Wensleydale Railway

The Wensleydale Railway is heritage railway running from the Vale of Mowbray into Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This rural line operates both heritage diesel and steam services passing through market towns, small villages, woodlands and farmland, offering a great day out for everyone, even the dog!

Most of our journeys start at…

Leeming Bar station, the headquarters of the Railway and where maintenance work on the coaches and locomotives takes place. Many of the diesel locomotives in the yard are being restored by volunteers, a long and usually difficult process but well worth the effort involved.

Bedale is a station staffed entirely by volunteers, who have restored the station to its former glory. Bedale is a small Georgian market town, one of the gateways to the dales with many listed buildings and the Church of St. Gregory on the main street.

Finghall Lane, the next station, is the smallest station on the line and is a request stop. The guard will walk down the train asking passengers for Finghall to assemble in one place, as only one carriage fits on the short platform. Passengers wanting to board here must put out their hand to stop the train. The station buildings were used in the filming of “All Creatures Great and Small” and “The Yorkshire Vet”.

Leyburn is a market town, with many fine buildings and a lively market. The station has been restored by volunteers, with a passing loop and a second platform, which we will need to run a more regular service to Redmire. As we leave Leyburn, to the right is Leyburn Shawl, a steep slope with walks and spectacular views across Wensleydale along the top. It is named The Shawl as, according to local legend, when Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner at Castle Bolton, she tried to escape and dropped her shawl on the footpath.

Redmire is the end of the line. From the station are short walks to Castle Bolton or Redmire Force, both well worth a visit, or a longer walk to the spectacular Aysgarth Falls. You can see the ramp where the army trains are loaded and also the last remains of the gantry used to load the limestone.

You can start your journey at any of our stations along the line and with our standard return you can hop on and off the train at intermediate stations as many times as you like. Or why not buy a single ticket and walk or cycle back? The choice is yours.

For further information please see our website for days on which the steam service runs.

Events
Why not join us for one of our special events that we run throughout the year from gin and prosecco trains; the WensleyAle Festival, the Santa Trains, murder mystery evenings, stargazing our events calendar is updated frequently and can be found on our website, for information on how to book please call 01677 425805

Heritage Program
An award-winning programme of school visits for primary-aged pupils (Reception to KS2) providing the opportunity to explore railway life from Victorian times to the present day with hands0on workshops.
For more information, contact our heritage education team on education@wensleydalerailway.com

Volunteering
The Wensleydale railway is run mainly by volunteers and everyone that joins the team helps to contribute to the operation of the railway.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Railway. Make a difference and get involved, make new friends and learn skills

Areas of work include:
Commercial
Operations
Maintenance
Infrastructure
Vegetation
Training
Administration
Events

If you would like to become more involved with the railway and/or become a volunteer more information can be found on our website.