My Day Out on the Talyllyn Railway

Nick Everything Else reviews, travel 0 Comments

I recently enjoyed a day out on the Talyllyn Railway, a heritage steam railway in Wales. It was an great day and excellent value as well, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about it here.

The railway starts in the town of Tywyn in mid-Wales, so I booked a short break there to provide a base for my planned trip on the railway. I stayed at The Arthur Guest House, a B&B on the coast road. Here’s a map showing the area…

Tywyn is pretty quiet, or at least it was when I visited at the end of September! It has a rocky rather than a sandy beach and not a lot in the way of tourist amenities (which may or not not be a good thing, depending on your point of view). I did get to see a couple of lovely sunsets, though…

The Arthur Guest House, where I stayed, is small but comfortable, and the breakfasts were excellent. The price was also very reasonable – about £70 per night for a double room with single occcupancy.

The Arthur was about 10 minutes walk from the Talyllyn Railway main station, so I was able to leave my car at the guest house for the day.

The Talyllyn Railway

The Talyllyn Railway goes seven and a quarter miles inland from Tywyn Wharf station along the scenic Fathew Valley to Nant Gwernol. Here’s a map of the route, borrowed from the Wikipedia page.

The Talyllyn Railway is said to be the oldest preserved railway in the world. It opened in 1865 to bring slate from the quarry at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, where it would connect with the newly opened Cambrian Coast line and the national railway network. The line was originally owned by the quarry, but unusually it also ran a passenger service almost from the very start. You can read more about the history of the railway, and how it was taken over in 1951 by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, on this page of the railway’s website.

The main station at Tywyn Wharf has a shop and a restaurant, and also a small museum devoted to the railway, which you can look round for free. There is no car park at the station itself, but there is a reasonably priced municipal pay-and-display with plenty of spaces about 150 yards down the road.

For my day out I bought a Day Rover ticket, which lets you travel all day on the line if you wish. I paid the donation fare of £19, which also gets you a £2.85 voucher you can use in the shop or cafes. I knew I would use the voucher on refreshments, but otherwise I could have paid £17.25 for a standard ticket without a voucher.

I went on my own, but if you have children (or grandchildren) the cost of tickets for them is surprisingly low. The Day Rover donation fare for an accompanied child is just £3 which includes a 45p voucher. If you don’t want the voucher, the fare per child is just £2.70.

If you wish, you can pay a £2 surcharge per journey to sit in a first class compartment. I did look at these but they weren’t much different from standard class, just with bigger and possibly more comfortable seats. I guess if you were there in peak season and there were lots of people wanting to travel, going first class might buy you a bit more space. It was pretty quiet on the day I went, though, and I found the standard compartments perfectly comfortable.

If you are a UK taxpayer you may be able to Gift Aid your fare. There is no extra charge for this, and it means the government will give the railway an extra 25% at no cost to you. Unfortunately I couldn’t do this as I don’t currently earn enough to pay tax.

My Day on the Railway

I set out in the morning from Tywyn Wharf station (photo below) and decided to start by going the complete length of the line and back again. I enjoyed the views, while keeping one eye on the excellent guidebook. The latter is available in the shop at a discount to people buying a ticket on the railway, which is a nice gesture.

There isn’t much at Nant Gwernol at the end of the line, but on the way back the train stops for half an hour at Abergynolwyn station (pictured below). There is a nice little cafe here, and I enjoyed a morning coffee and Bara Brith (Welsh fruit bread).

Returning to Tywyn Wharf, I had a look around the shop and the museum, and lunch in the station cafe (a particularly tasty bowl of broccoli and stilton soup with a tuna mayo sandwich). Then it was back on the train again for a trip two-thirds of the way down the line to Dolgoch, where I got off to spend some time walking in this beautiful wooded area (see photo).

Dolgoch has some stunning waterfalls, including this one…

I had a bit of time before the train back, and was pleased to discover a small tea shop offering hot and cold drinks, cakes and ice creams (apparently this is part of the nearby Dolgoch Hotel). As it had turned into a warm afternoon I bought an ice cream and sat outside in their garden to eat it. Then it was time to head back to Dolgoch station to catch the train to Tywyn (photo below).

So that was my day out on the Talyllyn Railway. As I said earlier, a great day and excellent value for money. I went as a single person, but it would also be a good choice for couples and families, if you enjoy beautiful scenery and the romance of steam!

Finally, I should mention that just down the coast road from Tywyn (a 25-minute drive with some great sea views) is Fairbourne, which has a miniature steam railway (see photo below). I took the opportunity of going on this as well before I headed home.

The Fairbourne Railway is much shorter than the Talyllyn. It’s about two miles long. At the far end is the estuary from which you can get a ferry to Barmouth. A trip on the Fairbourne Railway is a pleasant way to spend an hour or two, and again with a day ticket you can travel up and down the line as often as you like (I did it twice). On my return to Fairbourne a volunteer kindly offered me a private tour of the engine shed, so many thanks for that!

Do just be aware that at the estuary end of the line the cafe is only open in peak season. There is, though, a good cafe on the platform at Fairbourne, and they don’t mind you taking food and drink bought there on the train with you.

As ever, if you have any comments or questions on this post, please do post them below.

Warner Leisure Hotels – My Thoughts and Experiences

Nick Everything Else reviews, travel 14 Comments

If you are 50 or over, you will almost certainly at least have heard of Warner Leisure Hotels. The company have 14 country and coastal resort hotels across England and Wales. They have a strict adults-only policy, and appeal mainly to an older clientele (based on my experience, the average age is late sixties or early seventies).

As well as accommodation, they offer a range of leisure activities, including day trips, quizzes, guided walks, archery and bowls, social dancing, swimming, and so forth. Most of these activities are included in the price, as is the evening entertainment.

Accommodation is generally on a half-board basis, including breakfast and evening meal. Guests typically book short stays of two to four days, often focused around a particular headline act. Some of those in the current line-up include Motown, Abba and Franki Valli tribute acts, plus the real Leo Sayer, Paul Young, Russell Watson, Alexander Armstrong, Jane Macdonald, and many others. There are also seasonal breaks, spa breaks (at the Thoresby Hall hotel), bowls breaks, and more.

I have been to two Warner Leisure Hotels, Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales (pictured above) and Alvaston Hall in Cheshire. I thought I would therefore take the opportunity to share my impressions here for others who might be contemplating this type of short break holiday.

My Review

As my partner passed away five years ago, I went to both venues on my own. I am in my early sixties, and felt very young compared with some of the other guests!

In both cases I found the accommodation spacious and comfortable, with all the facilities you would expect at a good hotel. I was on the ground floor at both, and had a small private terrace with a metal table and chairs, which was pleasant to sit out on. Here’s a picture of the accommodation block in which I stayed at Alvaston Hall.

I thought the food was generally very good. The dining area was large and could be a bit noisy, but the waiters and waitresses did a great job of getting meals out quickly. You are allocated a table at the start of your stay and keep that for the duration. As a solo guest I was offered the opportunity to be matched with another solo male as a dining partner. I declined this, as it seemed a gamble whether I would have anything in common with them.

At Alvaston Hall the evening meal is combined with the entertainment. So, basically, you have your meal followed by a show, all the while sitting at the same table. I liked this idea in theory, but in practice I discovered it had a few drawbacks.

For one thing, if you have been allocated a table towards the back (as I was) it can be quite hard to see what is happening on the stage. In addition, for me anyway it felt a long time to be sitting in one place. Really I preferred the arrangement at Bodelwyddan Castle, where you had your meal in the restaurant then went over to the main hall for the evening entertainment (for which you could sit anywhere).

I must admit I was slightly disappointed by the entertainment programme. The evening entertainment in particular was targeted at an older clientele and I didn’t particularly relate to it, despite being no spring chicken myself!

Both hotels seemed very big on social dancing, with guests being invited to ‘take the floor for the foxtrot’ or whatever. Not my thing at all, I’m afraid. I had been hoping for something more akin to cruise ship entertainment, with song and dance shows and cabaret acts, but perhaps that was asking too much.

There were regular quizzes, though again I felt that they were often oriented towards the older guests. I did one quiz about the 1950s, a decade many of those taking part remembered well. As I was only four years old when the fifties ended, I felt at a bit of a disadvantage!

On the positive side, I went on several guided walks, which I really enjoyed. I also took full advantage of the swimming pools, and at Alvaston Hall went to an interesting demonstration of fruit and vegetable carving (see photo below).

I also enjoyed looking around Bodelwyddan Castle itself (pictured below), which is a National Trust property. Warner guests get free entry during their stay, which is a nice bonus.

Prices

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a few words about this.

I thought both the breaks I took were good value for money, bearing in mind that as well as comfortable accommodation you get breakfast and an evening meal, and a range of leisure facilities and entertainment.

When I checked just now, you could book a two-night break at Alvaston Hall for two people this weekend at prices ranging from £219.48 for a standard room up to £315.48 for a luxury suite. In my experience even ‘standard’ rooms are very comfortable, and the price above works out to just over £100 per person per night. By comparison, I have been charged well over £100 per night for bed and breakfast, with no evening meal or entertainment, in some hotels and guest houses.

If you are travelling solo (as I was) you may have to pay an under-occupancy surcharge. However, the hotels do have some single rooms, and there are also ‘no surcharge’ offers for solo travellers on some breaks. It’s definitely worth inquiring about this with the hotel you want to stay at.

Finally, I should mention that Warner Leisure Hotels often offer special deals and discounts. Once you are on their list, you can expect to be mailed regularly about these!

Summing Up

Overall, while I enjoyed my stay at these hotels, I have to say I did feel a bit young for them. The entertainment wasn’t really my cup of tea and I’m not sure it will be even when I’m ten years older. I saw one review that described Warner Leisure Hotels as ‘Butlins for old people’ and have to admit I think that’s quite apt (it’s owned by the same parent company as Butlins and Haven Holidays, incidentally). I don’t mean to sound snobby about this. When I was growing up I enjoyed regular family holidays at Butlins holiday camps and hotels. But the format does seem a little tired and old-fashioned now. In my view the company could learn a few lessons from the range of entertainment offered on cruise ships nowadays and even in tourist hotels in places like the Canary Islands.

I also think Warners could do a lot more to welcome solo guests and get them involved. At times I found staying there surprisingly lonely. Again, my experience with cruises has been that they do a much better job for solo guests, with regular meet-ups, social activities and even dedicated staff members to look after them. It would be nice if Warners did something similar. There are lots of older people who live alone, and I think the company are missing a trick by not reaching out to them.

But to be fair, I do think Warner Leisure Hotels offer an appealing combination of comfortable rooms, good food, a full activities and entertainment programme, and good value prices. I’m not planning on going again soon, but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out in future.

So those are my impressions of Warner Leisure Hotels, but what do you think? Have you stayed at one yourself, or would you even consider it? I’d love to hear your views!

• For a wider range of all-inclusive holiday options in the UK and abroad, check out this article on Over 60s Discounts 🏖

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