West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
enquiries@spavalleyrailway.co.uk

Along the line...

The Spa Valley Railway has four stations along it's five-and-a-half miles, all of which serve areas and attractions of interest to the visitor. Break your journey anywhere you wish, and make the most of the wonderful Wealden countryside!

Eridge makes the ideal starting point for a trip along the line. There is ample car parking adjacent to the station, and it is clearly signposted off the A26 between Crowborough and Tunbridge Wells. Of course, if coming from London or Surrey (on a weekend or special event day), it makes good sense to come by Southern's Uckfield line, which is direct from London Bridge and East Croydon.

The lovely old station first opened in 1868, and today represents the epitome of the country station in the south of England. It consists of two island platforms, with all the original buildings and canopies still surviving. The classic brick-built booking hall sits astride the two lines, and the platforms are accessed via a traditional timber footbridge, or by some steps from the adjacent car park. Southern trains from London Bridge, East Croydon and Uckfield call at Platform 1, while Spa Valley services use Platforms 2 and 3, and where possible trains are timed to connect. A limited selection of drinks and snacks are available here. Spa Valley line tickets are sold from the window on Platforms 2 and 3.

Lovingly restored in recent years by a dedicated team of volunteers, this is a time-warp, with a separate waiting room for ladies, and original lavatories demanding pre-decimalization currency to get in! (Since isolated, by the way, and free to our visitors).

The Huntsman pub stands next door to the station, and is a great place to pause for lunch or a drink, with a quiet and shady beer garden.

So, how about a train ride?!:

As the Guard blows his whistle and waves his green flag, your smart engine whistles back and with a few chuffs gets its heavy train moving. As you settle back into your well-upholstered 1950s seat, we rumble over the Hamsell Stream on the first of three bridges in the first mile. This stream, which is actually a very respectable river, weaves back and forth under the railway between Eridge and Birchden Junction.

The main line to London runs alongside us on the left, and look out for pigs and geese in the fields to the right - the geese don't care much for trains but the piglets run for cover as fast as they can!

We slow to a stand at Forge Farm level crossing, where our crossing attendant has switched the road signals to red, and stands with a green flag to allow us over the road. A whistle from the engine to thank him, and we're off again.

Shortly after the level crossing, we bear right and see the main line continuing straight on towards Ashurst. We pass through a large white gate marking the boundary with the Big Railway, and you can really hear the engine working hard as it gets to grips with the long climb up to Groombridge.

From a low point opposite Harrison's Rocks, it's now uphill all the way! Sheep graze the fields on the left of the train, and if you're sharp-eyed, you might spot another pig or two at the foot of the embankment! Partially obscured by summer foliage, Harrison's Rocks are nonetheless an impressive formation, and popular year-round with rock-climbers and walkers.

Presently, we roll into Groombridge:

The Spa Valley station stands on a new platform just to the west of the original station. From here passengers can visit the beautiful old village with its ancient Crown Inn (if you manage to get past the Junction Inn as you leave the station!) or the award winning Groombridge Place Gardens and Enchanted Forest, set in the grounds of a 17th Century manor house. A joint ticket between the railway and Groombridge Place is available. There is a small children's playground adjacent to Groombridge Cricket Ground, which in turn is just outside the station.

Groombridge station was built entirely by Spa Valley volunteers following the loss of the original platforms to a housing development in 1992. The refreshment kiosk serves teas, soft drinks, snacks and ice cream, which can be enjoyed under the shade of a canopy rescued from Gravesend West Street station in the 1980s.

A signal box stands at the Eridge end of the station, and when complete will allow trains to pass one another in the cutting beyond. A viewing area has been provided beyond the signal box, allowing visitors the chance to watch the trains as they pull up the hill from Eridge on their way to Tunbridge Wells.

On leaving Groombridge, the modern world briefly appears as we skirt along the back of some new houses before we again break out into rolling countryside. Groombridge Place can just be glimpsed over the fields on the left of the train.

A whistle for Pokehill Farm level crossing, and we're climbing again - another mile of hard work for the little engine.

The wide sweeps of the agricultural landscape give way to more wooded surroundings, and as we cross Broom Lane Bridge we are quickly in a tight cutting flanked at the top by thick woodland.

The next station is:

High Rocks station is situated below the ancient rocks of the same name, and is located in the garden of the historic High Rocks Inn and restaurant, where passengers can alight and either investigate the sandstone escarpments or enjoy a quiet drink and watch the trains go by. 

As the train pulls out, again listen for the engine getting to grips with the job as she heaves her carriages into motion for the last big effort up to Tunbridge Wells.

Crossing the border from Sussex into Kent just after High Rocks, we're soon back into the classic Weald of small fields and woodland. Depending on the time of year, look out for daffodils and hyacinths on the embankments, bluebells, wood anemone and wild garlic in the woods. Keep your eyes peeled for fallow deer, foxes, rabbits and pheasant!

The town starts just after the woods (something like the Wide World beyond the Hundred Acre Wood in the Wind in the Willows, although unlike the Water Rat's sage words to the Mole, there's plenty that matters to us here!). Chuffing over the A26 with houses on either side, we pull up at Tunbridge Wells West - the end of the line, and the Railway's headquarters:

To our left is the locomotive depot and workshops. It is an original London, Brighton and South Coast Railway engine shed, and despite a new roof following a bomb landing on the old one in the Second World War, the walls survived and date from 1886. The shed houses the shop and ticket office, as well as the society's growing collection of locomotives and rolling stock. It waved goodbye to the last BR steam engines in 1966, and was finally disconnected from the rest of the railway in the early 1980s. A late claim to fame was that in its last years in BR service, it housed a supposedly top-secret nuclear early warning system, hidden in some old carriages on what is now No4 track ("road" in railway-speak). Today, of course, it once again plays host to working steam, and provides a rare opportunity to visit a genuine engine shed still fulfilling its original purpose - turning out engines to pull trains along the line. Early in the quiet morning, with few people around, the atmosphere is very evocative indeed, with steam hanging in the air as the engines are prepared for their day's work. You can really feel the history!

A new concourse area allows visitors the chance to see the work being done to overhaul the line's locomotives and carriages. Regrettably, we are unable to offer unrestricted access in working areas, but are sometimes able to provide guided tours. Please bear in mind that while we will always do our best to accommodate such requests, tours are subject to the availability of staff coming away from their planned work, and as such cannot be guaranteed unless arranged in advance.

Refreshments are served in the buffet car outside the shed adjacent to the platform.

A short (1/3m) walk from West Station are Tunbridge Wells' attractive Georgian High Street and the historic colonnaded Pantiles. Why not take a pleasant stroll into town to enjoy a coffee in one of the many individual coffee shops and browse the bohemian shops? In summer, the Pantiles' Chalybeate spring allows visitors to sample the waters, once famous for their restorative properties (but you might think it just tastes of iron...), and a key factor in attracting royalty to the town, once upon a time!

There are country walks from every one of our four stations, and all can be reached on foot from one another, with varying degrees of exertion. Ask the station staff for directions and itineraries.

Last Updated 10th April 2011. © Spa Valley Railway