Name: Kent & East Sussex Railway
Rating: 5.0

Kent & East Sussex Railway

Tenterden Town Station, Station Road, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 6HE, England

1-90 Years

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Description

Kent & East Sussex Railway is a much-loved heritage railway based at Tenterden Town Station in Kent. Originally opened in 1900 as Britain’s first light passenger railway, it now offers a nostalgic steam and diesel train experience through 10½ miles of beautiful Wealden countryside. Run largely by dedicated volunteers, the railway welcomes around 85,000 visitors each year and celebrated 50 years since reopening in 2024.

Visitors can enjoy scenic train journeys through the Rother Valley, explore five historic stations and discover the Colonel Stephens Railway Museum. Special experiences include Diesel Train Cab Rides, Junior Engineering Experiences on a steam locomotive, and Behind the Scenes Experience Days visiting workshops and locomotive works. There are also Railway Walks, Rail to River trips with Bodiam Boating Station, Explorer Tickets for flexible travel, and dining options such as breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and cream tea served on selected departures.

Standard return tickets cost £30.00 online or £33.00 on arrival for adults, and £26.50 online or £30.00 on arrival for seniors (60+). Up to three children (3–15 years) travel free with each paying adult or senior, and carers travel free. Explorer Tickets for two adults cost £49.50, with additional child Explorer tickets at £8.00. Junior Engineering Experiences cost £90 per child (including an accompanying adult), while the Behind the Scenes Experience Day costs £165.00.

With heritage locomotives, countryside views and unique railway experiences, the Kent & East Sussex Railway offers more than just a train ride. It combines history, family-friendly activities and hands-on experiences in a stunning Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Whether you’re a railway enthusiast or simply looking for a relaxing day out, it’s a memorable journey into the golden age of rail travel.

Features

Paid
Host birthday parties: No

Features

Railway walks: With the days becoming longer and warmer, why not dust off your walking boots and make a whole day of it with one of our six downloadable self-guided walks? Walk options are available from every station along the line with varying lengths to suit all abilities, so you are bound to find one to suit you! Be at one with nature and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding countryside which all falls within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Beauty, a specially protected area covering 560 square miles of West Kent and East Sussex.
Rail to River: In collaboration with Bodiam Boating Station, enjoy a rail to river experience. Book a return train ride to Northiam and only a short stroll away you can spend a relaxing couple of hours messing about on the river.
Explorer Tickets: If you're staying in the area this summer, our great value Explorer Tickets are the perfect way to discover the Weald & Rother Valley - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Explorer Tickets are valid for unlimited travel along the whole line on any 2 days within a 7 day period, providing you with the flexibility to come & go as you wish.
The Colonel Stephens Railway Museum: Recording the Career of Holman Fred Stephens, Light Railway Promoter, Engineer and Manager, His Family, His Railways and His Successors. The Museum has its own bookshop, selling a wide range of second-hand books in the foyer. There is no admission charge for entry but donations for its upkeep are very welcome.
The Cavell Van: The Cavell Van is the railwayman’s name for the prototype Passenger luggage Van built by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway at Ashford Works in 1919 as a one off 'pattern wagon' but was soon to be dubbed a 'Special Van. It was used for the repatriation of the bodies of two civilians executed during the First World War – Edith Cavell and Charles Fryatt. It was later used to return the remains of The Unknown Warrior in 1920.
Diesel train Cab Rides: This unique opportunity allows you to view the K&ESR from a totally different perspective. You'll travel with the driver in the cab of the diesel train on a scheduled passenger service. Whilst sharing a 'driver's eye view' of the signals, points, bridges and stations, your driver will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the line, operation of the controls or the techniques employed in driving.
Junior Engineering Experiences: Journey along the line behind a steam locomotive! Climb onto the footplate and learn for yourself how it works. Join us for this fun-filled experience, sure to enthral all young enthusiasts keen to learn more about the workings of railways. Chris Vine, author of the Peters Railway books, will lead the sessions, sharing his passion for all things engineering!
Behind the Scenes Experience Day: Looking for something a little different? Do you know a Heritage Railway enthusiast? Join us for an up-close behind the scenes experience. You'll enjoy a guided tour of the railway visiting areas not normally accessible to the general public, including the Carriage and Wagon Workshop at Tenterden and the Locomotive Works at Rolvenden.

Facilities

Food & Drinks: What better way to enjoy a relaxing trip through the glorious Rother Valley than to combine it with one of our legendary Breakfasts on the 10.20am departure from Tenterden, a scrummy Lunch on the 1.10pm, or perhaps a traditional Afternoon or Cream Tea at 3.40pm!

What to see

Stations

Tenterden Town Station: Tenterden is the heart of the present railway & contains most of our passenger facilities, the Colonel Stephens Museum, our Carriage & Wagon Restoration Workshops and last but not least the administrative headquarters of the charity which owns and operates the railway. The original Rother Valley Railway extended up the hill from Rolvenden Station (as now known) in 1903 and further onward to Headcorn in 1905 (abandoned in 1954) renaming itself the Kent and East Sussex Railway in the process.
Rolvenden Station & Motive Power Depot: The original Tenterden station was on this site when the Railway opened in 1900. Had the original plans for the Railway materialised, this would have been an important junction. As it was it became the K&ESR's engineering centre with Workshop, Locomotive and Carriage Sheds where minor miracles were performed with primitive equipment to keep the railway running.
Wittersham Road Station: Here, once again, the original station site was largely cleared by British Railways, but for the reopening in 1978 the railway provided a platform using coping stones from Heathfield Station in Sussex. The platform is flanked by railings & the station nameboard retrieved from Cranbrook. The signal box is a Saxby and Farmer type 5 box from Deal Junction, Dover built about 1882 and transported here for the opening of the rebuilt station.
Northiam Station: British Railways did not clear this site - probably because there were still hop-pickers' and other special passenger trains until nearly the line's closure. Fortunately Northiam and Bodiam retain their original and characteristic Stephens station buildings. A second building matching the style of the original was built on the platform to house toilets, whilst the station building looks very much as it always did, but the goods office has been altered to form a very useful Tea Room for passengers.
Bodiam Station: Bodiam Station, our present terminus, is a classic light railway station as realised by HF Stephens. It has the simplest layout; a run round loop which was mostly used in earlier days as a siding, and one siding (now two) which terminates at a cattle dock. The building is the same size as Northiam and has been restored to virtually its 1900 condition. It has a small Waiting and Booking area and a larger goods office.