Fish and Chipmas

Please note that the tickets for Friday 12th December's evening service are slightly cheaper at £45 per adult and £31.50 per child. When adding your tickets to the basket for this date, they will say £60 adult and £42.50 child to start with however an automatic discount will be added at the check out which will reduce the cost. 

Terms and Conditions

Passengers travelling on 30th November 2025 will travel from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead return, where there will be some time to explore our Minehead Station Christmas Market. Your train will depart Bishops Lydeard at 12.30 where your fish and chips will be served.  You will arrive in Minehead at 14.15 where you will have some time to explore the market. Your return service will leave Minehead at 16.00 arriving back in Bishops Lydeard at roughly 17.10. 

Passengers travelling on 7th December 2025 will travel between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead return. Your service will depart Bishops Lydeard at 13.00 and head to Minehead. It will arrive in Minehead at 14.55 and will deprt again for your return journey at 16.00. You willl arrive back in Bishops Lydeard at roughly 17.10. 

Passengers travelling on 12th December 2025 will travel between Bishops Lydeard and Williton return. Your service will leave Bishops Lydeard at  19.00 arriving in Williton at 20.10. returning from Williton at 20.45 arriving back at Bishops Lydeard at 21.30.  

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING

Postcode for Sat Nav: TA4 3RU

Bishops Lydeard Station is the southern terminus of the West Somerset Railway and this is where your Santa Express journey begins. It is four miles from the County town of Taunton and the M5 Motorway (Junction 25).

Please be aware that there is a maximum height barrier so access to the car park is for vehicles under 2.1 metres.

UPON ARRIVAL

Please allow adequate time for your journey to Bishops Lydeard – we expect trains to be very close to capacity if not fully booked so if you miss your train, it will be very unlikely we would be able to find you a space on another. We advise that you would aim to arrive at the station at least 45 minutes before your train departure time.

There is a car park at Bishops Lydeard station, where the event begins. If this is full, the road that leads to the car park has lots of on-street parking. There is a small disabled carpark next to the marquee, this can also be used to drop off passengers who are not able to walk down from the main car park. This will be sign posted. Once you have parked, follow signs for check-in which will be in the marquee

THINGS TO LET US KNOW

The seating plans are being arranged in advance so please also let us know within 10 working days of making your booking if there is another party who have booked separately that you would like to sit with. We will be unable to move groups around on the day. If you have made two bookings in the same name, we will put these together on the plans, you do not need to notify us. If you would like to contact us about your booking for one of the reasons above, or for another – please call 01643 704996.

DOGS

No dogs will be permitted on our Fish and Chipmas Trains except assistance dogs.  If you have an assistance dog you must add the dog to the notes when making your booking or call us on 01643 704996 after your booking has been made and we will add your assistance dog to your booking. 

TOILETS

There are toilets located at the top of the slope, these are the only toilets at the station and the train toilets will be for ‘emergencies’ only!

CHECK-IN

On entering the marquee, you will need to show your digi-ticket at the check in desk. If you are not able to print it, please make sure you have it visible on your tablet or phone. You will then be given your table number. If you have pre-booked goodie bags you will be advised where to collect these as you check in.

There will be a pop-up shop and buffet in the marquee where you will be able to purchase gifts and snacks. There will be no catering available to purchase on the train. We will have card payment facilities available, but we recommend you bring cash in case of intermittent signal for our machines. You will need to wait in the marquee until you are called to the platform by our train staff. There will be seating available.

BUGGIES

There will be no buggies or pushchairs permitted on the train due to limited space. Please leave these in your car if you can or we will provide a space to leave them, but this will be at your own risk.

WHAT TO BRING

Wrap up warm. Some areas of the carpark will not have lighting. The train and marquee will be heated but please wear warm clothes just in case.

Seasons Greetings from all of us at West Somerset Railway

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PURCHASE

You have agreed to our standard terms and conditions by purchasing your ticket and checking the box to say that you accept them.

You are aware that your service starts at BISHOPS LYDEARD STATION. If you turn up at the wrong station, we are unable to accommodate you on any other service.  

Our terms and conditions can be found on our website.

1.       If you do not wish to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, your tickets should be returned to us within 10 days of receipt

2.       Please check your tickets upon receipt and advise us promptly of any errors. Errors cannot be rectified on the day of your visit.

3.      The contract of tickets acceptance will be governed by English Law and subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

4.      Fish and Chipmas services must be pre-booked.

5.      Tickets are strictly non-transferable. You cannot transfer or amend your tickets after booking.

6.      It is advised to arrive at Bishops Lydeard station 45 minutes before your selected departure time. If you miss your train for any reason, you may not be able to transfer to another service as seats will most likely not be available.

7.      Limited parking for visitors will be available as stated above in the ticket information.

8.      We will not take responsibility for delay or non-attendance by you, caused by bad weather, traffic conditions or any other factors that delay your arrival at the station.

9.       Pets are not allowed on Fish and Chipmas services. Assistance dogs are, however, accepted.

10.  We retain the right to alter, cancel and suspend the service for safety or other operational reasons. In this instance, we will offer you an alternative service of similar value.

11.     Payments for tickets must be made in full, at the time of booking.

12.   We reserve the right to refuse any booking for reasons we consider necessary.

13.   We will not be held responsible for any loss or damage to any vehicle, clothing or personal belongings during your visit. Any found lost property will be held at Minehead Information Office for 1 week, after this time items will be disposed of.

14.   Buggies and pushchairs will not be permitted to travel on the Santa Express  services.

15.  Refunds will only be issued if a service is cancelled by us and it is not possible to rearrange you on to another Santa Express service. Refunds will not be issued for any other reason.

17.   This ticket is issued subject to the Rules and Regulations of the West Somerset Railway PLC. Full details are available on request.

18.   It is the responsibility of the ticket holder to ascertain whether a service has been cancelled and the date and time of any rearranged service. If a service is cancelled or rescheduled, we will use reasonable endeavours to notify ticket holders of the cancellation once we have received the relevant authorisation from the West Somerset Railway PLC.

19.   The management reserves the right to refuse admission should patrons breach any Rules and Regulations of the West Somerset Railway PLC. The management may on occasions have to conduct security searches to ensure the safety of the patrons.

20.  A £5 administration fee per booking will be charged for any subsequent booking alteration. No refunds will be given once tickets are issued. The Management cannot be held responsible for any tickets which are lost or stolen. West Somerset Railway PLC reserves the right to cancel ticket bookings which it reasonably suspects to have been made fraudulently.

21.   The West Somerset Railway PLC operates a No Smoking policy. This includes e-cigarettes.

22.  The unauthorized use of photographic and recording equipment for public use is prohibited.

23.  The West Somerset Railway PLC accepts no responsibility for any personal property.

24.  Ticket holders consent to filming and sound recording as visitors