East Grinstead

Great trip down memory lane and a fantastic opportunity for the you and members of the family to experience a past life.

Really fun experience and food was really good. Only negative was carriage was a little cold and the small table lights were not on, but this would not prevent me going again.

What's not to love about the Bluebell Railway? Lots to see and do and of course lots and lots of wonderful steam trains . do take time to visit the Coachworks and chat to the many many volunteers who were all and lovely and super friendly

Lovely day with mum riding on the trains at Sheffield Park. Was very busy but that's to be expected this time of the year. Lovely to see so many people enjoying the trains, the station and the overall atmosphere created by the dedicated staff and volunteers

Although a little expensive (kids are usually £1 during half/end terms), the Bluebell Railway is a great, fun day out for all the family. There is always something going on and my kids love it. Well worth a trip if you find yourself nearby.

We went here for the day and got the first train out of East Grinstead to Sheffield Park. The trains were very nice and well maintained as well the stations. It appeared there were two trains in operation the day we went - whilst the views were lovely it did get a bit crowded on occasions (it is summer holidays) and finding a seat together in a group of 4 with a small person got slightly more difficult.The day we went it started to rain mid day which then made some of the activities a bit more difficult - there wasnt much to see / do at the East Grinstead end and at the other end at Sheffield Park there was some locos to look at and a museum. The rain put a stop to some of the walks suggested in the leaflet they had given us.The small person in the group had fun travelling on the trains and I think the rest of us thought it was all ok - particularly when you consider how expensive it is...

Thanks to staff for letting me film here on 13th October and great for filming, please check out on my YouTube Channel called Damien Le Maistre (me)

At East Grinstead, there are two stations. One is the National Rail one with a twice hourly station to London Victoria. Second station is starting point for heritage Bluebell railway. Its about a 5 minute walk between the two with a Sainsburys nearby if you need provisions. East Grinstead Bluebell line station is nothing to shout about.

I really liked the idea of this, but the reality was that it was disappointing.A rather unwelcoming sales assistant set the tone for the day, but seemed happy enough to relieve me of nearly 20 quid. The actual train was amazing, and the stations were fantastic, but the whole experience was muddled and confusing. For example, it's simply not practical to get off at stations along the line (as I did) as there are significant gaps in service, with very little to actually do! I was hoping for a nice restaurant, and was baffled at the 'light lunch' selection that consisted of pasties or chips. Having waited over 20 minutes to get to the front of the queue, I discovered there were no pasties left (it was just after 1pm), so I just had chips, and a rather disappointing portion too. Why not have a proper cafe with proper meals and daily specials like every other tourist attraction in the country? I could sit down and eat a proper meal - and fill some time before the next train came along.The model railway is literally laughable - seemingly consisting of a couple of tracks - and with a requirement to insert 20p to see it running! Lol.There is also a small cinema that I sheltered from the wind in. It was showing a story about the Bluebell Railway and was pleasant enough, but insufficient to hold my attention for more than a few minutes.All in all, I understand the railway has a club for local youths, and I think that is worth supporting, but there are certainly better volunteer historic railways around. It's a shame that Bluebell Railway don't make more of what facilities they have, they could easily have pleased me more.

Very quaint and lovely. Good day out with the children. Worth going earlier and getting off at some of the stops, as the full price allows you to ride the train for the whole day.