One of the pleasures of train travel is being able to admire the architecture of railway stations.

Most of us are busy rushing to and from trains and I have spent a fair proportion of my life doing just that.

There’s total concentration on finding whether the service is running, finding the right platform and finding a seat. But in doing so we are losing something.

I now have more time for travelling at a more leisurely pace and this gives me the chance to look up at the station design rather than looking up at departure boards – and looking downcast at delayed and cancelled services.

I recently took the train from Bilbao Abando to Madrid Chamartin.

I left myself plenty of time for the direct Renfe service. And it was time well spent.

At the top of the escalators leading to the platforms, I turned around and saw this wonderful stained-glass window depicting the coming of the railways.

A sculpture added to the sense that this was more than a workaday location. It had a sense of being and a sense of being somewhere rather than an anonymous starting point or destination.

I later travelled from Madrid’s Atocha station to Murcia.

This was what most people were photographing at Atocha.

Yes, the tropical garden inside the station is a wonderful sight.

But just around the corner I found another architectural splendour which, I suspect, has appeared fewer times on Instagram.

It’s the dome above the section of the station for commuter services. It’s something many travellers will miss as they head for their trains.

I found it mesmerising and couldn’t stop looking up at the some as the light flooded through. Just as well that I had again left plenty of time for my train.

The statue of Sir John Betjeman at St Pancras captures my new-found pose at railway stations. It’s no wonder so many people have stood next to it imitating the great advocate of train travel.

I make no apology to anyone who bumps into me while I’m standing and staring. Look up: you don’t know what you’re missing.