The great Isle of Wight adventure was actually a birthday gift to Echo from his parents of which I got to tag along. With the steam railway on the island already on the list of places to visit and a classic car exhibition promised at Havenstreet Station, Echo and I were ready for a Sunday of fun and trains. Getting the car ferry at Southampton to plop us down in Cowes, we headed down to our first stop of the day… Shanklin.

Although a copy of the timetable had been downloaded, no plans were made for the day’s travel (which ended up being the best plan) so while we had a basic plan of attack of skipping stations and using return trips to catch them, zig-zagging down the line. The basic plan was thrown out of the window, however, as we arrived just in time to miss the train. Typical. Not to be put-off, we got our day rover tickets for the line, got our photos, jumped back in the car and raced on to the next station on the list – filled with optimism and enthusiasm for the day.

Other pups to visit this station: