Sir Nigel Gresley Travel and Cream Tea Daytime Excursions Friday 3rd July 2026

Carer Tickets

Carers may travel on the West Somerset Railway for free, however there is a charge for the catering. Therefore the charge for tickets for the Cream Tea and Travel on Sir Nigel Gresley are for the catering element only. 

When you arrive for your days travel, please ensure you have one of the following with you. This will need to be shown at check in for the event. 

• Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independent Payments PIP either by way of a letter or allowance book.
• Attendance allowance or carers allowance letter of award.
• Incapacity Benefit Books, or letter notifying the recipient that the benefit has been awarded incapacity benefit, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Disability Student Allowance (DSA), or DID card (UK Disabled Card)
• A valid blue badge
• In the case of visual impairment, a registration card known as the BD8 or a certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI)
• Credibility Access Card with the carer companion symbol.
• An international equivalent to the above.
• A National Carer's Card
• Disabled Persons Railcard (Network Rail)

Failure to supply one of the above at check in will result in the carer being charged the full price. 

If you have any questions about an item that you can supply or would like help to purchase your tickets, please contact the office on 01643 704996 or email [email protected] where one of the team will be able to help.

Terms and Conditions

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 Sir Nigel Gresley 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 station car park is for vehicles under 2.1 metres. We will have additional car parking facilities available in neighbouring land to the railway.

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 that we would be able to find you a space on another. We advise that you aim to arrive at the station 30 minutes before the departure time. Check in will be on the ramp on the approach to the station platform, where you will be given your seat allocation. 

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 station. This will be sign posted. 

THINGS TO LET US KNOW

We have four spaces per train for non-transferable wheelchair passengers and therefore it is essential that you ensure you have booked an accessible space at the time of booking. These will be allocated on a strict first-come first-served basis. If you fail to inform us of your requirement for an accessible space at the time of booking, then it is highly likely that we will not be able to facilitate your booking.

The seating plans are being arranged in advance, so please also let us know at the time of booking if you wish to travel with another group that are booking separately. We will be unable to move groups around on the day or in the lead up to the event after your booking has been made. If you have made two bookings in the same name, for the same service we will automatically put these bookings together on the plans, you do not need to notify us.

DOGS

No dogs will be permitted on our Sir Nigel Gresley services 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 at Bishops Lydeard. 

CHECK-IN

Please ensure you check in when you arrive. The check in desk will be on the approach to the station platform at Bishops Lydeard. 

BUGGIES

There will be no buggies or pushchairs permitted on the train due to limited space. Please leave these in your car.

Terms and Conditions

·        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 for a full refund which will exclude the booking fee and any postal charges.

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

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

Sir Nigel Gresley Trains 

1. Sir Nigel Gresley journeys during the event must be pre-booked. They are not normal service trains, so standard fares do not apply. There will be no discounts available on and for Sir NIgel Gresley trains. Annual Passes, ATOC cards and staff ID cards are not valid on these services.

2. Your Sir NIgel Gresley ticket permits one single trip behind Sir Nigel Gresley and one trip behind a home fleet locomotive between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead stations on Friday 3rd and Sunday 5th July only. Return travel behind Sir Nigel Gresley is only available on Saturday 4th July.  Your journeys will be specified on your ticket and will be valid for those journeys only. This ticket IS NOT valid on any other Sir Nigel Gresley service throughout the day. 

3. Tickets are strictly non-transferable. You MUST travel on the trains you are booked on. You cannot leave or join the train at intermediate stations.

4. Should Sir Nigel Gresley fail, or not be available for operational or other reasons, we will provide an alternative steam locomotive to operate your train and will refund the difference between the special fare charge to that of a standard West Somerset Railway ‘rover’ fare. Any refunds will be made within 10 days from the date of travel.

5. We will not be responsible for any additional costs, losses or expenses resulting from cancellation of Sir Nigel Gresley's appearance on the train service.

6. You MUST arrive at your departure station at least 30 minutes before your selected departure time. If you miss your train, you will NOT be able to transfer to another Sir Nigel Gresley train as seats will NOT be available.

7. Parking for visitors who have booked for Sir Nigel Gresley hauled trains will be available at Bishops Lydeard station.

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 either station.

9. Pets are not allowed on Sir Nigel Gresley services. Assistance dogs are, however, accepted.Please make us aware of this at the time of booking.

10. We retain the right to alter, cancel and suspend the service for safety or other operational reasons.

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. Only limited seating is available on the train for passengers who have restricted mobility. Wheelchair spaces can be pre-booked on a first-come first-served basis, by phone only.

15. Buggies and pushchairs will not be permitted to travel. Please leave buggies and prams in your car.

Customer Cancellation

If you wish to cancel your booking for whatever reason, the following charges will apply:

- Up to 1 month before date of travel – 50% fee

- 1 month or less before travel date - 100% fee.

Requests for a refund must be made in writing. We will arrange the refund based on the criteria set and you will be refunded by the same payment method as the original purchase. Refunds will be made within 28 days from receipt of the request. Application should be made to West Somerset Railway, The Railways Station, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 5BG or by email to [email protected].

Should you wish to amend your booking, a £5 administration charge may apply.