If, like me, you have a child who is mad about Thomas the Tank Engine, you
will know that no holiday — indeed, no day trip — is considered a proper one
without a visit to a railway.
I’m not talking about the themed “Thomas Days Out”, though for die-hard fans
we’ve listed plenty, below. No, hardened train enthusiasts want the real
thing — dusty old carriages to ride in, engine sheds to explore, and bits of
rusty wheel to poke with a stick.
Fortunately, there is a good choice of full-size and narrow-gauge restored
steam engines chugging around Britain — from the old mineral tracks of the
Lappa Valley Steam Railway, near Newquay, to the Jacobite Steam Train, which
takes an 84-mile round trip between Fort William and Mallaig in the Western
Highlands.
I’m sure that Jack, my three-year-old son, has a secret map of them all.
Wherever we go, he spots a sign proclaiming “railway”, and we end up hanging
around on a draughty platform for hours. To help Mummy, he has agreed to
share the highlights of his very own Thomas Tour.
SCOTLAND
The first steam railway Jack encountered was on the Isle of Mull, which is not
unlike the Island of Sodor, where Thomas and his friends live. The
narrow-gauge Isle of Mull railway runs for a mile along the coast between
Craignure, where the Oban ferries dock, and the baronial splendour of
Torosay Castle.
Isle of Mull Railway (01680 812494, www.mullrail.co.uk). The Coach House at
Kilpatrick, a few minutes away on Duart Bay, sleeps six in the main house
and three in the studio. From £325 per unit, per week. Details: 020-8876
7549, www.holidaymull.org/members/kilpatrick. The Jacobite Steam Train runs
from Fortwilliam to Mallaig from mid June to September. Details: 01524
737751, www.westcoastrailway.co.uk.
THE NORTH
The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway winds its way for seven miles from the
village of Ravenglass on the Cumbrian coast to Dalegarth station. The
engines include the 112- year-old River Irt, thought to be the oldest
working 15in-gauge locomotive in the world. Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
(01229 717171, www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk).
A short walk away is the hamlet of Boot, with family-friendly pubs, and Bridge
End Farm cottages, from £300 a week for Wrynose Cottage, which sleeps two
adults and one child. Details: 0870 0735328, www.selectcottages.com.
Across the Pennines the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is where big engines
steam from Grosmont, near Whitby, to the market town of Pickering, 18 miles
away. North Yorkshire Moors
Railway (01751 472508, www.northyorkshiremoorsrailway.com). Stay in Whitby at
Whitby Retreats, from £340 a week for four. Details: 0113-225 0798,
www.whitbyretreats.co.uk or Shoreline Cottages, from £500 a week for four.
Details: 0113-244 8410, www.shoreline-cottages.com.
The National Railway Museum in York is a short walk over a footbridge from the
mainline station. See mighty locomotives, ride on the miniature railway
(weekends and school holidays), entrance free. Details: 01904 621261,
www.nrm.org.uk.
PEAK DISTRICT
At Darley Dale, Peak Rail’s steam engines haul passengers between Matlock
Riverside and Rowsley. This is small-boy heaven because it’s a bit tatty and
not overrun with tourists. Peak Rail (01629 580381, www.peakrail.co.uk).
Bed down in the pine lodges at Darwin Country Park, ten minutes up the hill,
from £270 a week for four. Details: 01629 732428,
www.pinelodgeholidays.co.uk.
OXFORDSHIRE
The Didcot Railway Centre, near Oxford, resembles a huge miniature railway. It
has a fascinating (if you’re Jack) collection of signal boxes and sheds and
more than 20 Great Western Railway steam locomotives. Didcot Railway Centre
(01235 817200, www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk).
Stay in North Moreton House, a luxurious B&B in a large country house
(triple family room from £75 a night with breakfast). Details: 01235 813283,
www.northmoretonhouse.co.uk.
Steam train trips in the south and Wales and where to catch Thomas the
Tank Engine
West Somerset Railway is a sleepy country branch line that conjures up weepy
wartime farewells (me) and the kind of stations where Bulgy the Bus might
collect his passengers (Jack). Twenty miles of track starts at Bishops
Lydeard, goes along the Quantock Hills, and ends at Minehead, a seaside
town. West Somerset Railway (01643 704996, www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk).
Luttrell Arms at Dunster has rooms from £48pp a night, including breakfast.
Details: 01643 821555, www.luttrellarms.co.uk.
The Watercress Line (01962 733810, www.watercressline.co.uk) runs from
Alresford to Alton in Hampshire. Also in Hampshire, at Liphook, Hollycombe
(01428 724900, www.hollycombe.co.uk) is a collection of steam-powered
attractions including miniature railway engine rides. Open Sundays, and
daily from July 30 to August 28.
The Lappa Valley Steam Railway, near Newquay, runs on one of the oldest
railway tracks in Britain. Details: 01872 510317,
www.chycor.co.uk/lappa-valley-railway.
WALES
With 18 “heritage” railways (according to www.heritagerailways.com), Wales
seems to have a higher concentration of old steamers than anywhere else in
Britain. And it can claim Thomas as its own. The Rev. W. Awdry, who created
the beloved engine, worked as a volunteer at the Talyllyn Railway (01654
710472, www.talyllyn.co.uk) in Gwynedd in the 1950s.
Farther north, in the Snowdonia National Park, is the Ffestiniog Railway(01766
516024, www.festrail.co.uk). Just a few miles away at Porthmadog is the
Welsh Highland Railway (01766 513402, www.whr.co.uk).
This is a small, friendly line. Children are allowed to climb all over the
engines, so it has become a firm favourite.
Where you can catch Thomas
Don’t use your children as an excuse to see Thomas and his troublesome railway
pals — go on, you know you want to, and here’s where:
- Thomas and Percy will appear at the Telford Steam Railway (07765 858348,
www.telfordsteamrailway.co.uk) on June 17-18 and 24-25. There will be a
storyteller and other attractions.
- In Yorkshire, Thomas will steam along at the Wensleydale Railway (0845
4505474) on June 10-11, and at the Kirklees Light Railway (01484 865727,
www.kirkleeslightrailway.com) on June 24-25.
- See the Fat Controller at the West Somerset Railway (01643 704996,
www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk) on July 8-9.
- The Mid Hants Railway (01962 733810, www.watercressline.co.uk), also known as
the Watercress Line, will host Thomas from August 12-20. As well as the
train rides there’ll be entertainers, and the large grassy area outside
Ropley station makes an excellent spot for a picnic.
- The Bluebell Railway (01825 720825, www.bluebell-railway.co.uk) in East Sussex
will be graced with the presence of his steaminess on June 24-25 and
July 1-2. Also, at 6pm on June 23 and 30, Thomas will pull a “bedtime
story” special on a ride from Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes.
- In Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan railway (01446 748816,
www.valeofglamorganrailway.co.uk) will welcome Thomas on July 22-23 and
29-30. Later in the year he will appear on the Gwili Railway (01267
238213, www.gwili-railway.co.uk) from October 27-29. The action takes
place from the Bronwydd Arms Station in Carmarthen.
- Ride behind Thomas over the August Bank Holiday (25-28) on the Great Central
Railway (0870 8308296, www.gcrailway.co.uk) between Loughborough and
Leicester North.
