We were invited to have the most wonderful day at Sheffield Park Bluebell Railway. Built in 1882 it is a fascinating place to visit.
Once you arrive, you check in for your booked train before making your way to your platform. We crossed a bridge to watch the crew prep the trains for their journey which was quite fascinating to watch! You are welcome to stop and watch the crew in the working yard as much as you like.
Once onboard our carriage, we got comfy ready for the train ride. We were on board the Pioneer and it was a 1 hour 45 minutes journey to East Grinstead and back. The girls squealed with excitement when the train “choo chooed” as we went along, and watching the steam from the locomotives pass above us. Of course, Sussex is surrounded by beautiful countryside so we were able to take in those sights as well spot many animals such as horse, cows, sheep and even bird of prey too.
You can pre buy lunch boxes for your trip during the booking process, and they will be waiting for you in your carriage. Prices start from £8pp for lunch or cream tea boxes and £6 for Stepney boxes for children. You are also welcome to take your own food and drink too.
We decided to break our journey by alighting at Kingscote. It meant missing around 20 minutes (as the train went to East Grinstead and turned around) but Kingscote has a play park and snack/drink kiosk too. Only 3 families alighted like us, so we had plenty of space for the girls to run around and use the slides and swings too.
A day at Sheffield Park station is much more than the train ride itself. And I did not realize this until our visit. You can stay as long as you like, as there are other things for you to see and do.
Once we returned back to Sheffield Park, we explored the accredited Museum located on platform 2. It shows the history of the station as well as the progression from horse drawn railways to steam and electric locomotives.
We then visited Steamworks on platform 1 which is a fantastic place to get up close to the locomotives themselves! You can feel like a train conductor as you step aboard to feel/touch all the equipment, experience a simulator experience on board the train with floor movement too. There are a few fun things for you to get involved with and the girls learnt so much from doing so.
We also checked out the gift shop which has every possible train themed merchandise you can think of and you are spoilt for choice!
And lastly, we ended our visit with a stop at the pub/restaurant The Bessemer Arms for a refreshing drink and some food whilst we watch the trains pass by.
I must mention that Sheffield Park Bluebell Railway also run various special events throughout the year.
This Summer they have:
Road meets Rail steam fair event (17-18 July)
a model railway weekend (31 July – 1 August)
60+1 anniversary event (6 – 8 August).
Tickets will be on sale for these events very soon and information is available on the website: https://www.bluebell-railway.com/special-events/
Plus the wonderful Santa Specials will return (tickets on sale later this summer) as well as the fabulous new festive event SteamLights. SteamLights made its debut in 2020, and they are thrilled to bring the seasonal spectacular back to Sussex this November.
More information is available on the website and tickets will be on sale from 30 June: https://www.bluebell-railway.com/whats-on/steamlights/
A few extra handy things to know:
- Free parking (and lots of spaces too)
- Could tie a visit here with a trip to Sheffield Park Gardens (see previous post from us)
- Our train was called Pioneer and this runs at the weekend - £80 third compartment (seats up to 10 people) and £135 first class compartment (seats up to 8 people)
- Children under 3 are free
- They do offer a specially adapted area for wheelchair users on some runnings of the Pioneer service. Please call the Customer Service Team on 01825 720800 to book these spaces.
- There are other services to choose from – see site for full details - https://www.bluebell-railway.com/the-stations/sheffield-park-station/
- There is a huge picnic area at Bluebell Railway for you to use which is located beside the River Ouse.
- Disabled toilet and baby changing facilities are available on platform 1, in the Bessemer Arms or on platform 2 next to the museum.
- Full FAQs can be found here - https://www.bluebell-railway.com/faqs/
It really was a wonderful family day out and we are very lucky to have this in Sussex! It’s a day out for all ages, and an experience we will not forget!
I hope this blog provides lots of information for you to plan your day, but of course any questions, please do let me know as we would love to help.
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