'Riding the Rails' - a historical and scenic rail journey through Europe
Chris Levett
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Individual with all fees going to Motor Neurone Disease Association
- Fee:
- Paid: I charge £125 but every penny goes to the Motor Neurone Disease Association
- Category:
- Travel
- Updated:
- 25th September 2025
- Tagged:
- Rail Journey | History | Scenic | Travel
The story of our 3 week adventure travelling by train through Europe's great scenic rail journeys. I show some of the fascinating history of the places we stopped at, the great fire of the Chapel wooden bridge in Lucerne; the extraordinary way the 12th century Chillon Castle was defended against invasion; about the oldest cogwheel line in Europe opened in 1871; the ‘Porta Nigra’ in Trier built in 170AD is the oldest city gate in the world. We travelled by train through 6 countries, covering 3000 miles, went up 35,000ft of mountains, and 27,000ft by cable car. There are lots of celebrities doing these, but my talk is not just about the scenic bits but more about all the things that they don't show. Did you know that in Switzerland they use trains like we do buses - you press the bell if you want the train to stop! Cog railways are amazing, on one we travelled up 8000ft – but inside the mountain! Have you ever seen cows being herded down the middle of a Swiss town? I also explain about how we organised the trip, and the cost. I present it in an amusing but informative way with interaction with the audience.
Views: 103 | Enquiries: 0About Chris Levett
I am passionate about hops and fruit, they have been in my life pretty much since I was born 71 years ago! The many generations of the Levett family have been farming hops and fruit in Kent and Sussex for well over 250 years. I grew up on a hop and fruit farm and spent most of my school holidays helping on my parent's farms. Kent used to be the 'Garden of England' - but sadly no longer. There are less and less of us remaining who have the memories of the great tales and traditions that grew up over time in both those industries.
I graduated from Wye College in Plant Sciences in 1974 and following university I worked on a hop, arable and livestock farm in Worcestershire for a year before returning to Kent to take up a job as a farm manager on 150 acres of hops and fruit.
After 5 years as a farm manager I spent a year in the little known trade of Hop Factoring representing hop growers selling their hops to hop merchants. In 1979 we bought a 25acre fruit farm in Cranbrook in Kent and my wife and I built up the business to 100 acres of apples, pears and cherries, a large farm shop and coffee shop, employing 40 staff. From 2007 I worked for 10 years for the Fruit Advisory Services Team advising fruit growers on all aspects of fruit production.
With our son and daughter-in-law now managing our shops and farms, I have the opportunity, and thoroughly enjoy, giving talks and passing on my 60 years experience and knowledge in the hop and fruit industries, gained over a lifetime's work.
My talks are suitable for a wide range of groups, including U3A, history societies, horticultural groups, farming organisations, home brewing groups and anyone with an interest in how our countryside has changed over the years.
All my fees go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, one of the most appalling diseases.
TESTIMONIALS
We thoroughly enjoyed your very informative talk - really well researched, well put together, well paced and presented!
Congratulations, very good and well deserved. We thought it was an excellent talk and very informative.
Thank you for your most enjoyable and informative presentation last evening Chris.
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