I got the idea for this trip ten years ago on a train (surprise!), when I overheard a young kid in front of me ask his parents how long it would take to go round the world by train. I have thought about this ever since, and have found that the quickest route would be from London to Cologne by Eurostar, Cologne to Moscow by overnight sleeper, Trans-Siberian to Vladivostok, fly to Seattle and thence to New York by Amtrak, finally returning to London by plane. In order to save time and hotel costs, I would only stop over when necessary (e.g. when a connection did not leave until the day after I arrived). I worked out that by using the above route, the journey would take 14 or 15 days (depending on date of departure), costing a minimum of £2050 plus food, visas, booking fees etc.