From the May issue of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine

At five-thirty precisely, on a muggy Saturday afternoon, the stationmaster blew a shrill blast on his whistle and the Transcantábrico pulled out of the old station at Ferrol.

The long train of gleaming Pullman coaches, some more than 60 years old but restored to mint condition, had begun its 650km chug to Bilbao, along one of the most beautiful lines in Europe.

In my panelled compartment I unpacked, marvelling at how much could be squeezed into a space barely two metres by four. Out in the corridor, Walter Schmidt, a tall, laconic Swiss gentleman, was locking his door. ‘It is just as well I sleep with my knees folded,’ he said. ‘If I stretched out in bed my feet would be through the window!’

The Sunday Times Travel Magazine - January

BACKGROUND

• Six scenic rail journeys in Spain

• A week on the rails in Spain

• On the rails in Spain

• Tackling Spain by train

Continental holidays by rail

Clean, comfy and convenient – trains are a great way to travel, says Stephen Bleach

• 100 summer holidays for '08

Man in Seat 61's eight great train escapes

Mark Smith founded the much vaunted rail website. Here's his top trips

• Your Top 10 rail travel questions

Train is the only way to travel

Jeremy Lazell presents the perfect antidote to the grind of traffic jams: 12 of the greatest rail journeys on the planet

• What's your favourite rail trip?

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• Six scenic rail journeys in Spain

For a quarter of a century, the Transcantábrico has spent the summer months pootling back and forth across the rim of Spain, on twisting narrow-gauge tracks built more than 100 years ago to bring coal and freight to the Atlantic ports along the coast.

Two trains, each a skein of 14 luxury carriages, set out weekly from either end, both carrying 52 passengers in small, but elegant, double ensuite compartments. The line is still busy with commercial traffic, so the train threads its indolent way between commuter and freight wagons.

At 8am daily, passengers are woken by a handbell for breakfast in the restaurant car. Then the train begins its day’s journey, stopping at major towns and minuscule villages, amid some of the most spectacular scenery in northern Spain.

I’m no trainspotter, but since going to school every day by steam train in Cornwall, I’ve carried a torch for rail travel. Now, with nothing more to worry about than a week of rolling down the narrow gauge ahead – that and the chance to explore the hidden corners of the region they call España Verde (Green Spain) – I was brimming with eager anticipation.

As the suburbs of Ferrol dropped away, an expanse of water, dotted with small fishing boats, sped past the windows of the pub coach: this ‘carriage bar’ is where I most liked to settle, admiring the plush armchairs and the speed with which the stewardess brought me Martinis and olives.

There is much to be said for travelling by luxury train in a capsule of comfort, insulated from the troubles of the ‘normal’ world. Walter, mobile in hand, brow furrowed with worry, sat down beside me. ‘The world’s markets crash, and I am here, on a train, in remote Green Spain.’ Eventually he broke into an ironic smile: ‘I suppose it could be worse…’

It certainly could. At 8pm we reached the tiny whitewashed station of Ribadeo to find the waiting courtesy bus, painted the dark blue of the Transcantábrico, that would meet us at every stop. Each day we were to lunch and dine at some of the best restaurants along the coast (Northern Spain is famous for the quality of its cuisine – and all meals, including wine, coffee and liqueurs, are included in the ticket price).

Tonight, we were bound for the Parador Nacional de Ribadeo, set in a Galician manor house overlooking the estuary, and arrived to find the tables laid for a sumptuous four-course dinner, with starters of berberechos (cockles) cooked in a delicate sauce, and brochettes of grilled octopus.

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