South Devon - Travelling by steam train evokes a hopeless sense of nostalgia for Britain's great, pioneering, railway past, combined with the simple delight of seeing an enormous plume of steam bursting from a train as it pulls out of a station.
 
Steam was all but extinct by 1968, and engines were sent to scrap yards, but thanks to heritage railway companies, who have rescued and restored many locomotives and lines, it is back from the brink.
 
Around 100 different lines, some little more than a mile long, have been reopened.
 
Stations have been restored to their period appearance, with old bicycles propped against picket fences, retro billboards advertising Woodbine cigarettes, and Lyons tea, plus little benches and immaculate flower beds.
 
Station masters and ticket collectors wear proper, period, uniforms.
 
It is all part of the fantasy and romance of travelling by steam train.
 
Whether it is to satisfy your own interest or your children's obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine, travelling by steam offers a wonderful day out.
 
The railways operate across Britain but here I have plumped for the seaside scenery of the West Country, home to some of the loveliest lines.
 
You can choose one line and make a day of it, or take a week and visit every one, staying at local B&Bs or more luxurious establishments along the way.
 
Meandering along the coast at Torbay, over viaducts, past harbours and beaches with pastel-painted huts, this seven-mile track then takes you inland through the Devon countryside to the Dart estuary.
 
Get off at the end of the line at Kingswear, where there is a little pontoon at the end of the platform for a five-minute passenger ferry across the estuary to the old fishing town of Dartmouth.
 
Here you can wander the winding streets, go to the market (Tuesdays and Fridays) or the farmers' market (the second Saturday of the month), have ice cream, and go crabbing at Bayard's Cove.
 
You can then take an hour-long cruise along the Dart before catching the steam train home, or take a longer cruise (75 minutes) to Totnes, where you can either get the special bus back to Paignton or continue your journey from there, Totnes station is a 15 minute walk away.
 
On the water you will pass Greenaway House (which belonged to Agatha Christie), Dartmouth Castle, and Britannia Royal Navy College, where the Queen first met Prince Philip.
 
Lucinda Baring.