The Bluebell Railway

Last Saturday we had no plans, so we decided to take a ride on the Bluebell Railway. This is a 125-year-old steam train railway running along a 9-mile stretch of the border between East Sussex and West Sussex. These days it is mostly staffed by volunteers and has only three stations, but steam trains still run on a regular timetable as it's a popular tourist activity or family day out.

We drove to Sheffield Park Station (about 40 minutes from home) and purchased first class tickets to the first station and back (a 9-mile round trip). This cost about the same as the fare to travel the full 18-mile round trip in third class, so we decided to cover less distance so we could see what first class was like!



Anyway, I ended up being quite glad of this... First class was nothing fancy, but it consisted of compartments along one side of the train, six seats in each. A sliding door opened onto the corridor. We had a whole compartment to ourselves, which was excellent as there were some very excited and noisy kids on the train. :) As we steadily chugged through the English countryside, now starting to get really green again after the winter, steam billowed from the train and the driver would occasionally sound the hooty whistle.

Yup, right out of Harry Potter or what?! I half expected a lady to come along with a trolley of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans any second. :D



After reaching Horsted Keynes Station, we got out and had a simple lunch from a canteen on the platform. We had planned on exploring the village but it turned out to be a 1.5-mile walk away so we gave up on that idea! We had a look through a couple of old carraiges that had displays about historical trains, and then found one that was filled with an amazing number of second hand books and magazines about trains. We actually found a nice coffee table book for ourselves ("Mind The Gap" - it's about what's at the end of all the London tube lines!) and also a present for Dad there!



After that, we rode back to Sheffield Park in the same steam train and had a bit of a look around the shop there. Bought some funny Clives Cats drink coasters and discovered that someone has actually written an entire book (non-fiction) called Lichens - yes, everything you ever wanted to know about that fungus/algae stuff that grows on rocks and trees!!

Later, we had a look through the pleasant town of Lewes, which is where those mad Bonfire Night celebrations we went to in November were held. It was considerably quieter this time. :) There is an awesome 15th century bookshop in Lewes - see photo below. And that was our nice relaxing day!