The Perfect Railway Holiday (aka as the "Best Train Holiday EVER") - Part 1

Where do you go on holiday if your child is mad about trains?

The answer is simple, Wales.  Berwyn to be precise where for a reasonable amount of money you can hire the Station Master's house at Berwyn station.  It's situated right on the railway platform where regular steam and vintage diesel trains run.

Here's the link if you want to have a nose. Berwyn Station Masters House

I can't remember how I found the house but find it I did and I booked it there and then.

I can hand on heart say it is the BEST holiday home I have ever stayed in.  The view from the living room is stunning with sweeping views of the platform and the River Dee.

 
Berwyn station is a vintage lovers dream with lovely vintage touches here and there.

The house is beautifully furnished with everything you would ever need on holiday, including an iron.  Several of our past holiday homes were without one so I was especially thrilled to find an iron in a cupboard.  Simple things!  To welcome us on our arrival at the house there was a lovely bottle of wine and beautiful fresh flowers.  And of course the obligatory carton of fresh milk in the fridge for a cuppa. 

The Wee Man spent many happy hours playing on the platform.  The station is rather quiet with not many people getting on and off at Berwyn so he had the run of the platform and for one whole week he was the Station Master of Berwyn railway station, complete with train cap, whistle, flag and official badge.

As part of the holiday home hire we were given complementary tickets for the railway which allowed us to ride the trains as many times as we wanted during our stay.  This made the holiday very worthwhile as at £12 for an adult ticket and there being four adults we saved a lot of money.  The tickets were used almost on a daily basis.

The majority of the railway staff are volunteers and were exceptionally lovely which really made the Wee Man's holiday.  He was given a tour of the signal box at Llangollen station, allowed into the driver's cab of a steam train, helped with the coupling up of several trains and the highlight for him was a ride in the driver's cab of a vintage diesel train.

I think you need to be a parent to a train mad child to fully appreciate why all of the little extra treats were really special.  I have to add though that the little extras are not part of the holiday package, but merely the staff recognising how especially train obsessed the Wee Man is and indulging him in his obsession.  He really is obsessed!

More holiday posts to follow where the Wee Man's train obsession will become very apparent.