REBECCA FORD lets off steam on a specialist rail break exploring the town of Shakespeare's birth

WREATHED in smoke, the train hissed impatiently like a half-tamed dragon. We hurried along the platform, past old oil lamps and tubs of lovingly tended flowers and climbed into our reserved carriage. Immaculately dressed staff twizzled moustaches and consulted their fob watches.

A blast on a whistle, a wave of a flag and we were off, back to a time when travel had a touch of romance. I half expected a handsome stranger to appear and remove a speck of dust from my eye with a snowy white handkerchief.

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A ride on the Severn Valley Railway, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, was the highlight of a short break to Stratford-upon-Avon, run by Treyn, a company specialising in railway holidays.

I'd arrived in Stratford a couple of days earlier on a far less romantic train from London, which didn't even boast a tea trolley, let alone a handsome stranger. A waiting taxi whisked me to my base for four nights, the ivy-clad Charlecote Pheasant Hotel, set in peaceful countryside four miles out of town.

After I'd settled into my light and spacious room, w ith a view of rolling parkland designed by "Capability" Brown, the cheery tour manager, Geoff, introduced me to the group, mainly made up of retired couples and with no sign of the ardent trainspotters I'd expected. We chatted over dinner in the restaurant with its beamed ceiling. Chicken chasseur for the meat-eaters, tomato pasta for me, followed by a moreish apple pie.

Stratford is synonymous with Shakespeare, and the next day a Blue Badge guide gave us a tour of the town. First stop was the Bard's birthplace, a picturesque half-timbered house that sits incongruously among modern shops and cafés.

Tourists have been coming here since the 18th century, and there's even a window scratched with the signatures of visiting Victorians, including Sir Walter Scott. Not only was Shakespeare born here, he probably started his married life here too.

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His marriage to Anne Hathaway took place when he was 18 and she 25 and was rather a rushed affair (she was expecting their first child).

New Place, a short walk away, was Shakespeare's home for the last years of his life. However you can only see the site on which it stood. Once one of the finest properties in the town, it was pulled down in the 1750s when the then owner got fed up with the combination of gawping tourists and high taxes.

The site was turned into a garden, which is currently being excavated by archaeologists. We watched them at work, hoping to see someone uncovering a quill or forgotten play.

TREYN TRIPS are escorted but not regimented and there's lots of free time for exploring. Plenty of people had joined the trip by car so the next day I took up one couple's offer of a mini tour of Warwickshire. We stopped at quiet country churches, had a lazy pub lunch, then drove to Kenilworth Castle, a glorious ruin once owned by Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's favourite.

Last stop was St Mary's Church in Warwick, where an elaborate tomb is dedicated to Elizabethan courtier Fulke Greville, a man some claim to be the true author of many of Shakespeare's plays.

The following day was the Severn Valley Railway excursion from Kidderminster along 16 miles of the River Severn. We stopped at immaculately restored stations, all old advertisements and gleaming woodwork, before reaching Bridgnorth in Shropshire.

The former inland port has half-timbered buildings and an extraordinary Victorian cliff railway, which links its upper and lower parts.

Too soon, we were back in Kidderminster, where I chatted to the train's driver, Bob Drew. "It's a living thing, " he said, patting the engine lovingly.

I couldn't help but agree.

GETTING THERE:
Treyn Holidays (01904 734 939/www.treynholidays.co.uk) offers a four-night Stratford-upon-Avon & Severn Valley break from £295pp (two sharing), half board.

Price includes transfers, guided walking tour of Stratford, entrance to three Shakespeare properties and a Severn Valley Railway excursion.

Return rail tickets from Marylebone to Stratford can be arranged from £29. Enjoy Warwickshire:
01926 412 210/ www.enjoywarwickshire.com