The Shakespeare Express is Vintage Trains’ flagship journey, and nothing else on the British railway matches it: a genuine mainline heritage locomotive, running at full speed through the Warwickshire countryside, starting in the town where William Shakespeare was born. This service is built around the journey itself. You travel out behind a working heritage locomotive, pause briefly in Birmingham to see the engine up close, then head straight back. 

Standard tickets from £26.50 per person. Child and family tickets available.

What’s included in every ticket:

• A heritage locomotive-hauled round trip from Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham and back, on the national mainline behind a fully restored locomotive
• A run through the Warwickshire countryside on the Shakespeare Line, one of England’s most distinctive stretches of railway
• A short stop in Birmingham with time to see the locomotive up close, before the return journey
• Comfortable seating with picture windows

Once you’ve chosen Stratford-upon-Avon or Henley-in-Arden as your boarding station, ticket options become available. Upgrade to First Class and a Sunday lunch is brought to your seat on the way out, with afternoon tea on the return, so lunch itself becomes part of the reason to book.

Departing Stratford-upon-Avon and Henley-in-Arden.

Sundays: 21 June, 26 July, and 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 August.

All prices include a 6% booking fee.