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The Friendly Steam Railway Welcomes You 

Come to the lovely village of Cranmore, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset to meet our friendly staff and take a relaxing ride on our heritage steam trains.

The train journey is approximately 35 minutes over our 5 mile round trip.* You are welcome to ride as many times as you like on your visit - subject to availability of seats. 

We are one of very few steam railways where you can visit our engine shed and workshop to see restoration in progress by our skilled bunch of volunteers.

We have a time-capsule museum, waiting room and ticket office. There is also the David Shepherd Discovery Centre on our restored second platform, which celebrates the history of our railway and its environs.

Launched in our 50th anniversary year, 2024, 'The Man Who Loved Giants', a fascinating new exhibition celebrating the life and work of our Founder David Shepherd, is housed in an ex-railway carriage in the cattle dock behind the old station building.

The refurbished signal box is open every running day and the miniature railway is also open on specific days – see website for details.

We have a well stocked shop and The Station Cafe serves a great range of deliciously yummy food and drink.  You are also able to take afternoon tea on our Mendip Belle coach on certain days – pre-booking is essential.

We have a large, free car park with disabled spaces.  There is ramp access to the platform and wheelchair accessible seating on the train.  We are working towards becoming dementia friendly across the whole site.  We welcome dogs, which travel free.

Our friendly staff and volunteers are always available to assist in any way.

*Please note that our Sunday Lunch trains can take longer than the 35 minutes usually advised with additional waits on the track.  If you are restricted on time, we recommend planning your visit to avoid these trains.  The trains affected are the 12.30pm & 2.00pm trains on 23rd & 30th March, 13th & 27th April, 11th May, 1st and 15th June, 20th July, 3rd & 17th August, 7th & 21st September, 5th & 19th October 2025. 

 

Ride and Ramble

The East Somerset Railway has made it possible to have a great steam ride from Cranmore to the end of the line and then walk back through the pretty Mendip countryside using footpaths and quiet lanes.  The walk is reasonably flat.  PLEASE NOTE: parts of this walk are across very uneven ground, with brambles, nettles and (possibly) ticks.  You will need long trousers and walking boots. 

There are good views across the Somerset countryside.  Dogs can ride on the train free of charge and will enjoy the ramble back but must be on a lead in fields with livestock.  As with all country rambles, you may encounter areas of mud and in high summer sections of paths, including the railway path (which is only open officially when trains are running), may be overgrown.  You will see lots of wild flowers and you may see deer and plenty of birds.

Download the full leaflet below:

Accessibility

Due to the age of our heritage carriages and their fixed seating, we are unable to seat wheelchairs and mobility scooters in the main carriages. We have an adapted carriage for mobility impaired visitors which is accessed via a ramp with seating areas for carers.

Assistance Dogs are allowed to accompany their owner in all areas of the railway, including the café and dining carriages (please let us know that an Assistance Dog will be with you when booking for our dining trains).

 

 More Information
Elaine Lavender

We are very dog friendly!

No need to leave Rover the Dog behind when you buy your day rover! Dogs are very welcome at the railway and can travel free of charge as long as they don't take up a seat!

We don't allow dogs into the dining carriages but we have plenty of outside seating, loads of water bowls and if Rover visits the shop he may get a dog treat.

We also have a resident canine Meeter and Greeter  - Barney the Station Dog!

In addition to The Station Café patio seating, we have some grass picnic areas that customers are welcome to use.  These are situated next to the Children's play area, by the car park and there are some additional picnic tables by the Miniature Railway.

We hope you enjoy your time at The Friendly Steam Railway and if you are able to spare a few pennies as a donation we would really appreciate it.  Donations go towards keeping our lovely heritage steam railway open for everyone to enjoy for years to come!