Steam trains beneath the ruins of Corfe Castle: the Swanage Railway is one of Britain''s most photogenic heritage lines, and it sits just across Poole Bay from the New Forest.
Rebuilt from nothing by volunteers after closure in 1972, the Swanage Railway runs steam and heritage diesel trains through the Purbeck Hills — the view of a train passing under Corfe Castle's ruined keep is one of the great railway photographs in England. Swanage itself is a proper Victorian seaside town with a pier and a sweep of safe, sandy beach.
Getting there from the New Forest
- By rail and bus: take a South Western Railway train from Brockenhurst or New Milton to Wareham, then the Purbeck Breezer bus toward Corfe Castle and Swanage. Board the steam train at Corfe Castle or Norden.
- By road: the fun way is via the Sandbanks chain ferry from the Bournemouth side; otherwise loop round via Wareham on the A351. Use the big park-and-ride at Norden and ride the train in — parking in Corfe and Swanage is tight in summer.