After joining points from Burton-on-Trent to Cheltenham Spa, this train will make a large circular journey through Central Southern England, starting with a climb through the Golden Valley into the heart of the Cotswolds. Passengers may also join us at Swindon before a run through the Vale of White Horse into the Thames Valley and to Reading, where we turn south to Basingstoke. 

Downland scenery leads through Winchester to Southampton, a major port, after which the route lies through the New Forest National Park to Bournemouth and Poole. An undulating run through the Dorset heathlands leads to Dorchester and the precipitate descent to Weymouth, (1340-1630) where we are expecting a break of two to three hours in this historic seaside resort.

The return route leads back to Dorchester, where we now continue north by way of another scenic line through Maiden Newton to Yeovil and on to Castle Cary. From there we keep close to the Somerset / Wiltshire border to reach Westbury, and soon the Avon Valley through Bradford-on-Avon to Bath Spa and the outskirts of Bristol. After a set-down at Bristol Parkway a run through Severnside leads back to Cheltenham Spa and the return to Burton-on-Trent.

A pair of veteran Class 33 diesels (33025 and 33029) have been booked to work this train, a type that hauled most trains between Bournemouth and Weymouth from the mid 1960s to electrification in 1988. The locomotives will haul a rake of MK1 coaches from Riviera Trains.