Top 5 stations in the North East

Stuart Boyd • 27 February 2021

When ever I do a Q&A on Twitter one of the questions I always get is "Which is your favourite station so far?" It is very tough to choose a top 10 nationwide... So I have decided to split it up into a collection of Top 5's...

It's time to head Northwards, and to the North East:

5. Acklington

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Station: Acklington

Line: East Coast Main Line (Newcastle to Chathill)

County: Northumberland

Managed By: Northern


When I compiled my top 5 list for the North East I had a massive decision to make,  which station would make it into 5th place... It was basically between Acklington and Chathill. The only thing that swayed my decision was that Acklington was that bit quieter than Chathill!


I remember this well, it was my 5th station after the first lockdown. I alighted here and spent about 5 minutes taking photos and then took a walk through the village. If you think the station in lovely and quaint, then head into the village which is equally quaint! The village welcome sign even had an old rail carriage underneath it!


Safe to say, one day I will return to this part of the world, might even treat the other half to a weekend away!

4. Poppleton

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Station: Poppleton

Line: The Harrogate Line

County: North Yorkshire

Managed By: Northern


Poppleton is a station that is included in my top 5 due to the amazing station house, but not only the house, but the way the glass waiting room on the Eastbound platform has been designed, a really lovely modern addition that most certainly does not look out of place.


I visited the station during a last minute trip, I literally had no plan for this trip. It was a case of blag it and see what happened. I had 50 minutes here, so I looked on Google Maps and headed in the direction of a local McDonalds for some dinner. I took the food back to the station and ate it while enjoying the surroundings of the station. The village of Poppleton looks a delight and will be getting a revisit at some point, possibly when I'm in the York area.

3. Kildale

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Station: Kildale

Line: Esk Valley Line

County: North Yorkshire

Managed By: Northern


Any of the stations on the Esk Valley Line could of featured in my top 5 if I was being completely honest. But obviously I couldn't select all the stations on one line, so I had to be really picky, Kildale made the cut!


I visited this station on a Sunday morning, alighting at the station I spent 10-15 minutes taking photos and admiring the surroundings! After this I took a walk the Captain Cook's Monument and the RAF Officers Memorial. A lovely walk and one I would encourage people to do if they are in the area! The views from the monument are spectacular! I know this is a walk I will be doing again, just at a much more relaxing pace.

2. Bempton

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Station: Bempton

Line: Yorkshire Coast Line

County: East Riding of Yorkshire

Managed By: Northern


I almost chose to miss my planned train to have a longer look around the area near this station. But due to Boris announcing he was going to be making a significant announcement that evening I decided to get back to my hotel to listen to what he had to say... As it turned out, it was another stay at home announcement sadly :(. 


Bempton station is a very basic single platform station, but wow, what a single platform station it is! The now private station house is lovely, the only negative thing is the fact the level crossing is now an automated system (Yes, I know progress has to happen). But believe me, everything else about the station makes up for the automated crossing!

1. Commondale

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Station: Commondale

Line: Esk Valley Line

County: North Yorkshire

Managed By: Northern


It's that line again, that line that could of had the whole line in the top 5! Commondale was a station I alighted at and literally just stood there thinking 'how on earth is this station not talked about more!'


I have some really vivid memories from this station, the amazingly cute waiting room, the stunning surroundings, the amazing fact that the entrance to this station is across a flipping field! Because having a road to access a station is so last year, all stations should be accessed across a field! 


After alighting at Commondale I then took a walk across the fields to Castleton Moor. The walk was memorable due to a rather annoyed Llama, I think it had an issue with me walking through it's field, it had no hesitation in letting me know it was annoyed! Other than that moment the walk was beautiful!

Every Last Station on the Llangollen Railway

by S Boyd • 11 April 2025
After hearing about the Steam Gala on the Llangollen Railway I simply had to see if I could make it work to visit. The day started at the awful time of 0645 with a train from Liverpool Lime Street to Chester. I hopped off at Frogsham on the way in the hunt of a cap in the Morrisons next to the station. Annoyingly thought he supermarket had zero mens clothing. So hopped on the next train to try my luck in Chester. Result, I got a cap! Hopefully this one lasts longer than this trip. I have a habbit of loosing hats! Aftert he great hat hunt I headed back to the station in order to catch the train down to Gobowen where I was meeting my good friend Rob. After the hellos we headed in car to Llangollen and started the great car parking space hunt which was followed by spending 10 minutes trying to work out how to pay for a car park ticket! After all that we headed down to the station and went straight to the platform. Couple of photos taken followed by boarding the first train of the day which would take us the full length of the line to Corwen station. We spent 20 minutes at Corwen before heading back to Glyndyfrdwy station and went for a short walk and took some photos. It was at this point we realised that every service on the line was running late. We boarded our third train and headed to Carrog where we alighted. Took some more photos and then went in search of a pub! The Grouse Inn to be precise. After a 5 minute walk we came across the pub and plonked ourselves in the beer garden with a drink and promply orders some grub! Was rather tasty! After this we headed back to the station, had a look around, bought some gifts in the shop and then headed over to the next train. On the way we asked a member of staff/volunteer what was happening with the timetable and their words was "the timetable is a work of fiction" so from this point we played it by ear with trains. The next stop was Berwyn which is quite possibly the best station on the line! The setting with the river next to the station was super and you simply couldn't stand on the platform and not be impressed! Given the timetable was completly out of the window we decided to just stay at the station and wait for the next train. This arrived and took us back to where we started: Llangollen. The line is a thing of beauty. The scenery was breathtaking, and every member of staff/volunteer we spoke to was great. After a walk around Llangollen we headed for the car and then drove to Machynlleth where i am based for the next few nights. Enjoy below some photos from today. And until next time... Ta for now

Stations to visit: KILDALE

by Stu • 28 April 2024
Kildale station is located on the very scenic Esk Valley Line that runs from Middlesborough to Whitby. From the June 2024 timetable change the station will see 8 trains per day, 4 in each direction! Although this is a limited service it does give you the opportunity to do some exploring of the area.

Afternoon walk with Bailey

by Stuart • 27 January 2024
I set of on a walk with my sisters dog and headed for the disused canal from Kendal. I followed along disused canal to the village of Natland. I then swapped the disused canal for the river. After following the riverside path, I came across a footbridge that I had planned to use, annoyingly it was closed! Annoyingly I was planning to use this footbridge, due to this there was a lenghty diversion. Thankfully the diversion wasn't a total waste of time, I was able to walk through the beautiful Sizergh Castle and then head back up to my original route plan and headed to Helsington church and view point. After spending a little time chatting with my Dad (who's ashs was scattered there) me and Bailey then headed up to Scout Scar before setting of back down towards Kendal. Upon reaching the River Kent I decided that my feet was still feeling good and I headed back along the river to Hawes Bridge. I then headed up into the village of Natland and then up to Oxenholme where my walk came to an end!

The Northumberland Line

by Stuart • 21 January 2024
A blog about the new Northumberland Line that is scheduled to start opening in the Summer of 2024.

Walking the Great Western Railway - Day 4

by Stu • 6 September 2023
This walk was a tail of two halves! The day started with walking through Reading suburbs and then through the city centre. Things mid morning took a positive turn as we headed to the The Kennet and Avon Canal which I then followed for the remaineder of the day. Only hopping away from the canal to go on to station platforms. A very enjoyable walk, even in the scorching heat! Stations visted today was: Reading, Reading West, Theale, Aldermaston & ended the day at Midgham. By walking between Aldermaston and Midgham I actually have managed to get a station ahead on my plan which can only be a good thing as I head down to the more difficult reagions of Somerset & Devon next week. Until tomorrow :)

Walking the Great Western Mainline gallery - Day 3

by Stu • 4 September 2023
Todays walk was a little bit of a tough one, mainly due to the excessive heat which is only going to get worse as the week goes on. Thinking there will be some early starts coming up to try and miss the worst of the heat! Today was a mixture of roads and walks across fields. Discovered there is some beautiful countryside between Maidenhead and Twyford. I strongly encourage you to take this walk! Stations visited today: Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead and ended at Twyford. Was great to have Nick Badley along with me today. Make sure to check out and subscribe to his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@NickBadley . After the walk myself and Nick headed to Windsor where we met up with Coastway Will and had a Nandos dinner where the unlimited refils was very much used again and again! Until tomorrow :)

Walking the Great Western Mainline gallery - Day 2

by Stu • 3 September 2023
Todays walk saw me starting at Southall and heading straight to The Grand Union Canal. We followed this for most of the walk today. Stations called at today was: Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley before finishing the walk at Slough. Was great to have pals Jack and Dave with me today. Laughed for the most part, especially when we got the wrong place for the London/Buckinghamshire borders. That video on twitter got filmed twice lol. Massive thank you to everyone supporting the event via donations to either/both: Donate to Samaritans: https://justgiving.com/page/greatwesternwalk Support me with the challenge: https://www.gofundme.com/f/GreatWesternWalk My photos from today are below. Daves photos from today can be found here on his Flickr photostream: https://flic.kr/ps/3ppCTV Until tomorrow :)

Walking the Great Western Mainline gallery - Day 1

by Stu • 2 September 2023
The first day of the walk from London Paddington to Southall saw me call at Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing & Hanwell. On the way we saw unexpected viaducts, fancy McDonalds, pretty gardens & nice market squares. Today I was joined by a couple of friends who can be found online at the following places, Please do check their accounts out. Jack All Station: twitter.com/JackAllStations Midland London: youtube.com/@MidlandLondon Below is a selection of photos from today.

Gallery: Weekend Walking around Windermere & Oxenholme

by Stu • 20 August 2023
Walk around Windermere:

Carlisle Photo Collection

by Stu • 12 August 2023
All photos © Every Last Station. Reuse only by permission.
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