Tin and copper once made the area around Redruth the richest patch of land in the country. They inspired great engineering feats and pioneering tramways, the forebears of the rail empire. Julia Bradbury has her work cut out as she crosses an entire county, winding past Cornwall's crumbling engine houses and following a railway that has not operated for 140 years.

Julia Bradbury's first walking foray into Scotland has a very distinct flavour to it - whisky! The Speyside Way is one of Scotland's great walking routes, and between the villages of Craigellachie and Ballindaloch it follows the route of the railway that once served a remote area and a world-famous drinks industry.

The backstreets of Weymouth seem an unlikely spot to explore railway history, but Julia discovers there was once a short railway that ran south from Weymouth and across the unique coastal features of Chesil Beach and Portland. The walk is the ideal platform for learning about the history of Portland Harbour and the tied isle's most famous export, Portland stone.