What better day to have an adventure than Good Friday? Just before Christmas my friend Gav asked if me and my sister Lucy fancied a train ride through Matlock that involved fish and chips. Quite frankly he had us at fish and chips. He decided to buy the trip as a Christmas pressie for his mum, Brenda, who we call Mamma Mawditt, because we love her and she's quite frankly fabulous. So last Friday we headed to Wirksworth station and it was a case of "Choo Choo bitches", because we thought that made the whole thing sound really cool!
Full disclosure, I am not a train enthusiast . I like trains, I prefer them to buses, and weirdly I think steam trains are quite magical, maybe I've read "Murder on the Orient Express" too many times, but you won't find me on a weekend sat at the end of a platform with a camera and a notebook writing down train numbers. That's not my jam.
When we got to Wirksworth Station, it was a bit like being transported back in time, to the early 1900's, I half expected to see Albert Perks from "The Railway Children"waiting to greet us and tell us that something "special was going to happen". Just as an aside I defy anyone to watch "The Railway Children"and not ball their eyes out at the end. If you don't, you're probably dead inside.
One of the things that struck me the most was how much there was to do there. The station has a museum and shop, where you can see all kinds of memorabilia, plus they have a huge selection of books and different items to buy. It must be a train enthusiasts dream.
There's also toilets, which are really clean, which is important, no one likes a dirty bog. The sign made me laugh.
There's a buffet car where you can get a drink and food, a gift shop and outdoor seating for the weather is nice. Do you remember when the sun used to shine and you could sit outside?
Our train ride was at 3.30pm and we were greeted by Olly from Fox and Edwards, who had organised the trip. He was very friendly and made us very welcome.
Our train was called "The Duke" and there was something quite magical seeing it pull into the station in a cloud of steam. My great grandpa worked on the railways and I wondered if he'd ever driven this train. When I went on the website, I realised that he wouldn't have done as The Duke was a restored steam train from the 1950's / 60's and my great grandpa had gone to the great steam train in the sky by then, still it was a nice romantic notion whilst it lasted.
Our carriage was pretty full and the four of us made ourselves comfy at our table. As soon as we set off a trolley came around where you could purchase drinks, soft or alcoholic and then you just sat back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in the lovely Derbyshire Dales. It absolutely chucked it down, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the views.
Halfway , the train stopped to make its return journey and we were served fish and chips, a flapjack and a bottle of water. There are some food alternatives, you can have sausage and chips or halloumi and chips. The food was absolutely amazing, big portions, which got a 10 out of 10 from us. Mamma didn't even finish hers because it was too big, the rest of us cleared our cardboard boxes.
The whole journey was about 90 minutes and we travelled 14 miles. The four of us absolutely loved it, it was just really great wholesome fun and a great way of spending an afternoon.
Whether you love trains or you just fancy an afternoon out with family and friends, then I highly recommend doing this. We've started looking for similar things we can do for our next adventure, so any suggestions then post them in the comments.
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