My Dad Packed for Skydiving. We Ended Up on a Steam Train

In a world that rewards moving fast, travel writer Priscilla Adegoke made a different case for Father’s Day: a steam-hauled journey from Kent to Bath Spa, a locomotive built in 1954, and a day where nothing was urgent.

My dad packed for every eventuality. A full suitcase, as it turned out, because I’d told him almost nothing. Just a date, a time, and to be ready. In the weeks leading up to it, he’d cycled through theories: a holiday, rock climbing, skydiving. He’d landed on skydiving with a confidence that said he’d half resigned himself to it. He showed up at my door with luggage that suggested he still wasn’t ruling out a long-haul flight.

However, we were going to Bromley South to catch a train.

Neither of us had slept particularly well. A run of late nights had led into an early alarm, the kind of morning where you question your own decisions. But there’s something about a plan that gets you moving, and this one had been weeks in the making. I watched my dad as we pulled into the car park – still clueless, already quietly alert to the fact that I’m still his very unpredictable youngest daughter. That alertness, that particular readiness he has, is one of my favourite things about him. He’s always the one with a trick or surprise up his sleeve so it was nice to see the tables turn. 

Nevertheless, the suitcase stayed in the car.

The Carriage That Felt Like Another Era

A member of staff was already on the platform when we arrived, directing passengers to where they needed to be. When the train pulled in, Steam Dreams mats appeared at the carriage doors and we were escorted on board. Whatever I’d been expecting, it wasn’t this level of care from the first minute. The carriages felt like a different era, the kind of unhurried travelling that doesn’t really exist anymore. My dad’s expression shifted the second he walked through the door.

Why Crowds Follow This Locomotive Across the Country

A diesel locomotive was pulling us for the first part of the journey, which is standard for the route out of London. But somewhere midway, we stopped. The engine was swapped for the steam locomotive, and that’s when the crowds appeared. People had been waiting at the platform specifically for this moment, cameras up, some of them having driven a distance just to see the Duke of Gloucester come through. My dad watched all of it through the window with the quiet delight of a man who had absolutely not seen any of this coming.

Steam Dreams Rail Co. runs luxury steam-hauled journeys across the UK, and the Kent to Bath Spa route available across two experiences – the Pullman Dining and First Class. This particular day was spent in the Pullman. By the time the locomotive was attached and we were moving again, a Peach Bellini had arrived at the table. That was the last moment either of us was in any kind of hurry.

The Kitchen That Never Stopped Moving

The kitchen doors kept swinging open throughout the morning, another course, another drink, another basket of something warm. The staff had the rhythm of people who genuinely enjoy what they’re doing. The substantial courses arrived when the train was stationary, so you weren’t navigating a plate of lamb with the carriage rocking. Someone had thought about that. We ate yoghurt with berry compote, worked through a bakery basket with Netherend farm butter and preserves, then chose between a full English breakfast and smoked salmon on an English muffin with a poached egg and chive hollandaise. My dad ate in near silence, which is his version of a standing ovation.

The Moment London Disappeared Entirely

Outside the window, London was doing what London does, dense and relentless, cranes and concrete and the particular grey of a city that never fully stops. And then, almost without announcement, it didn’t. The high rises fell away and were replaced with fields. Proper fields, wide and unhurried, farm animals dotting the landscape, the kind of English countryside that makes you forget the city exists at all. What struck me was how the train’s speed had nothing to do with the pace outside. We were moving fast, but everything beyond the glass had slowed down completely.

People stood at level crossings and waved as we passed. Closer to Bath, carved into a long stretch of open hillside, was a white horse etched into the land, the kind of thing that takes your breath slightly because you weren’t expecting it. My dad could barely contain himself at this point.

The locomotive drawing us was the 71000 Duke of Gloucester which was built in 1954, scrapped, rescued, and only back on the mainline in 2024. The crowds waiting at every station suddenly made perfect sense. My dad found them completely understandable. I found them unexpectedly moving.

Standing at the Firebox in Bath

When we arrived in Bath, we were taken to the front of the locomotive before anything else. You could feel the heat before you were fully inside. My dad and I took turns standing by the open flame, the warmth pressing against you with a weight you don’t expect, and took pictures of each other in the glow of it. The person manning the coals was dressed in overalls that had been passed down through generations, still in pristine condition. The care in that detail said everything about what this experience values.

Why Thermae Bath Spa is the Perfect Steam Train Day Trip Pairing

We’d booked Thermae Bath Spa for the afternoon, which turned out to be exactly the right call. A short walk from the station, and the moment we arrived, the world as we knew it disappeared. The spa encourages you to leave your phone at the door – a small instruction that, after a day of sensory richness, felt less like a rule and more like a relief.

We made our way up to the rooftop pool. My dad slipped into the warm mineral water and peered over the edge at the city of Bath spread out below him, smiling with his eyes the way he does when something has genuinely caught him off guard. I watched and didn’t say a word.

We stayed much longer than we’d planned, interrupted only by our massage call time. Neither of us was in any hurry to leave, and the kind of stillness that had settled between us felt far too good to rush. At one point he turned to me and said it was one of the best days he’d had in a long time. I told him I already knew. He’d documented it on Instagram stories somewhere between Kent and Bath.

The Return Leg Nobody Was in a Hurry For

Wine service on the return leg started somewhere around Berkshire. The house Champagne was a grower’s, fifth-generation and estate-grown – the kind of thing you sip slowly because the glass feels like it belongs in your hand. My dad went for the non-alcoholic option, which the stewards handled without a second thought. 

Then dinner. The smoked mackerel rillette arrived first, then the duo of lamb: braised shoulder and roast rump, delicate and tender in a way that good lamb should be but often isn’t. A deep red was the natural pairing, the optional mint sauce cutting through with exactly the right sharpness. The British cheeseboard came next, then a meringue with vanilla cream and elderflower, then coffee and petits fours. There was not a single moment of hunger the entire day.

Somewhere around Newbury, my dad fell asleep. I watched the countryside and let him.

The Real Case for Slowing Down

There’s a version of this trip where we’d taken a city bus tour of Bath instead. Seen the sights, ticked the boxes, spent the afternoon stuck in traffic behind a match-day crowd. I’m glad we didn’t. What this day offered was something rarer than a good itinerary – the genuine experience of slowing down. The train that moves through England while England stands still. The spa that makes an afternoon feel like a week. A father who packed for skydiving and found, somewhere between Kent and Bath, that he had nowhere else he’d rather be.

That’s the gift. Not the train, though the train is extraordinary. The permission to move at a different pace entirely, and to share it with someone who deserved a day like that long before I thought to give it to him.

Note: Steam Dreams have journeys running throughout 2026, including the Cornish Riviera in September, a London to York Christmas Market in November, and an Edinburgh Christmas Market departing Kings Cross. Full details at steamdreams.co.uk/journeys/

If you enjoyed this, you might also like my review of the Winter Wine Dinner at Chilston Park – another case for slowing down and letting the experience come to you.

Writer and Travel Content Specialist

A London-based luxury travel specialist, Priscilla Adegoke blends sophisticated writing with evocative photography to document the finest hotels, dining establishments, and exclusive experiences. Her signature approach pairs engaging short-form videos with carefully composed photography that captures the essence of travel.

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