A treatment in the Wellness Suite is an option worth taking, as is a cocktail at the bar while the countryside scrolls past. By twilight the West Somerset Railway takes over, one of the longest heritage lines in the country, where the views across the fields and towards the coast reward anyone still awake to see them.

Dinner is the work of Simon Rogan and Head Chef Alexander Wyn Lewis, and it shows. The menu is grounded in seasonal British produce and cooked with real ambition. The Observation Car provides the natural conclusion to the evening, with music and gin keeping things convivial until the train settles overnight at Bishops Lydeard.

The morning belongs entirely to you. There is no itinerary until the afternoon, which on a train travelling through some of the finest coastal scenery in England is not a hardship. A lie-in followed by a leisurely brunch in the dining car is one option. The Wellness Suite, if you have not yet made use of it, is another.

The train joins the Riviera Line along the south Devon coast, and this is one of those stretches of railway that justifies train travel as a concept. The line runs so close to the sea at Dawlish that the waves occasionally break across the track, and the resort towns of Teignmouth and Torquay pass by in a pleasingly unhurried way. The train skirts the edge of Dartmoor before reaching Plymouth, then crosses the Tamar Bridge into Cornwall. The Cornish call their county Kernow, and there is something to the idea that crossing that river takes you somewhere genuinely different. The light changes, the vegetation thickens, and by the time the train passes through St Austell and Truro the sea is visible again, glittering in the Cornish way that painters have been trying to capture for centuries.

The afternoon brings a choice at St Erth. Those who want to explore independently can take the branch line to St Ives, where the Tate and the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden are within easy walking distance of each other and the harbour. Those who prefer a guided experience can continue to Penzance for a tour of the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, where the planting is sub-tropical and the views across to St Michael's Mount make an excellent backdrop for a private wine tasting. Dinner on board that evening celebrates the best of Britain's seasonal produce, and the entertainment that follows is the kind that makes the miles irrelevant.

After breakfast, the train is moored near Fowey and the morning is spent ashore in one of the most characterful corners of Cornwall. The town itself rewards a wander: narrow streets that descend to the harbour, a working port that has been sending cargo out to sea for centuries, and a coastline that looks its best in the autumn light. For those who want to see it from the water, a private boat tour of the estuary and the bay is a genuinely good way to spend a few hours.

The alternative is a visit to the Colwith Farm Distillery, where Cornish grain goes in at one end and award-winning vodka and gin come out at the other. A tour of the distillery explains the process, and there is the option of blending your own flavoured bottle to take home, which tends to be more absorbing than it sounds.

The train then begins the journey east into Somerset, and the afternoon passes comfortably on board as the Cornish coast gives way to the gentler country of the West Country interior. The destination is Bruton, a small market town that has attracted rather more cultural attention than its size might suggest, largely due to what has happened there since Hauser and Wirth opened its Somerset gallery in 2014. The evening begins with a private after-hours tour of the gallery, followed by drinks and canapés in the Oudolf Field, the meadow garden designed by the celebrated Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf. Dinner at Da Costa follows, where the cooking takes its inspiration from the Veneto region of northern Italy and draws on the finest Somerset produce to do so. The train settles overnight on the East Somerset Railway.

Breakfast is served as the train pulls away from the East Somerset Railway and makes its way back to London. The West Country passes the window in its quiet morning way, and there is something to be said for a final hour on board before the city arrives. London Victoria appears in the early morning, and a transfer is waiting for those who would like to make use of it, taking you to The Cadogan, a Belmond hotel in Chelsea, where a three-course lunch with wine provides a civilised midpoint to the day. For those who prefer to spend the time independently, London is outside the door.

The second half of the journey begins in the afternoon. The train heads west and then north, and a Welsh Afternoon Tea is served as the Cotswolds roll past the window in the golden autumn light. Welsh teacakes and bara brith fruit cake make a welcome appearance alongside the more familiar components, and the combination of good food and the countryside at its autumnal best is a fine way to begin the Welsh leg of the adventure. Dinner follows as the evening draws in, and the suite and a good night's sleep come shortly afterwards.

Morning light over the Pembrokeshire coast is a good reason to be awake early. After a leisurely breakfast, the train pauses at Llandrindod Wells and two very different excursions present themselves. Those who want to be out in the landscape can join a guided walk through the quiet valleys of the Welsh heartlands, where the pace of life feels a long way from anywhere and the autumn colours are at their finest. For something altogether more restorative, Farmers' Welsh Lavender offers a swim in the natural pond, time in the sauna, or a comfortable chair by a log fire.

Back on board, the Heart of Wales Line takes over as guide for the afternoon. This beautiful and undervisited stretch of railway winds through the upland farming country of Carmarthenshire and Powys, the landscape growing steadily more dramatic as the train heads north into Eryri National Park. Known to the wider world as Snowdonia, this is Wales at its most magnificent in autumn: the peaks dusted with the first hints of winter, the valleys richly coloured and the waterfalls running full.

A seven-course gastronomic dinner is served in the evening, a proper occasion that does justice to the landscape outside. The train stables overnight near the historic town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, deep in the mountains of north Wales.

The train travels north in the morning to the seaside town of Llandudno, and breakfast is served as the north Wales coast comes into view. At Llandudno Junction, the train pauses for a choice of excursions in the Conwy Valley. Those who want to be outside can join a scenic guided hike through some of the finest walking country in Wales. Those who prefer their morning indoors can head to Bodnant Welsh Food for a Welsh cake and jam-making workshop at this celebrated cookery school on the Bodnant Estate.

Lunch is served on board as the train begins the long journey south through Mid Wales and Montgomeryshire, passing through Welshpool and crossing into Shropshire. The afternoon is a good time to make use of the Wellness Suite or simply watch the autumn landscape change as Wales gives way to the English Midlands and eventually the Cotswolds.

After dinner on board, the train arrives at Kingham and the evening takes a very enjoyable turn. The Fox at Oddington, a 16th-century inn recently restored by Carole Bamford of Daylesford, is the setting for a private party. Local ales, artisan liqueurs, classic English fare and the opportunity to learn the art of pouring a proper pint make for a warm and convivial end to the last full day on board.

The last breakfast is served as the train moves through Oxfordshire and into the Chilterns. Six nights, seven days, and a considerable sweep of Britain seen at its autumnal best. The Cornish coast, the harbours of Fowey, an evening at Hauser and Wirth in Bruton, the Pembrokeshire coast, the Heart of Wales Line, Snowdonia and The Fox at Oddington are not a bad set of memories to be reflecting on over a final coffee. London Victoria arrives, as it always does on the last morning, rather sooner than anyone would like.

Itineraries and timings shown may be changed for seasonal or operational reasons. This journey departs on a Friday afternoon and concludes on a Thursday morning.