Santa Special at the Bluebell Railway

We went to the Bluebell Railway to visit Santa last Sunday and Munchkin loved every minute of it (almost).  The Bluebell has several Christmas packages and we opted for this one because it seemed to include the most for our money. We had originally intended to book a first class compartment, but  the helpful man on the booking line explained that you see Santa for longer in a standard class compartment; he only pops his head round the door in First Class.  Even standard class wasn't cheap, but I think it was worth the money.  Munchkin is still young enough to travel as a toddler, but I paid the child rate so she could have her own seat.  Standard (aka third) class tickets prices are: Adult - £20, Child £13, Toddler - £9. We were on the first train of the day, which I'm glad about because it meant it was relatively quiet when we arrived.  People who arrived later on had to use the overflow car park in a field down the road.

The Santa Special goes between Sheffied Park and Horsted Keynes stations.  There was a children's roundabout and a few fairground type stalls at Sheffield Park.  The roundabout was meant to be free for the first go, and £1 thereafter but they weren't very strict about this.  Munchkin won a doll on the Lucky Dip but I wouldn't describe this doll as lucky.  So far her head and one arm have fallen off!

When the train arrived, we found our allocated seats.  We didn't know whether we'd be seeing Santa on the way to Horsted Keynes or the return journey.  It turned out that we saw him on the way there.  Munchkin was given an embroidered red bag containing a gift.  It was a cuddly lamb, who is now called "Bluebell".  Munchkin loves Bluebell, and she's been everywhere with her for the past week.  Munchkin was also given Smarties, and the grown ups were given mince pies.

Munchkin was a bit overwhelmed at Horsted Keynes.  She didn't want to have her photo taken with Father Christmas.  The Victorian fairground games and sideshows on the station were fun and good value (6 goes for £1, I think) but mainly a little grown up for Munchkin.

Upon our return to Sheffield Park, we went to the carvery restaurant for Christmas lunch.  This was OK, but nothing special.  Given that the Santa Special is aimed at children, I think they could have done more to promote children's meals. We were able to get child sized portions, despite there being no mention of them on the menu enclosed with our train tickets, and the waitress got Munchkin a tub of ice cream from the cafe downstairs because the desserts on the carvery menu were too big and rich for her.

We loved the Bluebell, and will be signing Munchkin up to the Stepney Club. She'll get a newsletter about Stepney (who appears in the Thomas the Tank Engine series), a birthday card, invitations to special events, and reduced rate train travel for just £8 a year, £12 for 2 years, or £16 for 3 years.

Adult £20.00  Child £13.00  Toddler £9.00

Adult £20.00  Child £13.00  Toddler £9.00

Adult £20.00  Child £13.00  Toddler £9.00

Trails and Thomas

We've been out and about for a big chunk of the Easter weekend.  On Good Friday, we did the Easter Egg Trail at Petworth House.  We signed up as National Trust members a couple of years ago and aren't exactly making the most of our membership. The trail cost £4 per child. As members, we got free parking and admission to the house, though we didn't look round on this occasion.  Munchkin was given a goodie bag which contained all the bits she'd need to make an Easter chick. We followed a trail around the park, which led us to instructions on how to make our chick. At the end of the trail, you present your chick and are given an Easter egg as a reward.  We really enjoyed it, but get the impression they might do the same thing every Easter, so we'll have to try somewhere different next year.

This is the chick we made.  The poor thing has been dismantled twice and is currently awaiting surgery.

On Saturday, we went to see Thomas... Toot Toot! Thomas the Tank Engine is a firm favourite of Munchkin's so we were disappointed to hear he wouldn't be making an appearance at our local Bluebell Railway this year.  However, a web search revealed that he would be at the Watercress Line in Hampshire over the Easter Weekend.  At £18 per adult and £12 for a child over 2, it wasn't cheap but you got a lot for your money.  Family tickets are available for two adults and two children for £54.  Had we booked in advance and used the promotional code 'NICK' on the Days Out With Thomas website, we could have got a 10% discount but we chose to just turn up on the day.  Thomas will be back at the Watercress Line from 9th to 17th August.

This was a really good day out.  The railway had clearly done this before and had an efficient parking system (the only drawback being that the disabled parking was a bit of a hike from Ropley station) and had shipped in additional toilets and baby changing facilities.  Parking at Ropley was free, but you had to pay & display at the other stations.  The railway meets the mainline at Alton if travelling by train suits you better than driving.

We saw a lot more than just Thomas.  Many of the trains and brake vans had faces on them.  We rode on Thomas's train -I don't think he had Annie and Clarabelle with him though- and in the cab on a "Friend of Diesel's", in addition to having a couple of standard steam train rides between stations.  The lady giving commentaries at Ropley station, where Thomas was, was excellent.  She presented the whole thing as if she was talking to Thomas.

Munchkin went on her first ever tea cup ride and loved it.  There was also a giant inflatable slide for older children.  We spent some time in the Imagination Station at Arlesford station, where she enjoyed playing with wooden trains and bricks, and acquired two temporary tattoos; one of Thomas and one of Percy.  We also met the Fat Controller, Bulgy the Bus and George the Steam Roller.  There was so much to do elsewhere that we never made it to Alton station.

I discovered that there is a train in the Thomas series with the same name as Munchkin and Googled it for more information.  It turns out there is a Thomas wiki.  I found it highly amusing that the wiki is used by train geeks who argue over the statistics of fictional engines!