Scarborough Spa Express
You Can Still Arrive At The Seaside By Steam Train
The Scarborough Spa Express. Coast to coast across Lancashire and Yorkshire, steam hauled all the way. Or step off at York if you prefer the city.
5 Wednesdays. June to September 2026. From £53.
The Scarborough Spa Express is a full-day coast-to-coast heritage steam excursion from Lancashire to the Yorkshire seaside. Steam from the first mile to the last. Enjoy an afternoon at the coast or, if you prefer, a day in historic York instead. Five Wednesdays in 2026, and nothing quite like it anywhere else in Britain.
Choose Your Route
North Route
Wednesdays
Dates
17 June, 29 July, 19 August 2026
Join at
Carnforth, Skipton, Keighley, Shipley, Woodlesford (Leeds), Church Fenton, York
The Route
Through the Aire Valley and along the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, past historic mill towns, then east to the coast.
Step off at York or continue to the sea.
South Route
Wednesdays
Dates
15 July, 2 September 2026
Join at
Lancaster, Preston, Blackburn, Brighouse, Wakefield Kirkgate, Castleford, York
The Route
Across the industrial backbone of Lancashire and West Yorkshire, over the Pennines and on to the sea.
Step off at York or continue to the sea.
Classes and fares
Every passenger rides in lovingly restored vintage carriages. What changes is the travel class and service.
Standard
Refurbished vintage Mark I or Mark II coaches. Access to buffet carriage for teas, coffees and light snacks.
From
£53 adult
£28 child (16 and under)
First Class
Traditional First Class seating with more legroom and width. Includes one complimentary tea/coffee on each journey and access to buffet carriage.
From
£75 adult
£38 child (16 and under)
Premier First
Vintage Premier Class vehicles refurbished to a high level of comfort. A breakfast roll on the way out. A savoury of the day with a scone, jam and butter on the way home. Complimentary tea and coffee both ways.
From
£225 adult
£130 child (16 and under)
Premier Dining
Vintage Premier Class vehicles appointed to the highest level of comfort. Full English breakfast with Bucks Fizz outbound. Four-course dinner with petit fours, Champagne and wine on return. Complimentary tea and coffee both ways.
From
£329 adult
£225 child (16 and under)
What happens on the day
After York, the line turns coastwards. First glimpse of the sea around Seamer Junction. Into Scarborough before lunch. Nearly three hours to walk the seafront, climb up to the castle, eat fish and chips by the harbour. (If York is where you want to be, you get off there on the way, and pick the same train back up in the afternoon.) Then the long run home through the summer light. Champagne reception and a four-course dinner on the return in Premier Dining, wine with the pudding, the kettle whistle answering the setting sun.
Your three hours in Scarborough
A proper Yorkshire seaside afternoon, eleven minutes on foot from the platform. The harbour with the fishing boats and the lifeboat station. The South Bay seafront and its beach huts. Fish and chips at the water's edge. A walk up to Scarborough Castle for the view over both bays. The Spa itself, a saltwater spa town since 1626 and still the best tea and cake on the Yorkshire coast. Back on the platform with time to spare.
Rather spend the day in York?
York is on the route. If a medieval cathedral city suits you more than the sea, you can step off there on the way out and pick the same train back up in the afternoon. York Minster, the Shambles, the old city walls, a lunch in a 14th-century bar. It's a proper day out either way.
Book your steam service to the Yorkshire coast
Five chances in 2026 to travel by steam from coast to coast
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