A couple of days ago we went on the Santa Train at The Vale of Rheidol Narrow Gauge Railway. We had such a lovely time and were so impressed I just had to write a review. **Present spoiler at the end!**
The best thing about the whole experience most definitely has to be the staff. Everyone was festively dressed and so cheerful and friendly. They really played their parts and the children got utterly swept up in the magic. Tickets included a large mince pie, (which I want to say was homemade but I’m not certain!) and a hot or cold drink, which we sat down and had before the train ride. There was a magician wandering around amazing the children it didn’t feel too crowded or busy as some of these events can be.
The children were invited up by the driver to see the engine, (which made their day!) before being shown to our carriage which was lovely and warm, beautifully decorated with Christmas songs playing. We had our own section, with plenty of space for the 5 of us and all of our coats etc and there were a few other groups in there which added to the excited atmosphere for the children.
Santa, or Sion Corn as he is in Wales, went past the window waving and the kids were just so excited to see him, Even more excitingly for my little girl was a glimpse of Mrs Claus, as we never see her usually, with her kitten Tinsel, a little puppet that the children could stroke. We named her Sian Corn. 🙂 Unfortunately the weather was pretty poor, very misty and drizzly so we didn’t get the full benefit of the stunning views the line is famous for, this didn’t matter though, as the children were very busy looking out the window to see when Santa was coming to them.
The level of excitement when he boarded our carriage was high, he started at the far end and worked his way through, taking time to speak to all the children, sitting down and chatting with them for a good 10 minutes and getting everyone organised for photos with him which the two elves happily took for everyone on their own phones and cameras. He then gave the children their presents and told them they could open them if they promised to go to bed by 8 on Christmas Eve, that was a win for us! The presents were spot on, the best presents we’ve had from an experience like this, (and trust me, we’ve been on a few over the years in a quest to find ‘The Perfect Santa’!), a Bob the Builder magic sand kit with a vehicle that you can press the sand into all over and make tools etc for my 5 year old son and a very good quality Disney Princess glitter jigsaw for my 7 year old which she has already done three times!
On the way back, Mrs Claus came into our carriage and read the children a lovely story, remembering all their names and getting them involved. It was lovely to have them kept entertained the whole time, previously they have got a bit restless after Santa had left the carriage but they were kept happy and occupied until we arrived back at the station. Tickets cost £15.50 for adults, £13.00 for children and £5.00 for under 2s. All child tickets include a present. Possibly not the cheapest Santa experience but in my opinion, one of the best we have done, and one of the nicest Santa train rides we’ve taken.
*This is not a paid review and we didn’t receive free tickets to attend.*
Ahh this sounds lovely Lou. We are going on the Polar Express tomorrow. I’m not sure why trains are so much more magical at Christmas but they really are! Those presents look brilliant too, makes the ticket really good value for money.
Nat.x
this trip looks lovely, I am doing something very similar with my children at the Keighley and Worth Valley railway, it creates special memories for your children (and you of course) there is nothing quite like it x
I love reading’ somewhere in your comment!
Looks fun especially for the kids. I love reading.
What an amazing day out, perfect memorys! ‘I love castles’
Oo we went on the Bury santa train – great fun for all the family I LOVE READING about yours
I can’t wait to do christmas all over again next year!
This looks great, will consider next year with the kids. Thanks
I love reading.
This looks like great fun! I love reading
oh this looks like a lot of fun ,I would love to take my grandson to this . I love reading
I love reading about things to do at Christmas
I love reading about everyone’s Christmas adventures, the train ride looked fabulous.
We have the Polar Express near us and a couple of years ago we booked a trip on a Saturday but couldn’t get there because of the snow so missed it 🙁 There we were in the middle of the County Durham countryside stuck on an icy road, me in my onesie and my husband in his dressing gown, oh it was fun when he had to walk along the road in his dressing gown to find out what the blockage was further up the road. Other motorists must have thought it hilarious. Luckily my son, his wife and our granddaughter made it to the train without us (they were coming from a different direction in a 4×4 and had the most enjoyable of times).