Train to the Midnight Sun

DAY 1

We leave St Pancras (Escorted) at 13:01 for our Eurostar journey direct to Brussels and then onwards on ICE train to Cologne (arr 18:15). Koln is a popular tourist destination with its magnificent Cathedral next door to the Hauptbahnhof (main station) in the centre of the city. Overnight stay in Cologne.

Your Interrail pass is valid from your home station in the UK to London.

There is an option to join the tour tomorrow in Copenhagen with flights from Bristol, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

DAY 2

Half-way across Europe before supper! Leaving Cologne this morning we travel via Hamburg and are due to arrive in Copenhagen early evening. You can also join the tour today via direct flights from Bristol, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

DAY 3

A day sightseeing in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Today the cultural option will be a tour of Copenhagen with an English-speaking, professional Guide. This will end on the waterfront where the group will embark for a boat trip round the harbour. There will also be time to see the famous statue of the Little Mermaid who sits on a rock out in the middle (best seen from the land). After lunch (own expense), there is the option to travel to Helsinger by rail to visit the imposing Elsinore Castle where most of the action in Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet' is set. Meanwhile, the Rail Enthusiasts will visit the National Railway Museum, at Odense, where it is hoped there will be a train giving rides on the former harbour branch; and then to the Danish Tramways Museum which is at least as good as the UK's Crich museum, where some trams should be in operation on a long running line laid on the trackbed of an old industrial railway. Welcome dinner.

DAY 4

The things one lives to see! Nowadays one can get from Denmark to Sweden without having to take a boat, and we will go by train from Copenhagen to Malmo across the extraordinary 16km Oresund fixed link. It's often called a bridge but, on an island in the middle, the enormous bridge ends and the train dives down into a tunnel. We carry on past Malmo and up the west coast of Sweden, through Goteborg, seat of a venerable university, where we will pause for a tour of the city's extensive tram network in historic vehicles specially chartered from the local tramway's preservation society. After a couple of hours, the tram will take us back to the station and we will continue our train journey, crossing into southern Norway, where we will spend two nights in Oslo.

DAY 5

A free day for your own sightseeing in Oslo, the capital of Norway. We recommend a ride on the Ljabru tram, a modern vehicle with large windows and a scenic route overlooking the Bay and the Port. The railfan group will take a train out into the country and go for a ride on the standard-gauge Kroderbanen preserved railway, whose beautiful varnished teak end balcony carriages are normally steam-hauled by a handsome tender engine of a very Scandinavian appearance. Oslo has many quality restaurants, and this evening is free for you to choose the type and location for your own dinner.

DAY 6

Today, we continue our train journey northwards, an eight-hour journey from Oslo to Trondheim, but which we will break in Hamar in order to visit the Norwegian National Rail Museum. Here, a 750mm gauge tank engine will be in steam and giving rides. Sleep Trondheim, two nights.

DAY 7

Sightseeing day in Trondheim, home of the world's most northerly Gothic Cathedral. The city is also the home of the Norwegian Crown Jewels and has some splendid historical sights. There are also ferry links to some of the outer islands - if you fancy a short cruise! During the day, a trip will be organised on what is often called the most northerly operating tram route which climbs across the face of the escarpment which hangs over the city, giving some fine views.

DAY 8

Today, the romance of our journey really begins! We take the daytime Trondheim-Bodo service, north, during which we will cross the Arctic Circle; it won't get dark tonight! The line is not electrified, and we will be hauled by a big diesel, one of the few which Norway possesses. There is a cafe on the train, and proper carriages where the seats are lined up with the windows and you can watch in comfort as some end-of-the-world type scenery glides past. Overnight in Bodo.

DAY 9

Bodo is the northern railhead of the Norwegian system (the Railway never got to Narvik). Narvik, which is in Norway, is an important port which played a vital role in the Second World War, but it is only connected to the Swedish rail network. We will leave Narvik by train, but today we will arrive there by bus (bit of an anti-climax, really, but what can one do?). Afternoon of free time in Narvik. There are interesting museums to visit, with exhibits related to the iron ore mining industry and the construction of the railway, or the part played by Narvik in the Second World War, while the railway enthusiasts will want to be at the station to see the huge double twin-unit locomotives working the heavy iron-ore trains. Dedicated skiers in the group might think of going up to Riksgransen, the ski resort on the Swedish border: as the sun doesn't set in the summer, the facilities stay open 24 hours a day and you can ski all through what we would call the night. Overnight in Narvik.

DAY 10

Free morning and then the return journey starts, all the way from Lapland to London by train! We will leave Narvik on Train 93, the overnight to Stockholm which departs around noon. Refreshments available on the train. To get the best views we do the first part of the journey in an open seating carriage before moving into our twin berth sleeper cabins around 8pm.

DAY 11

The overnight train arrives in Stockholm early morning. On the train, breakfast packs are available to us before we arrive. The hotel is situated across the road from the station and luggage can be left there until check-in. For those who are interested, the Swedish National Railway Museum is at Gavle and so we retrace our steps by train for a visit. Transfer to and from the Museum when we arrive at Gavle is by historic railcar. Alternatively, get off the train at Upsala to ride the 30km long 891mm (3 Swedish foot) gauge Lennakaten steam railway. Those staying in Stockholm have free time for their own exploration (guidebook provided). Several steam ships operate around Stockholm, possibilities are a trip to Vaxholm or the archipelago, or to the royal palace at Drottningholm. Sleep in Stockholm for two nights.

DAY 12

The steamship 'Mariefred' (yes, it really is steam powered and coal fired!) will take us for an island-studied voyage across lake Maleren (lunch included) to, appropriately enough, Mariefred, home of the impressive Gripsholm Castle, for a ride on the 600mm narrow-gauge Ostra Sodermanlands Jarnvag. The OSlJ sends a steam train down the Harbour Branch to meet the ship. Here, you can get a shot which includes them both - steamship and steam train - making it one of the must-get photos of the trip. Track Bashers will want the ride along the short branch, which is not otherwise used. From the other end of the OSlJ, there are regular trains back to Stockholm and people can return at their leisure, when they've had enough.

DAY 13

Today, we will have a free morning in Stockholm; there is so much to do and see. But here are some suggestions: you could go for a 2-hour city tour by boat, along the canals and round some of the islands, though you won't see them all as there are said to be 24,000 of them; or go to the Vasa Museum and see the sixteenth century warship they famously dug out of the mud of the harbour, a Scandinavian Mary Rose. Also at the Vasa Museum is a large steam icebreaker which can be visited. The Swedes, being very nostalgic, a tram route has been allowed to survive which is worked with historic vehicles, each one a museum piece. Meanwhile, train enthusiasts might want to ride the 891mm narrow-gauge suburban railways. Leaving Stockholm at 3.20pm we travel south to the delightful city of Malmo for our overnight stay.

DAY 14

Today is free for your own exploration of Malmo. Alternatively, trains leave every 30 minutes to the beautiful town of Ystad - famous because of the TV detective 'Kurt Wallander', played by Kenneth Branagh. Leaving Malmo early afternoon, we head south via Copenhagen to Hamburg for our overnight stay. Refreshments are available on the train before we arrive in Hamburg at 8pm. Farewell dinner at the hotel.

DAY 15

We travel back to the UK on the route Hamburg - Cologne - Brussels - London St. Pancras (arriving 16:57). You can use your Interrail pass for first class travel back to your home station. Direct flights back to Manchester (at 11:25 with Easyjet) and Edinburgh (at 16:55 with Ryanair).

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner