The Wensleydale Railway has announced a new heritage offer where educational groups can investigate life on a branch line during the 1920s.

Through hands-on experience and enquiry-based workshops, students can learn about the history of the Northallerton to Hawes branch line, either through visits to the Grade II-listed Station House at Leeming Bar or alternatively, they can study about the line in the classroom with curriculum-led Loan Boxes and additional material available online.

On-site visits will begin at Bedale. Here, students can dress up in period costumes before travelling by train to Leeming Bar, where they will be greeted by the Station Master and his staff.

Students will then discover what it was like to work in a busy country station with its bustling parcels office, ticket office, and waiting room. Their visit will conclude with a look at the parlour and kitchen to find out how a Station Master and his wife lived in the 1920s.

Visits last for approximately three hours and can run in the morning or early afternoon with activities to suit both KS1 and KS2 pupils.

The railway also offers a ‘Left Luggage’ Loan Box programme. This allows students to learn more about the history of the railway and the local area through a carefully curated collection of objects and activities, each supported by curriculum-focused lesson plans.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players have supported and funded the Leeming Bar Station House Project. This funding has allowed the Wensleydale Railway to offer school visits and loan boxes for free throughout the 2021/2022 school year and has enabled the Grade II Station House at Leeming Bar to be restored, securing its future for generations to come.

Anyone interested in arranging a visit to Leeming Bar Station House, or borrowing one of the ‘Left Luggage’ loan boxes, should email [email protected]