When I travelled to the coast last week, I drove to the small town of Hythe and then went on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, a small gauge light railway which runs the 13.5 miles from Hythe to Dungeness on the South-East coast. It opened in 1927 as a 15inch gauge ( one third full size) fully working steam railway.
It's quite compact inside the carriages but it was early in the day plus school holidays hadn't started so I had lots of space to myself.
I travelled to the end of the line at Dungeness. It is an unusual landcape and has been designated as a National Nature Reserve, Pecial Protection Area and Area of Conservation..Dungeness is one of the best single beaches in the world and is home to 600 species of plants which is a third of all plants found in the UK.
There are two lighthouses in Dungeness, the old one(shown above) which is now privately owned and is open to the public. You can also see the roundhouse base of the oldest lighthouse on the right. Below is the new lighthouse.
You can't visit Dungeness without seeing the Nuclear power Station dominating the landscape.
On the way back to Hythe I stopped off at New Rowney to see the model railway
Also got out at Dymchurch, a typical small sea side town.
With its small funfair
and sandy beach
When I was younger I used to love to travel by rail. Now that I viewed your photo shares, I'm all ready to go again.
ReplyDeleteWonderful array of scenes and wildflowers.
Sort of trip I like to take but going on a steam train would make it worth while
ReplyDeleteNice little trip you took. Those were lovely wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day out. I like the crooked house at the fair. It's an interesting round building near the old lighthouse.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago (!) I went on a school residential trip to Dymchurch. I found some of your comment notifications had gone in my spam folder for some reason so sorry if you thought I'd ignored them. I decided to blog about the A-Z road trip as a way of keeping track.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photography of your delightful weekend trip ~
ReplyDeleteWishing you a Happy Week ~ ^_^
holy cow. what an exciting adventure. :)
ReplyDeleteMy goodness - I love all those trains - especially the ones you can ride in yourself! Looks like a pleasant adventure and a lot to see:) Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI had the same feeling, excited as a child when our old tramway started to ride. The older we are we return to our childhood it seems :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandsons would love to ride on a small gauge railway. It looked like fun. I did not know there were nuclear power plants there, Love the lighthouses!
ReplyDeleteOh I love that tiny train!
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks like fun to me. If I lived in the UK, I'd visit this train for sure. :-)
ReplyDeleteFascinating railway and scenic trip. That National Nature Reserve looks very interesting and beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh how neat, Marie.... I'd love that little train ride ---and would enjoy getting off and on along the way... How special is that!!!! AND--since I also love lighthouses, that would be another reason to go!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
Once again, Marie, it seems you and I are on the same "track" with our photographic subject! Thank you for sharing this particular train journey - my father mentioned it over the years (we migrated to Australia in 1950) so it was a treat to read your experience of it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice trip and so romantic in the old train ! Lovely little village too !
ReplyDeleteA ride on a small gauge railway is really wonderful! We did it once in Wales, and the children loved it! i learnt that there is a club of small gauge train fans, who tend the trains and the equipment belonging to this system.
ReplyDeleteThis sure is a exciting trip with so much to see.
ReplyDeleteI love that part of Kent, but haven't been there for years. I'm SURE I remember the railway - might even have been on it. Lovely tour, really enjoyed your shots.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's certainly a different train!
ReplyDeleteThe school holidays here have only about three weeks left! And then normal life starts again. I voted to give them an extra three weeks, but they wouldn't have it...
Hello, what a great trip. The men in my family would love all those trains, I love the lighthouse. Great collection of photos. Enjoy your day and the week ahead!
ReplyDeleteIt must have been such a nice trip! The train was certainly very special.
ReplyDeleteThe train would be so much fun! Almost like being part of a model railroad yourself, my imagination would soar. And the real model trail village is wonderful. Beautiful flowers, a perfect excursion all around.
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