Scotsman Goes West: 29th of June - 2nd of July 2025

Between the end of June and the beginning of July saw ex-LNER/BR A3 no. '60103, Flying Scotsman' make another visit to the West Somerset Railway, nearly eight years after its first visit to the Somerset line in 2017. It's time there would be spent with a mixture of static display days at Bishops Lydeard station in light steam, and running days, with one journey behind 'Flying Scotsman' and the other behind one of the WSR's home fleet engines (the one in this case being ex-GWR/BR Manor no. '7812, Earlstoke Manor').

It was also, by sheer coincidence, that I was on holiday with family relatives in Blue Anchor at the same time the engine would be at the WSR. With it being nearly ten years since I last took a ride behind the famous pacific, I thought it rude to pass on the chance.

This video covers both lineside action around the Blue Anchor area, and then my ride behind the engine on the 1st of July from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead, and then back again behind 'Earlstoke Manor'.

Overall, it was an enjoyable visit, and I'm glad I was able to get some more mileage behind 'Scotsman' after missing out on it for a long time. Whilst 'Scotsman' to me isn't my favourite locomotive, and the hype it attracts can get a bit weary at times, you can't deny that it is well loved by the general public, and it is a brilliant ambassador for the heritage railway scene and what people perceive as the golden age of travel.

Due to this video’s length, it has been broken down into ‘Chapters’ where certain parts of the video have been labelled correspondingly. Here, you can choose which parts of the video you want to watch without having to search the entire feature.
LS = Lineside; all shots taken from stations and vantage points.
WS = Windowside; all shots taken from the droplights of passenger trains. The locomotive/s hauling it will be added too.
You can view these chapters in the video playback bar or the description, where they’ll be listed with their time codes.

LS: Blue Anchor, 29th of June - 0:00
LS: Blue Anchor, 30th of June - 3:42
LS: Bishops Lydeard station, 1st of July - 6:15
WS: '60103', Bishops Lydeard to Minehead - 7:04
LS: Minehead station - 30:04
WS: '7812', Minehead to Bishops Lydeard - 34:46
LS: Blue Anchor, 47:13
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Current equipment as of 2025:
Photography — Nikon D3400 w/ Nikon AF-P DX VR 18-55mm lens
Video — PRIMARY: Panasonic HC-VX1 w/ Rode VideoMic Pro+ microphone
SECONDARY: Panasonic HC-VX870
ACCESSORIES: K&F Concept 62mm Variable ND Filter (For video)

All opinions that may be expressed are my own.