Churnet Valley Railway

Churnet Valley Railway

The Churnet Valley Railway, is a picturesque heritage Steam Railway that runs through the Staffordshire's Little Switzerland, the Churnet Valley. It meanders alongside the Caldon Canal and the River Churnet for a delightful nostalgic ten and a half mile return journey. Kingsley & Froghall Station has ample parking and disabled access and is home to the award winning traditional Tea Room and the railways Souvenir Shop both of which are open on running days. Consall Station has no public road access making it very quiet and isolated in its situation beside the weir on River Churnet where the canal splits from the river. Nearby are the Lime Kilns and the Black Lion Public House.

At Cheddleton Station you can visit the Railway's Engine Sheds and its small Railway Artefacts Museum. Trains run Sundays Easter to October, Saturdays May to September and

Wednesdays in July and August plus all Bank Holidays.

Review

In our Wales edition of our Top 100 Attractions range, we have 5 various railways throughout the book. But in this Northwest England edition, there is not as many. The reasons for that are quite simple! ‘Value for Money' and Visitor Experience, they are two of the biggest driving forces behind our decision of whether or not to feature an attraction in our books. The Churnet Valley Railway has both of those attributes amongst many others coursing through the veins of their attraction, not to mention train tracks. I visited the railway in the summer of 2012, after my trip through the heartlands of Britain's industrial era, it is in my opinion, that this small but memorable railway is most certainly one of the shiniest jewels in Staffordshire's underestimated crown. I found the staff to be not only customer friendly, but totally professional with it, a total joy!