Cathy and I boarded the 'Bodmin West Country Class' at Alton on a perfect summer's day; the only dark clouds in sight were the smoke plumes from the engine.
As the train pulled slowly away from the station we made for the windows, cameras in hand to get the obligatory face full of smoke and to try to snap some action shots. The rolling green landscape was picture-book perfect, the progress slow but steady.
We wound past old abandoned rolling stock, rusting away slowly in the heat of the day. A lone man with a metal detector in a field didn't notice our passing, lost in the dream of finding treasure no doubt. The cows paid no heed, resting under the trees to escape the heat.
Shaking hairfuls of soot all over the train tables and seats, we decided to clamber off the Bodmin at the first stop, Ropley, to view the train yard.
The attention to detail on this route is unique. At each station stop, the staff are dressed 1920's style, complete with pocket watches on chains. Somehow it doesn't feel out of place as it is done with carefully studied English understatement. There isn't any feeling that this is all just a big show. The staff you meet are genuine, the trains and stations restored with care.
It's an underlying passion mixed with everyday sensibility.
Our fellow travellers were a great bunch. We were mistaken for real train spotters by some, as we were taking the types of photos more associated with enthusiasts.
If truth be told, we were just having fun with cameras, neither of us really knowing that much about trains, but we didn't want to spoil the expectations of that special "train spotter" breed and we shared the enthusiasm anyway.
The next train from Ropley was an old diesel which took us past Medstead to Alresford for our "half way stop" and a much needed pint of cider and bite to eat.
Alresford is an old market town with a wide high street, aptly named 'Broad street'
It sports a pink Barclays bank, which was amusing.
We headed for 'The Globe on the Lake' and arrived early enough to get a table in the garden, overlooking the Ducks, Swans, Geese and occasional Coot in a feeding frenzy. Small children, wielding chunks of bread, were having a riot of fun throwing it at the Ducks.
Dodging the wasps and midges, we enjoyed a tasty chicken pie and cold cider and eventually dragged ourselves away for the return journey.
We misjudged the train times, after having a half pint at 'The Swan Hotel' and decided that another half at 'The Horse & Groom' was in order.
The next train back was a Diesel, so we decided to stop at Medstead and wait for the final steam train. Medstead wasn't that memorable, aside from some of the old restored adverts at the station, one in particular, advertising 'Nosegay Tobacco'
As we boarded the train back to Alton, sharing cool white wine in plastic cups, we had a chat with a fellow couple. The husband had worked on the railways before retiring, so he had a few interesting stories to tell.
The journey back was too short. Ahh but for a few more hours gently rolling through the lush English countryside, with great company, in a timeless place.
All in all, it was a perfect day.
