The morning was misty with that wintery, low light glow, but not rainy. Perfect weather for a steam train journey

The large, rectangular suitcases stacked high at the platforms. The carefully looked after and blooming pots of flowers. The meticulously dressed guards and ticket checkers. 80p tea and KitKats – once melted during warmer times. The booths upholstered in burgundy diamond print, netted luggage racks above, and privacy curtains. A switch for multiple lights, that as well as an on and off function, has the additional choice to plump for dim (brooding/reading/the past) or bright (party/to do lists/commuter). 

The romantic steam train; the one from Brief Encounter. And the one that James Bond travelled on, the same one that whizzed past the The Railway Children – and also featured in the The Darjeeling Limited, with the Wes Anderson family piling in and out of with their emotional and Louis Vuitton baggage. I imagine my great-grandparents on steam trains, I can see them looking out to the green fields, pondering on the great questions of their time. And so it was, frozen – a nostalgia for something I had never experienced.

So it was that on this October day we boarded the old West Somerset Railway train, with the booths and the enormous bathrooms, the coal and enthusiastic waves – the baby whooping at the ‘choo, choo’. We decided to stop in two places – Watchet and Dunster. Watchet is a little coastal village, with a harbour, antique shops dotted and a few little cafes and pubs. We had lunch in Chives, a friendly cafe with jacket potatoes, pasties, milkshakes, scones and any sandwich you desire. The pace in Watchet is slow, the seagulls relaxed and it’s not tourist-centred – but calm and full of history, and almost modest about it. 

Dunster however, knows that it’s beautiful and oh so historic (with trumpets). When thinking of a quintessential English village, with a fairytale twist, you may very well unknowingly conjure up an image of Dunster. It even has a castle with a garden of spiralling flowers and a forest up high – enchanting. The shops, cafes and B&Bs know about the tourists and embrace them with large slices of homemade cake, fudge and a leisurely hog roast. 

Though tempted to stay in the village we had to get home to Bristol, so laden with cake and fudge, we took the steam train back to Bishops Lydeard, then drove home to read the baby stories of fairies and elves before she *drifted to sleep. My image of the steam train firmly renewed with every flowerbed, train booth, suitcase-in-waiting and fire lit waiting room. 

*as they do.

Hop on and hop off train  tickets are £17/adult. westsomersetrailway.vticket.co.uk