Originally I intended for this review of the Gwili Railway to be included in my Blue Peter Badge review section. However, when we turned up on site loudly presenting our badges, we were told that they are no longer accepting them. This is due to abuse of the system where people were using their Blue Peter badges in conjunction with other things and then not paying at all to travel. So this is now just a treat day with you instead. At the time of writing it’s still showing on the Blue Peter website though.
You may have noticed that this year it’s rained pretty much none stop for the past 6 months. You may also be aware of the fact that Wales is very green because it does have a tendency to rain quite a lot. Those two things in combination meant that the day that we visited the Gwili railway was because it rained. I knew it was going to rain in the morning at some point and I thought sitting on the train meant that we would avoid the worst of the road. Actually it was perfect because we got on the train and there was quite a heavy shower. As we got off the train to explore it was completely dry. Got back on the train again and another shower so we managed to avoid all of the rain!
The train
Now if you are a train buff you are going to have to forgive me. I know nothing about trains. I know probably more about the Hogwarts Express in Lego form than I do about the train that I was physically sitting on. However, it’s a steam train and it’s cool. You get on the train at Carmarthen and the journey takes about an hour and a half.
There’s two different types of tickets. You can either book a private compartment for either four or six people or you can book open seating. We went for the open seating option because all of the carriage the compartments had sold out by the time that we got there. Actually, I think we ended up with really cool seats because we could then just have a bit more of an explore of the train rather than just being stuck
They advise you to get there 30 minutes before your departure time. I think that’s a little bit excessive. We got there about 15 minutes before the departure time because there’s not really anything to do. There’s nothing on site so yeah that just seems a little bit much. I wouldn’t panic if you don’t get there for half an hour beforehand.
And then you’re off
The journey itself is going through some really pretty parts of the Welsh countryside. You go through a valley and you get some really lovely views of the river. There’s lots of fields with sheep in; it’s Wales after-all. It’s just a really nice gentle journey through the countryside
On the way there are drinks served but no food. You can book special ticket options where you have afternoon tea or fish & chips, but we were just on the normal rides.
There are two places where they stop during your journey. One of them is at the end of the track and where you stop for just a couple of minutes and they take the engine off and they stick it the other end of the train. You can get off and watch them do that if you want to. Or just to stretch your legs for a couple of minutes. There’s not a huge amount to do so you don’t need to get off of that one.
They then go back to the station and museum which is a little bit further back along the track you’ve just been along. I think it’s about 20 minutes that you stop here.
The railway museum
The main stop is at the Llwyfan Cerrig station where they have a little railway museum. There’s a miniature railway here which we didn’t go on. They’ve also got a postal rail carriage and Smallest Child absolutely loved this. She just found sorting the mail fascinating. I think she now wants to do it for a living, even though they don’t have mail trains anymore.
There’s little area where you can have a picnic. Although there’s not really a huge amount of time so don’t know that would work. There’s a few other bits here and lots of old slightly rusting and decrepit stock around. People that know a lot more about these things than I do will probably know why these things are exciting and interesting to look at. I don’t know enough about them if I’m honest with you. We spent most of our time in the mail carriage and just enjoying being outside, but I think for heritage steam lovers it would be interesting. I actually found out more information at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre than I did here because they just didn’t give you a lot of information. I think that’s not really the purpose of this is not the museum. It is a railway line first and foremost.
Homeward bound
And then we’re off and we’re on our way back home again. Because we were a family of five and we were sitting in the standard seating we had two tables that were next to each other. That meant that on the way back we could swap sides and see what the other people could see from the other side. I think that was quite useful. I don’t know how strict they would be about you moving seats on a quiet train journey, because actually there are different things to see on the different side. But it was nice for us to be able to see what’s going on the side of the train.
This review of Gwili Railway is based on our experiences at the time of our visit. Things can change over time, including the facilities available. If you have any specific requirements such as access it’s always best to check with the site directly before visiting. If anything I’ve said in this review is no longer accurate then please do let me know. Thank you.
Our Gwili Railway review
When I asked Hubby what he thought of the Gwili Railway and what I should put in this review. We both agreed that it was a really lovely train ride. It was really nice to step back in time and a really good experience. He wasn’t aware of what the price was because I had paid for the tickets. When I told him how much it was he did pull a bit of a funny face. For the five of us, there’s only 5.50 difference between getting open seating and a compartment to ourselves (with the private compartment actually being the cheaper option for us). A family of four is looking at paying 60 quid and that is a fairly high price. But we all know the cost of energy is really high and these things run on coal and I imagine that’s really high at the moment. I have no idea how much it costs to run a steam train and it is quite a unique experience. I don’t think for a second that they are in it to make massive profits and I think they’re charging these prices because that’s what they have to charge and I think it is a really nice thing to do if you can.
Admission cost
Open seating – £17 (Adult), £13 (Child)
Compartment for four – £60
Compartment for six – £67.50
Booking is via their website.
Parking / How to get there
Parking – Free, on-site
Address – Abergwili Junction station, Abergwili, Carmarthen, SA31 2DG
Toilets
At the stations and on the train
Food
Drinks served on the train. You can also take your own drinks and food.
What else is there to do nearby?
Because the train journey had been so expensive we actually finished the day with a trip to the Carmarthen Museum. Read the review of that here. This review of the Gwili Railway is part of a holiday that we took in Wales and you can read all of my reviews from Wales by clicking here. Or you can read about a week in South West Wales here
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Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.
You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook