The Sherwood Forest Railway

As a life-long train man, I feel a little ashamed to admit that I had never previously visited the nearest regular steam venue to home. It opened in 2000 on the site of a farm park which has since closed, leaving the railway to continue alone. Sherwood Forest Railway has a very peaceful setting in farm land between Edwinstowe and Clipstone, in Nottinghamshire. It is adjacent to the remaining section of the old Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, which is now used only as a test track.

The 15 inch, narrow gauge railway has two diesel and two steam locomotives, and No. 2 Pet is pictured below. The railway is open daily from 11.00 am until 4.30 pm, is reasonably priced at just two quid a head and has its own website at www.sherwoodforestrailway.com

We visited on a cool March afternoon and were the only passengers on our train. The return journey between the two stations, named Loxley and Welldale, only takes a few minutes to complete. There were good views provided from the platform at the other end of the line, as Pet ran around the two-coach train on the passing loop.

We found the experience most enjoyable, though our two-year old grandson was not quite so sure about the sudden darkness in the tunnel, which luckily [for all of us] was very short. We can hopefully work on that one. The welcome we all received was very friendly and the staff were happy to chat about the history and development of the line to date.