Churnet Valley Railway (Kingsley and Froghall Station)

19.05.2023

Absolutely amazing place, our first time visiting, all staff very helpful and friendly, the route is great through the Valley. Never got to the cafe. Great photo opportunities and. Deffinatly recommend visiting. The engines are huge, USA engines. I loved them.

24.02.2024

1.3.25 Our family enjoyed another wonderful trip on the breakfast train then moved down the train to enjoy the second run. Staff are so helpful and really lovely. We had a long chat with one of the guards on the return run who told us about the Polar Express which sounds amazing. We're going to book for December! 24.2.2024 What a fantastic time we've had today. Breakfast on the train and riding the train all day! The staff have been absolutely brilliant and we felt really spoilt as we celebrated our disabled son's birthday. Service and food was excellent. Such a friendly team of people. Fabulous scenery on the route and we were lucky with the weather. Thank you to everyone involved who made the day so special, from start to finish - reception, tea room, station and train staff, every one of you are brilliant. We'll be back!

05.03.2025

Nature, beauty - how could you not love it?

23.02.2025

Yesterday, the first of the recently-advertised Heritage Days at the Churnet Valley Railway was just the perfect mix of good food and service on the train, train running through great scenery and steam working hard "up the hill" (1 in 45 gradient) to Ipstones, an informative visit around the sheds and a rare trip travelling over the yet-to-be-opened line to Leek. We left Kingsley & Froghall station at 10:30 and were back there for 16:00, but the time slipped by. Little things that just added to the day included a raffle for a cab-ride on the steam and diesel locos along a large chunk of the railway, travelling twice around the triangle at Leek Brook and a detailed explanation of what has been going on at the new Leek station site, having been one of the first to travel to Leek by train. There were also two "run-pasts" at Leek Brook for everyone to get some photos or videos of our train in action and a rare foray, 1/4 mile down the line towards Stoke. I last travelled over this section in April 1994! All together, it was such a great, varied "behind the scenes" day out at a really good price. Please do book one of the remaining dates for 2025 and support the railway. It was just perfect!

23.02.2025

Saturday Feb 22nd we enjoyed a fantastic day on the railway. This was very much a behind the scenes experience. We boarded the train at Frghall and enjoyed a full English breakfast with Tea and fruit juice on our way along the original route to Ipstones. A free raffle was down which enabled two lucky winners to travel on the footplates for the rest of our trip! We then returned to Leek Brook junction, where we tuned onto the newly re-layed line to Leek. Once at the temporary platform we were able to walk around the site, get a close up view of the train from the ground and have a guided tour of the train's kitchen. During the train journey and extensively at Leek we were spoken to by the railways managing director, who explained at length the highs and lows of undertaking such a feet of engineering. We then returned to the junction and went out onto the Stoke branch for short distance that we were permitted. Upon our return to the junction once more we were able to alight and walk along the line were the train did two passes for some great photo opportunities. Then it was onto Cheddleton, where we broke off into small groups for a guided, very much behind the scenes, tour of the Engine and Carriage sheds and yard. We then returned to Froghall for 4pm having thoroughly enjoyed a good 6 hours of entertainment. This exceeded my expectations and all for just £70.

19.02.2025

What a lovely afternoon out on the steam train

14.02.2025

Before I start my review, I want to give a heads-up to everyone: DO NOT bother with the cancellation insurance. It only applies if you get a medical note from your doctor, which is a waste of time if you just have the seasonal flu. We booked the VIP ticket for our visit on The Polar Express, it was ok.... Given all the hype, and since we love theatre and musicals, we were really looking forward to it—especially since the movie is one of our favorite Christmas films. Your view of "The North Pole" depends on which side of the train you sit on, although we had a good view admittedly you're not missing out on a whole lot! The dancers were truly impressive, and one of them made such an effort with my little boy, which added a special touch to our outing actually I’d go as far to say she actually made our tip (picture attached - hopefully someone at the company can recognise her efforts!) I was a bit disappointed that Santa didn’t though as he didn’t engage with my little boy. He spent most of the time at a table opposite us, so I had to encourage my son to go over and interact with him, which was a missed opportunity for a magical experience. On a more positive note, I feel the cold terribly visiting in the night time in December I was worried I'd be freezing but the train was super warm, which was great. You also get Hot chocolate included (Just like the film) but I must admit I've had better hot chocolate at McDonald's (though we didn't go for that) we did get lovely little ceramic mugs each (included in the price of the VIP ticket) which are beautifully decorated and we still use them now all the time but this made absolutely no difference to our experience in my opinion, it's just not worth the money you spend on it—DEFINITELY a one-and-done experience for us, unfortunately, and would only ever visit again should they invest some of the money they make on the season to improve it.

09.02.2025

Every part of the day was 5 star

09.02.2025

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience took my partner for his birthday we were on the breakfast train really enjoyed the breakfast only thing that was missing was some nice toast not everyone eats oat cakes unfortunately but the staff and the whole experience was brilliant xxx

03.02.2025

A truly wonderful experience, from start to finish. Everything is pristine and well maintained. The staff are excellent, attentive and so welcoming. We can't wait to come back in August for the Bombay Express experience.

01.02.2025

Absolutely brilliant day for my grandson and I. Courteous staff at Froghall on the platform and in the cafe. The lady on the platform explained that the shop was closed for decorating and so we couldn't look for new trains for his track. To my surprise, the lady went off to find three engines that my grandson might like. He chose a Mallard. I thought this was above and beyond and commendable. No complaints from me at all today. An excellent experience. Highly recommended; great fun and value for money. Long may the railway run. 10/10.

13.01.2025

Visited for the polar express experience which was amazing from start to finish. Staff were really helpful and friendly and experience was amazing.

09.01.2025

Shocking for disabled people went on the polar express….

07.01.2025

Visited the polar express ,expensive but worth the money .the granddaughter actually cried when we had to get of the train.

07.01.2025

Went as a family on the Polar Express experience; totally amazing. Superbly thought out, amazing staff and actors. Couldn't recommend enough.

01.01.2025

Absolutely amazing great day out, well worth the money. All my grandchildren enjoyed it.

01.01.2025

we did the polar express and what a show they put on fantastic black american steam engine ive also done the breakfast train again top notch . you might think the prices are a little on the high side but id say worth every penny and more . good parking disabled access amazing helpfull staff . put it on your to do list you wont regret it

31.12.2024

Went for the polar express December 17th. It was great, we had a brilliant time but for the money it could have been longer. Only about 45 mins on the train in total. Kids thought they were going to get off and see the north pole but it was just cardboard pictures to look at. However, it was still a magical time on the train and the kids had an amazing time.

30.12.2024

Polar express experience was brilliant, lovely setting and station.

28.12.2024

Polar Express Experience - don’t book if you have mobility issues or are disabled - they give a car park that gets filled with non disabled cars, the ground is all loose rocks and super uneven and hard to walk on and then once inside the marquee to wait for the train the floor is lots of wooden pallets with a carpet over and they flex under foot and even the strongest of walkers were finding it difficult to walk, I strange option to take in my opinion. The distance to walk is also far for some that has mobility issues without regular parts to stop and take a break. You could very easily use the normal station access to let blue badge people onto the platform that way and designated them all in those further up carriages if you put more thought into it. The experience itself is great for kids and adults that was the best part and saved the evening for us. But please make It more accessible for all not just the able bodied.

26.12.2024

Went on the polar express and was probably the best UK experience I have had. They made you feel like you were actually on the polar express. The actors had American accents, they stayed in character! It was very well executed and fun.