We love family days out so we were thrilled to be gifted a complimentary BuyaGift voucher for a family steam train ride with afternoon tea at the Kirklees Light Railway which has since rebranded as Whistlestop valley. This is a family attraction not far from where I grew up and my parent’s still live so I’ve been meaning to take the kids for a while. It’s a great attraction for young children who in my experience love trains.
We parked at Clayton West station where there is a ticket office, toilets, a cafe, a miniature train ride, small gift shop, fantastic outdoor play area and a train carriage that is now used as a birthday party venue. We collected our tickets and went out on to the platform. Trains are every 40 minutes currently but as the year goes on these become more frequent.
Our steam train was called Katie, their oldest train from 1954 but there are another 7 different engines in use. These aren’t full-size steam trains but “light” locomotives. These trains are lovingly maintained and run by a team of full-time staff and lots of volunteer enthusiasts.
The train runs from Clayton West to Shelly over 3.5miles of track and takes 25 minutes. Shelly is a smaller station where there is a 15 minute stop. During this time the train engine goes on a turntable and drives to the other end of the carriages so that the train is facing the other way. It also tops up with water. During this time you can explore the station.
At Shelly, there are toilet facilities, a smaller play area and cafe. You are free to get off and catch a later train back if you like. The weather was miserable on our visit so we just spent the 15 minutes there and then got the same train back to Clayton West. There are a number of walks from the station that in better weather we may have chosen to do. Train tickets also allow you to complete the route as many times as you like in a day.
We all loved our train ride through the beautiful South Pennine foothills. The 3.5 miles passes through some beautiful countryside including the ancient Blacker woods. It also goes through the longest tunnel on a 15-inch narrow gauge line in Britain. There are two additional stops on the line where stops can be requested, Skelmanthorpe and Cuckoo’s Nest. There is also a short stop at Skelmanthorpe whilst the train in the other direction passes. Our girls loved waving at the passengers on the other train. Another great idea is that on the reverse of your train timetable there is a list of different signs that are at the two train stations. Each sign has a name and number and your children need to find them and write the number on their sheet. If they complete this they get a Thomas badge at the end of the visit. Kirklees Light Railway is a fantastic family day out for younger children. The play area at Clayton West is fantastic and on a dry day, my kids would have spent ages here. As it was a wet day we had a short play on the park followed by afternoon tea in the cafe.
The cafe at Clayton West has recently been redecorated in tasteful shades of grey with lots of Yorkshire photos and poster as well as train memorabilia on the walls. There is a lovely kids play area with two large wooden train tables. My kids loved playing here and as the cafe was quiet we could let them go play there after they lost interest in the afternoon tea.
The afternoon tea was delicious. We were greeted with 3 tiers of sandwiches and cakes as well as an extra plate of sandwiches. There were also little bowls of crisps and garnishes of strawberries and grapes on the cakes and raw peppers, cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices on the sandwiches. We had pots of tea, a jug of water with lemon slices in and the kids had plastic cups of squash. Sandwiches were a mix of tuna, ham, grated cheese and egg mayonnaise. The cake selection included two scones (with cream and strawberry jam), 2 cupcakes with icing and sweets on top (enjoyed by the kids), a mince pie, a slice of chocolate cake, carrot cake, Eccles cake, cherry Bakewell and flapjack. A fantastic selection that we all enjoyed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their afternoon tea as a treat, the whole family will enjoy.
This is the second BuyaGift voucher we have received. Just like last time when we had a hotel stay in York, the process of redeeming the voucher is very simple. You use your voucher code (vouchers can be electronic or paper ones posted out to you) and pin to activate your voucher on the BuyaGift website and then you choose the experience you want to book and you will be given details of how to book direct with the experience company. Most of the vouchers are exchangeable so they make gifts. Pin for later:
Disclosure – We were kindly gifted this experience by BuyaGift in exchange for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them I may make a small commission, this does not affect the price you pay.