World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys

Return of the travel series narrated by Bill Nighy, beginning with a trip from the Kyle of Lochalsh, a tiny fishing village on the far west coast of Scotland. The jounrney heads east across the Highlands, then turns south through the whisky country of Speyside to Aberdeen, Scotland's oil capital.

A journey from the Mexican border at San Diego, following the Californian coast north to the city of San Luis Obispo, aboard the aptly named Pacific Surfliner. Pulled by a gleaming Siemens Charger locomotive, the rake of five double-deck coaches takes viewers on a 350-mile trip.

This week, we power through the Peak District at full steam, pulled by the Royal Scot — one of the finest locomotives ever built.

This week's rail journey is one like few others. From the Quinta de Vargellas, a vineyard that has been making one of Britain's favourite after-dinner tipples for centuries — port — we travel down the line that once transported it to the city that gave it its name, Porto. 

In this episode, we're celebrating Italy and following the Neapolitan Line. Travelling west from the gelato shops of the seaside town of Pescara, we cross Italy through the remote and wild Apennine Mountains down to the bustling city of Naples on the west coast. Years ago, for many Italians, this was a one-way trip, their ultimate destination being the US. But the line also helped some to stay, such as the Pelino family, who used the line to create a confectionery business in the small town of Sulmona. Almost 150 years later, it is still selling its products worldwide. Rising into the Apennines on coaches that date back to the 1920s, winter descends. The heavy snow gives this section of the line the nickname ‘Italy's Trans-Siberian'. And as we pull into Roccaraso, nearly 4,000 feet above sea level, we really feel like we're in Russia. It's here we meet the town's most famous resident, Juan Carrito, a two-year-old marsican bear, who likes to hang around the station at night, before wondering off into the vast expanse of the National Park of Abruzzo each morning. Coming out of the snow, we pull into Castel di Sangro. Although it has a population of only 6,000, its football team was once blessed by the ‘Miracle of Castel di Sangro', rising to the Italian equivalent of the championship league for two glorious seasons. Our journey ends on-board the royal carriages preserved in the old locomotive works of Pietrarsa, next to Italy's very first railway line, linking the royal palace to Naples itself.

In this episode, it's a journey unlike any other, as we travel in a train made up of 18 vintage coaches on an epic 10-day expedition. Starting from one of the world's most remote cities, Walvis Bay in Namibia, we roll 1,500 miles through the Kalahari Desert to Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa. On the way, we hunt waterbuck with the San people, one of Southern Africa's oldest peoples. We learn how a sheepdog can protect a flock from the world's fastest killer, the cheetah. And crossing into South Africa, we make brandy in a desert oasis, before visiting the ‘Big Hole', once the most productive diamond mine in the world, a place where the fortunes earned changed the face of Africa. Finally, arriving in Pretoria, we learn how one man, Nelson Mandela, helped heal centuries of bloodshed that scared these beautiful lands.

This is a scenic railway journey like few others. Starting a mile above sea level in Colorado's state capital, Denver, our train, the Rocky Mountaineer, makes its way through Wild West country to Moab in the state of Utah. On the way, we'll mine for gold, just as the first ‘fifty-niners' did in the mid-19th century. At almost 12,000 feet, we'll ski the continental divide, where any water falling to the west heads to the Pacific and any to the east the Atlantic. Entering the red rocks of the true Wild West, we'll pay homage at the grave of Doc Holliday, the dentist-turned-gunslinger who died peacefully in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. At the once thriving town of Cisco, Utah, we'll meet one of the last four residents. Their town began dying when the railroad switched to diesel and the trains no longer stopped there for water. Just before our train gets to Moab, we'll be in the water ourselves — white-water rafting down the mighty Colorado River.

The Train des Pignes explores France. Leaving chic 21st century Nice behind, the Train des Pignes, or the 'Pine Cone Train', takes viewers back to the Provence of the past. Cameras explore the village of Villars-sur-Var, where olive oil is made using the same stone-wheel technique the Templar Knights used 1,000 years ago.

This is a scenic railway journey like no other. Looping around Andalucía, the luxury Al Andalus train takes in some of the most staggeringly beautiful cities in Spain. Traveling south from Seville, we visit Jerez, where the horses of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art are trained. Then we rise up to the clifftop town of Ronda, before rolling on to the ancient cities of Granada and Córdoba. If the scenery outside doesn't take your breath away, the train itself definitely will. The Al Andalus is a five-star hotel on wheels, taking us back to the opulence of the 1930s.

Celebrating the wonders of Queensland, Australia, cameras travel over 1,000 miles from Brisbane to Cairns onboard one of the most advanced trains in the world. There's a look at a rum distillery in Bundaberg and trip on the historic Mary Valley line.