and Llandudno before getting to its final destination.

However, there is a way to do most of this journey by train - on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which chugs its way alongside Lôn Eifion as it meanders from Porthmadog to Caernarfon (via Pwllheli) over the course of around an hour.

2. Aberystwyth to Carmarthen

Carmarthen is around 45 miles almost exactly due south of Aberystwyth. And yet travelling from the latter to the former by train currently involves spending the first two hours travelling in a generally north-east direction towards, and then across, the English border. After arriving at Shrewsbury, there's time for a quick visit to the waiting room before embarking on a marathon cross-country slog through the likes of Hereford, Cwmbran, Cardiff and Swansea. By the timeit connected with the route through to Swansea, Cardiff and beyond.

These days, its legacy can be found in another cycle path - the Ystwyth Trail - as well as bits of railway paraphernalia ranging from some preserved platforms in Llanilar, stations that are by turns ruined (Trawscoed) and converted into the local rugby club (Llanybydder), and a large goods shed in Lampeter.

But the story of this route is not quite finished. An ambitious campaign is gaining momentum to re-lay the track and re-open the connection, incorporating new stations at Llanilar, Tregaron, Lampeter, Llanybydder and Pencader, at a cost that could reach £700m.

3. Barmouth to Llangollen

If Michael Portillo had been making television programmes about Britain's most scenic railway journeys in the early 1960s, he would almost certainly found himself