[canucklad]

Read the article about the top ten rail lines in the UK

And totally agree with the scenery on the East Coast Line…..As a frequent traveler on the line I always look forward to the stunning scenery.
My Top tip is definitely to grab a seat on the east side of the train……and let your eyes enjoy a visual feast…

Durham and its cathedral at no 3
Crossing the bridge at Berwick at no 2
Berwick to Dunbar and the spectacular coastline at no 1 and
Finally and most impressively the short hop from Waverly to Haymarket as a wee city centre bonus

Sip lowland malt (Glenkinchie) as you take it all in!

Extending the article to air travel (have we done this before?) here’s my standout top 5 , although it’s incredibly hard to prioritize considering the views I’ve seen …..but these are regular views

1. Landing at YVR, unbelievable regardless of where your sat, not even talking about the Rockies here!
2. Flying over Greenland and its fiords on a clear day
3. Right hand side ,approaching LHR over London
4. Taking off from HKG at night and banking over the city
5. Totally selfishly, EDI and West Lothian, as the old Fosters advert proclaimed…. “I can see the pub from here, and my house

Any other suggestions, rail and air?

2 users thanked author for this post.

Graemeo1, LuganoPirate

[LuganoPirate]

Flying to Delhi from Singapore on the aircraft’s starboard side during a very violent electrical storm over the Himalaya’s which totally illuminated Mount Everest. It’s a sight I’ll never forget – truly awesome.

Then there were the landings into the old Kai Tak airport over the rooftops and seeing the laundry drying in the wind. I’m always amazed no clothing ever got ingested into the engines!

[MartynSinclair]

A window to LA descending into Santa Monica…

1 user thanked author for this post.

LondonViking

[Graemeo1]

Flying over Hoover Dam en route from Newark to Las Vegas, arriving in Vegas early evening with the city lit up with it’s vast array of lights but surrounded by sparse mountains and desert. Wow, just wow.

[MickBettesworth]

Landing Barcelona from the north. Needs a seat on the right hand side of the aircraft. Always enjoy flying over central London when heading into LHR

[Poshgirl58]

Canucklad – agree with no3, slightly hazy July day, felt I could just reach down and scoop up the London Eye!

Recall two flights to Cyprus where we routed over Northern Greece. There’s a very deep lake where the road winds down the mountains and disappears into it. Beautiful clear day, water a brilliant blue from 35,000 feet. Fantastic sunset over Eastern Europe en route to Kos. Beautiful orange glow inside aircraft, talked about it for months afterwards.

Don’t forget POSH, port out starboard home.

Not many memorable train journeys so can only offer Reading to Gatwick, very scenic once you get past Guildford.

[DavidGordon10]

Landing in Geneva from the East and over the lake, on a clear day, with a port-side seat.

The sight of le Mont Blanc never ceases to amaze me.

A good view of Mount Fuji coming in to Narita is nearly as good….

[peter19]

This was flying LHR-HKG. Generally I always tend to sit on the left side of the aircraft so this was out the left window!

[JohnHarper]

I have a few and would agree that traveling on the eastern side of the train between York and Edinburgh is special. My first degree was from Durham so it’s always special and remains spectacular.

Flying across Australia in daylight when you see the vast space with little going on is always amazing as you look down from an A380 and realise how insignificant it is in the scale of things.

For all I do it most weeks now I always love coming home to Cyprus, crossing over the turquoise sea and then the green coastline, the Besparmak range and then the golden brown of the land to the south where the airport is. You can see the whole island from the air until well into the descent and I love it. It’s also interesting in the dark as ECN is in an otherwise very rural area so you really do descend into darkness. Apart from around Nicosia there is almost no light pollution in the central plain.

Anything that involves flying over the Alps on a clear day too, particularly the approach up the lake to GVA.

There are a few more but I’ve run out of time for now!

[MrMichael]

In the air for me it has to be Sydney Harbour just as the sun is going down and glinting orange and blue off the Opera house. You need a left side seat and for the aircraft to track to the west of the city as it heads south for a turn towards the airport.

On the train it has to be Oslo/Bergen or vice versa. Some say a “North” looking window is best, others say south. Some say winter, some say Spring. I say do it four times and see it all! (I still have 2 to do).

[canucklad]

It’s surprising how many of us have shared memorable views…….
Here’s some more f my one offs/ less frequent views

High Altitude – Following the Nile , The Red Centre, Kilimanjaro, Himalaya’s , grand canyon, Paris, Moscow and the most beautiful heart shaped rainbow coloured tropical coral island somewhere between Sydney and Tokyo !!

Low altitude and approaches /take off’s – Kenya Coast between Mombasa and Malindi, wildlife in Nairobi National Park, Sydney, San Francisco and la Guardia

Notice some of you have added photos, how many of us actually take in flight photos?

[AlanOrton1]

For a good NY City view – sitting on the left hand side approaching EWR from the north. I’ve also had some great views on approach to LGA, again from a left hand side window seat.

Enjoyed the views when taking the train from Milan to Zurich – a fair few years back but certainly beat flying.

[Kjell]

I always enjoy the view of London when landing at Heathrow.

But flying a Q400 over Sognefjorden in Norway and landing at Sogndal, on the top of a mountain takes some beating.

[GivingupBA]

The view of Rio after taking off from GIG is pretty good.

[Author]

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