South East - Sussex

There is a restaurant, cafes, shop, a museum, a new interactive steam exhibition called ‘SteamWorks!, and a locomotive shed where many steam locomotives are on display. The Bluebell has a huge range of locomotives from small ones such as Stepney (made famous in the Rev W.V. Awdry’s Thomas the Tank Engine books), to larger engines such as BR Standard Class 5MT ‘Camelot’. There is coach parking available at two stations.

The journey from Sheffield Park is a pleasant run through woods and fields, and in spring you’ll see the bluebells that give the line its name. It passes through Horsted Keynes, Kingscote and on to East Grinstead where a short walk takes you to the mainline station. The return journey takes 1¾ hours. There are two dining options on board the trains, ‘Ploughman’s Plus’ on the lunchtime train, and ‘Steam & Cream’ on the tea-time train. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of joint tickets to the National Trust’s Sheffield Park & Gardens (approx.. 1 mile away) or Borde Hill Gardens (approx. 10 miles away).

The Bluebell Railway is a popular location for film makers and has appeared in Downton Abbey, Christopher Robin, The Railway Children, The Woman in Black, Miss Potter, Poirot and many other period productions.