As summer has swiftly faded into autumn, the hard-working folk at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway have been planning for the festive season and are bringing back the well-loved steam-hauled ‘Santa Express‘.

Tickets went on sale earlier in September and have been selling very quickly.

Catherine Johnson, Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway’s marketing manager said:

“For the first time since 2019, the full steam Santa Express train service will operate from Cheltenham Racecourse, running through the glorious Cotswold winter scenery and through dark Greet Tunnel to the North Pole at Winchcombe,”

“The last couple of years have seen our Christmas trains restricted with reduced capacity because of Covid social distancing rules, while trains were run from Toddington over just three miles – it’s really exciting that we’re are back to full operation!”

Families will enjoy a personal audience with Father Christmas at Santa’s Grotto, which is located at North Pole station in a railway carriage, and in keeping with tradition, every child will receive a fantastic gift.

Further to a magical meeting with Santa and all the magic of the grotto, festive entertainment and refreshments will also be laid on at North Pole station, including the Gloucester Warwickshire Steam Railway’s famous mince pies.

The entire event is organised by a dedicated and highly enthusiastic team of volunteers at the heritage railway who are determined to see that everybody has a wonderful day to remember.

It is advised to book tickets early in order to secure seats on the Santa Express, as the Christmas event is extremely popular.

The Santa Express will run each weekend from the 26th of November through to the 18th of December, as well as on Wednesday the 21st and Friday the 23rd of December.

To book tickets, please visit their website at: http://www.gwsr.com