JoshW1992
Established Member
Greetings all!
I was a previous member on this forum for years, but can’t recall my old log in. I’ve created a new account and it’s nice to be back after a good 10 year hiatus!
I’m an avid heritage railway volunteer and visitor and have recently started a family. Naturally, we’ve travelled to a significant number of heritage railways over the last couple of years with my young daughter. I thought it would be helpful to start documenting our visits, and sharing our thoughts on accessibility, comfort and facilities, to help encourage other like minded young families to enjoy the incredible heritage railways that we have to offer in the UK.
If it’s of interest to anyone, I’ll share the reviews I’ve been adding to my Facebook page “Day Out Dad - Heritage Railway Reviews” and hopefully they can be enjoyed by potential visitors, as well as the wonderful volunteers who make our visiting these railways so special!
They’re not just about family amenities, as they are definitely angled from an enthusiasts point of view, but its been quite nice visiting all these railways again through a different set of eyes!
Hope you enjoy!
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Great Central Railway & Mountsorrel Heritage Centre
Rothley, Leicestershire
25th February 2023
I drove an hour with little “A” to one of our local heritage railways, the Great Central Railway, situated between Loughborough and Leicester and within easy reach of the M1 motorway. Parking is never a problem here if driving to either Quorn and Woodhouse or Rothley stations. There isn’t any official parking at Leicester North or Loughborough as far as I know.
Today’s event was in partnership with the Mountsorrel And Rothley Community Heritage Centre which is somewhere I’ve never visited until today. Owing to bridge repairs in the Quorn area, trains on the Great Central were diverted to run to Mountsorrel via the heritage centre at Nunckley Hill. This was a real draw for me as I’ve never been on a train that has run up the branch before. Ticket prices were cheaper than normal as a result of the shorter ride. Adults £12, Children £7. Privilege rates were also available.
We arrived at Rothley where there is an excellent cafe, with tea, cake and hot food available. Toilets and baby changing facilities can be found here and are of good standards. There’s also an outdoor model railway which ”A” loved watching - it must remind her of Daddy’s garden railway at home!
We also visited the little museum under the staircase which I’d not seen before. It housed some historic artefacts such as lamps and memorabilia from the war. Very interesting if you’ve got the time.
There were two trains operating in circuits throughout the day, which meant we were never waiting long for a train ride. This was an opportunity for the Great Central Railway to use their fleet of heritage diesel multiple units. A bit like buses on railway wheels; but with way more character and charm! We took a trip on the blue Class 101 first, running through the sidings at Swithland where “A” got very excited about the troublesome trucks on display. The train then turned round the sharp corner onto the Mountsorrel branch line, which took us across the fields to Nunckley Hill. This is where the heritage centre is based. The train continued a short distance to Mountsorrel and back to Nunckley Hill where we enjoyed some off-train time.
Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre:
If you were to look in the dictionary and find “hidden gem,” there would probably be a picture of this place. I was amazed. We left the train at the short platform and paid a small entrance fee of £1 to the museum. The volunteers happily gave us both a sticker to mark our entry. At the heritage centre, there is a railway museum, with three steam locomotives on display. One of these, a small Andrew Barclay saddle tank named “Colin McAndrew & Co” was in steam. This filled the air with that wonderful smell of coal and oil. As we walked round the site, we were captivated by the mining displays and artefacts. The team have gone to great efforts to make this place as visitor friendly as possible. There are signs and information displays everywhere you look. The site is flanked by a 2 foot gauge railway which wasn’t operating, but it was equally fun to follow the winding tracks to wherever they led to. In the middle of the site is a beautiful little garden area which I imagine is superb in the summer. The whole site is pram friendly, so this wasn’t a problem at all.
We wandered up to the cafe area. On the gate, we chatted to a very friendly young lady who was volunteering there. We talked about the museum and she advised us of lots of things to see and do whilst we were here, including another model garden railway, which was superb. You can clearly tell the volunteers here have passion and are proud of what they’ve got.
The cafe was clean, warm and of high standards. The quality of the food spoke for itself. Me and A shared a pink doughnut, and it was probably the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten. The coffee was great too.
Outside, there is a play park which A enjoyed. It overlooks the branch line, and here we watched another diesel multiple unit, formed of a Green Class 101 and the unique and stunning single carriage Iris.
We wandered back down to the platform after using the baby changing facilities, and boarded the train for our run back through Rothley to Leicester North. The journey was around 25 minutes and took us for a speedy escapade along the mainline. A quick turnaround at Leicester as this was the last advertised train, and back we went to Rothley. We sat in Iris, right behind the driver, affording open views to the track ahead. This was a wonderful experience and it offers a view rarely seen to the customers. The seats were plush and resplendent in green.
On the way back, the Guard came through and told us it was one of the volunteers birthdays. We all sang happy birthday, including A, who had just learnt the song. At the end of the song, the driver tooted the horn. Lovely touch!
Arriving back at Rothley, we jumped in the car and headed home. What a great afternoon. “A” was worn out and feel asleep quickly. There’s so much to do for children (and big children like me!) Steam trains run on the main Leicester North to Loughborough route throughout the year and they have many exciting events to choose from.
This event ran throughout February, but the main steam services have now resumed. I do hope they consider repeating this event next winter!
Details of the GCR timetable can be found here:
I was a previous member on this forum for years, but can’t recall my old log in. I’ve created a new account and it’s nice to be back after a good 10 year hiatus!
I’m an avid heritage railway volunteer and visitor and have recently started a family. Naturally, we’ve travelled to a significant number of heritage railways over the last couple of years with my young daughter. I thought it would be helpful to start documenting our visits, and sharing our thoughts on accessibility, comfort and facilities, to help encourage other like minded young families to enjoy the incredible heritage railways that we have to offer in the UK.
If it’s of interest to anyone, I’ll share the reviews I’ve been adding to my Facebook page “Day Out Dad - Heritage Railway Reviews” and hopefully they can be enjoyed by potential visitors, as well as the wonderful volunteers who make our visiting these railways so special!
They’re not just about family amenities, as they are definitely angled from an enthusiasts point of view, but its been quite nice visiting all these railways again through a different set of eyes!
Hope you enjoy!
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Great Central Railway & Mountsorrel Heritage Centre
Rothley, Leicestershire
25th February 2023
I drove an hour with little “A” to one of our local heritage railways, the Great Central Railway, situated between Loughborough and Leicester and within easy reach of the M1 motorway. Parking is never a problem here if driving to either Quorn and Woodhouse or Rothley stations. There isn’t any official parking at Leicester North or Loughborough as far as I know.
Today’s event was in partnership with the Mountsorrel And Rothley Community Heritage Centre which is somewhere I’ve never visited until today. Owing to bridge repairs in the Quorn area, trains on the Great Central were diverted to run to Mountsorrel via the heritage centre at Nunckley Hill. This was a real draw for me as I’ve never been on a train that has run up the branch before. Ticket prices were cheaper than normal as a result of the shorter ride. Adults £12, Children £7. Privilege rates were also available.
We arrived at Rothley where there is an excellent cafe, with tea, cake and hot food available. Toilets and baby changing facilities can be found here and are of good standards. There’s also an outdoor model railway which ”A” loved watching - it must remind her of Daddy’s garden railway at home!
We also visited the little museum under the staircase which I’d not seen before. It housed some historic artefacts such as lamps and memorabilia from the war. Very interesting if you’ve got the time.
There were two trains operating in circuits throughout the day, which meant we were never waiting long for a train ride. This was an opportunity for the Great Central Railway to use their fleet of heritage diesel multiple units. A bit like buses on railway wheels; but with way more character and charm! We took a trip on the blue Class 101 first, running through the sidings at Swithland where “A” got very excited about the troublesome trucks on display. The train then turned round the sharp corner onto the Mountsorrel branch line, which took us across the fields to Nunckley Hill. This is where the heritage centre is based. The train continued a short distance to Mountsorrel and back to Nunckley Hill where we enjoyed some off-train time.
Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre:
If you were to look in the dictionary and find “hidden gem,” there would probably be a picture of this place. I was amazed. We left the train at the short platform and paid a small entrance fee of £1 to the museum. The volunteers happily gave us both a sticker to mark our entry. At the heritage centre, there is a railway museum, with three steam locomotives on display. One of these, a small Andrew Barclay saddle tank named “Colin McAndrew & Co” was in steam. This filled the air with that wonderful smell of coal and oil. As we walked round the site, we were captivated by the mining displays and artefacts. The team have gone to great efforts to make this place as visitor friendly as possible. There are signs and information displays everywhere you look. The site is flanked by a 2 foot gauge railway which wasn’t operating, but it was equally fun to follow the winding tracks to wherever they led to. In the middle of the site is a beautiful little garden area which I imagine is superb in the summer. The whole site is pram friendly, so this wasn’t a problem at all.
We wandered up to the cafe area. On the gate, we chatted to a very friendly young lady who was volunteering there. We talked about the museum and she advised us of lots of things to see and do whilst we were here, including another model garden railway, which was superb. You can clearly tell the volunteers here have passion and are proud of what they’ve got.
The cafe was clean, warm and of high standards. The quality of the food spoke for itself. Me and A shared a pink doughnut, and it was probably the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten. The coffee was great too.
Outside, there is a play park which A enjoyed. It overlooks the branch line, and here we watched another diesel multiple unit, formed of a Green Class 101 and the unique and stunning single carriage Iris.
We wandered back down to the platform after using the baby changing facilities, and boarded the train for our run back through Rothley to Leicester North. The journey was around 25 minutes and took us for a speedy escapade along the mainline. A quick turnaround at Leicester as this was the last advertised train, and back we went to Rothley. We sat in Iris, right behind the driver, affording open views to the track ahead. This was a wonderful experience and it offers a view rarely seen to the customers. The seats were plush and resplendent in green.
On the way back, the Guard came through and told us it was one of the volunteers birthdays. We all sang happy birthday, including A, who had just learnt the song. At the end of the song, the driver tooted the horn. Lovely touch!
Arriving back at Rothley, we jumped in the car and headed home. What a great afternoon. “A” was worn out and feel asleep quickly. There’s so much to do for children (and big children like me!) Steam trains run on the main Leicester North to Loughborough route throughout the year and they have many exciting events to choose from.
This event ran throughout February, but the main steam services have now resumed. I do hope they consider repeating this event next winter!
Details of the GCR timetable can be found here:
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The Mountsorrel bit looks like it's worth doing, it wasn't an option on my (so far) only visit to the GCR way back in 2006. Something to plan in one day though!
