‘Finding love on our line’: Hartlepool woman finds love on LNER train journey

Victor and Angela Burclaff met on an LNER train and are now happily married and living on the Headland, in Hartlepool.

Victor, 72, was on his way home from Edinburgh after visiting his brother in Scotland when Angela, 59, boarded the train at Darlington to go and see a talk in the capital.

Angela, whose surname was previously Milburn, said: “I had an allocated seat in first class and, as I sat down, the man sitting in the seat next to me nodded his head and said ‘hello’ then that was it.

"We travelled through York and Doncaster and were both on our phones and iPads or just looking out of the window.

"Fifty minutes must have passed then suddenly the man started talking to me.”

Angela, who is a civil servant, continued: "We chatted for the rest of the journey. We chatted about everything. It was really pleasant.

"He gave me his email address and asked me to let him know how the talk I was attending went, to let him know if I enjoyed it and if it was interesting.

"It took me a few weeks, because I kept getting his email address wrong. But as I had promised the stranger on the train that I would email him, I persevered.”

Emails eventually turned into phone calls and a first date at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, in London.

In 2019, Victor, who is a retired NHS technical assistant, moved to Bedlington, in Northumberland, and two years later, to the Headland where Angela was already living.

Angela said: “We often thank LNER for seating us next to each other. It’s quite amazing that a chat with a stranger could lead to us marrying.

"Every so often, I send a message to LNER – just a thank you for setting us up.

“I've asked Victor, as it’s Valentine’s Day soon, would he recommend train travelling as a good way to find a partner?

"He said the trick is to be open and prepared to have a chat with fellow passengers, take the opportunity to relax and share the same experience."