Who can resist steam trains, almost every man I know even those who ridicule trainspotters secretly love a steam train. You only have to watch if you are anywhere near a railway line if one goes past, almost everyone stops to watch it go by. So on a weekend where the weather was nice and sunny, we decided on a visit to the Nene Valley Railway, just outside Peterborough and easy to get to as its Wansford station is just off the A1 north of Peterborough services.
Immediately as you arrive you are greeted by a vast array of locomotives and rolling stock and if you are a bit of a fan there s plenty of interest, even if you aren't it sets the scene nicely. Ticket prices are reasonable, with a Rover ticket costing 11 pounds. This allows unlimited travel up and down the line, as there are some great walks, its the ideal way to make the most of the day out. The railway now offers gift aid, where if you make a small donation on top of the ticket price the railway gets to claim 28% extra back off the government, but to make up for this the railway will give you back some vouchers to spend in the shop or in the buffet. And with the cost of keeping these bits of history on the rails every little bit helps, and it makes sense to do your bit, as when some of these engines get scrapped it will be the last time anyone ever gets to enjoy the experience of riding on them.
So tickets in hand there as just time for a few quick photos at Wansford station, before the train came in to take us down to Peterborough. This is quite rare, as most preserved lines tend to be away from cities in some quite rural areas, but the Nene Valley takes you to within a 5 minute walk of Peterborough Town Center. We would have stopped off at one of the intermediate stations Ferry Meadows and enjoyed a walk in the Nene Country Park but by now the day was getting unbearably hot so it was time to head back to civilisation for a cold drink and a snack, and besides the only other times I have ever been to Peterborough is passing through it from the station by taxi.
From Wansford to Peterborough takes about 25 minutes and for this trip we were hauled by Class 5 No. 73050 City of Peterborough. There is something quite relaxing about a trip behind a steam engine with the constant chuff-chuff in the background. For photographers the only thing to remember is that on the trip towards Peterborough the locomotive will be running tender first and at its least photogenic, but be jumping off at one of the intermediate stations and waiting for the return trip you can get some great shots that could easily have been taken 50 years ago.
Peterborough was better than I thought, so after a quick tour of the Cathedral which was very impressive and another story, we headed back to the station to catch our train back. When we arrived we were treated to a show of the engine being refilled with water, and there was quite a crowd on the platform watching this. It makes you see how much simpler life is now on the railways as climbing up onto the top of the tender and manhandling a giant pipe especially on a hot sunny day is hard work. Although come to think about it shovelling coal into an open fire cant be very pleasant either.
The beauty of the tickets is that you can jump on and off as many times as you want, so we headed back to Wansford, but decided to stay on for our final trip up the line to Yarwell Junction. This is only a few minutes out of Wansford, but there is a small nature reserve up there and the trains waits for ten minutes so there is time for a quick look around.
All in all an excellent day out, and its funny but once you board the train the afternoon seems to fly by, which I guess is always the sign that you are having a good time. Before you leave though its worth searching out the bookshop in Wansford Station, as it sells a brilliant selection of second hand transport books, and some great bargains can be had.
Recommended.