Greener getaways: all aboard the 09:02 Country Garden Express from London
Leave the car behind for a first-class train journey whose destination is a day of indulgence and exploration on a sustainable estate-cum-pastoral idyll: The Newt in Somerset
This article is part of a guide to London from FT Globetrotter
Last year, my family ditched our rusty car in an attempt to cut the costs of maintenance and parking — as well as reduce our impact on climate change. It’s easy enough to get around London, with its network of buses, Tubes and taxis. But what about travelling to the countryside in style, unfettered by rucksacks?
The Newt’s Great Garden Escape offered a luxurious solution to my hankering for fresh air, providing a rail trip to the Somerset countryside, as well as tour of the hotel’s vast gardens, three-course lunch and a tasting of ciders made in the grounds.
A vintage British Railways poster advertising Somerset