Our third Brown Sign adventure in Buckinghamshire riding a heritage railway and visiting a familiar village.
Our next Brown Sign adventure in Buckinghamshire had a distinctly familiar feel as we set out to explore a little more of this beautiful corner of the English countryside, bathed in spring sunshine. Earlier in the month we’d began planning our railway adventures for the year ahead, and this was our first chance to head out with no fixed agenda – just a clear, bright day and the short drive into Buckinghamshire. Leaving behind the urban sprawl, we wound our way through picturesque country lanes lined with bluebells, passing lambs in the fields and taking the opportunity to revisit a familiar spot along the way. Our starting point was the village of Turville, best known as the filming location for The Vicar of Dibley, before continuing on to Chinnor, where the heritage line runs through to Princes Risborough.
Our usual remit for these adventures – to find an obscure starting point and work our way home, guided only by the humble brown sign – was a little more focused this time, but the motivation and energy felt much the same. Waking up on a warm Sunday morning with no fixed plans, it seemed the perfect moment to continue our railway adventures. Of the four heritage lines on our itinerary this year, this one is among the shorter experiences, but it promised that familiar blend of nostalgia, old‑fashioned steam travel, and a charming, relaxing day out. We’ve uncovered some wonderfully unexpected places in this corner of England, from a gaol and castle ruins to a smokery and a cheese house. Now we could add a steam railway – and a rather famous church – to that growing list.
A very familiar village with a distinct character of its own
Our adventure began with a fixed destination and no real sense of what to expect. The village of Turville, just half an hour from London, sits quietly in the Chiltern Hills – a beautiful settlement dating back to the 8th century, known for its stone and timber architecture that gives it such a distinct, historic charm. It has appeared in numerous films and television series over the years, most famously as the setting for the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley, a show that held a surprisingly personal resonance during my formative years. Its story of a female priest arriving in a traditional English village felt light‑hearted on the surface, yet it gently highlighted the challenges of accepting change within an institution as old as the Church of England. At the time, my mother was training for ordination, and the show’s themes – presented with humour but rooted in something real – echoed conversations happening in our own home.
Stepping out of the car felt like dipping my toes back into the past, as memories of childhood evenings curled up on the sofa watching this wholesome, charming comedy with my family came rushing back. For a moment, I half‑expected to see one or two familiar characters wandering the lanes, but Turville has a far more conservative, refined air in reality – immaculate cottages, expensive cars, and an unmistakable sense of quiet affluence. It is, undeniably, a lovely village. We took a few moments to explore the churchyard that served as the backdrop for the series and glanced up at the windmill on the hill, instantly recognisable from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, before realising the time and making a brisk retreat. I’d always been curious about visiting this little village, and it was a delight to discover it so close to home – but the railway awaited, and more adventures were calling.
The 12:15 service to Princes Risborough
Arriving with time to spare, we parked up and crossed the single‑track line onto the platform at Chinnor, a wonderfully restored and carefully preserved heritage station. It’s a familiar mix of preserved buildings, original station signs and golden day charm. It’s one of the shorter standard‑gauge heritage lines, running just three and a half miles to Princes Risborough, where it meets the mainline and a far more modern aesthetic. Between spring and autumn the railway operates a mix of services – dedicated diesel days, steam‑only days, and the alternating timetable we happened to catch. A simple day‑rover ticket costs £16 each and lets you travel back and forth as often as you like. In practice, it meant we could enjoy the diesel service first – a small pleasure in itself – before settling into the sights and sounds of a steam railway.
Every heritage line we visit ends up with its own informal scoring system – entirely unscientific measures of excellence that help us grade the day. One such measure is the presence of a tea room, and this one not only passed but exceeded Anna’s expectations by offering a full pint of orange squash. While I wandered along the platform waiting for the train to arrive, she returned triumphantly with a pasty and her squash, and we spent a few minutes sitting in the marquee tent on the platform, surrounded by volunteers, travellers, and families enjoying a grand day out. The diesel and steam services share the same carriages, with the engines swapped just outside the station, and with ten minutes to spare the diesel trundled into view. We boarded, joining a carriage full of excited train enthusiasts and cheerful staff eager to share their stories, before departing exactly on time.
It was a very straight railway line, with none of the sweeping curves that usually offer a glimpse of the train snaking through the countryside. I normally enjoy trying to capture a very particular, stylised shot of the train in motion, but I struggled on this journey. The views themselves were picture‑perfect in the sunshine – rolling Chiltern Hills, open fields, and at one point a cricket pitch where the players paused their match to wave at the passing carriages. It felt like a scene lifted straight from an Enid Blyton novel, the Famous Five off on an adventure to Buckinghamshire. After a brief stop where the line meets the mainline, we pulled into Princes Risborough station, always a slightly surreal moment as the old world meets the new and commuters bound for London or Oxford look up to see a very old‑fashioned diesel or steam locomotive arriving beside them.
The diesel departed exactly on time, with only seconds to spare, and brought us back into Chinnor a short while later. With a Day Rover ticket you can happily shuttle back and forth at your own pace, so we stayed onboard, switched over to the steam locomotive, and enjoyed the traditional sights and sounds of a heritage line as it carried us back up the track. After our return journey we lingered for a few moments, browsing the gift shop, picking up another souvenir magnet with the station name, and stopping to take a few photos of the front of the train. The whole experience is run by volunteers and enthusiasts who know their audience well and never seem to mind accommodating a few extra pictures, even if it delays departure by a minute or two. The onboard team were equally delightful, offering to take photos for guests at their tables – a small personal touch that summed up the warmth and charm of our entire day on this particular railway.
Closing Thoughts
I cherish these kinds of adventures – the days that begin with no fixed plans and end with new memories gathered from charming, unexpected places. We visited a lovely village filled with childhood nostalgia and took a gentle journey on a steam locomotive through a beautiful corner of the English countryside. And the best part is that all of it lies only a short distance from London. Having visited the US in recent years, I’m always struck by the contrast: in somewhere like Texas, you can drive for thirty minutes and feel as though you haven’t travelled far at all. Here, you can leave the suburban sprawl of London and, within half an hour, find yourself on a quiet country lane with the sound and smell of a steam locomotive guiding you towards your destination. It’s exactly why we enjoy these Brown Sign adventures – discovering interesting, quietly remarkable places just off the beaten path, all so close to home.
If I had one slight critique, it would be that the line lacks a touch of the panache and showmanship found in some of its peers. The platforms are a little short, which can make access less straightforward, and with only one genuinely preserved heritage station, some of the signs and aesthetic details feels a little cluttered. When compared to longer heritage railways such as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, with its multiple stations and varied points of interest, experiencing just a single historic location felt rather modest. That said, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable visit, elevated by incredibly friendly individuals whose passion was evident and whose enthusiasm felt both sincere and infectious. Selfishly, I simply wished for a little more – perhaps one or two additional stations, or a period structure to explore, such as an engine shed or signal box. Thoughtful, sympathetic additions like these could further enhance the sense of occasion and deepen the overall ambience.
Our first Railway Brown Sign adventure of 2026 draws to a close as a smaller, more intimate experience, but one that was nonetheless warm, rewarding, and memorable. Thank you very much for reading.
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