A RAILWAY enthusiast is planning the journey of a lifetime which will take him from Skipton to China by train.

Tim Calow, who lives in Embsay, hopes to complete the epic 5,000-mile rail journey in two-and-a-half weeks at a cost of about £2,000.

The 45-year-old's goal is to reach Beijing where his brother, Roger, is in the middle of an 18-month water management contract.

Mr Calow, who chairs the Aire Valley Rail Users' Group, said: "It will be a very exciting journey, but also quite a mad journey.

"I'm looking forward to it although I'm also slightly apprehensive because I've never travelled in Russia before, but it's a fascinating country."

Mr Calow's route will take him through the Channel tunnel, across Belgium, Germany and Poland and onto the famous Trans-Siberian Railway which runs between Moscow and Vladivostok.

"I am looking forward to travelling on the Trans-Siberian. A lot of travel writers have written about it and there are very few railway journeys which are that long."

From Vladivostok, Mr Calow has a choice of two routes to Beijing, either staying in Russia and China or travelling through North Korea.

He will break the journey at regular intervals to examine some of Eastern Europe's treasures.

The chartered accountant, who is training to be ordained in the Church of England, plans to stop in Moscow for two days to enjoy sights such as the Kremlin and maybe indulge his passion for Russian classical music.

Mr Calow is also looking forward to seeing Russia's Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake which is served by 336 rivers.

He is hoping to persuade some of his friends to join him for the journey after the idea was met with indifference by his family.

"The prospect of a couple of weeks on a train didn't really appeal to my wife and children," said Mr Calow.

"But I have loved rail travel since my teenage years and I look for any excuse to take the train rather than using other forms of transport.

"You meet interesting people and travel at leisure.

"I have got five or six friends from various places who are also interested in the idea. There are some specialist travel agents who organise these things so we are looking at July.

"During university, my friends and I went round Europe by train during our summer vacation. Rail travel was part of my independence.

"I have done a good deal of travel around Europe. The furthest I have ever been by rail from Skipton is to Slovakia. But this will be a new experience."