Come for a magical ride on our Christmas Experience steam train!
Our Christmas Experience Trains for 2025 run on the following dates:
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th December
Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th December
Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st December
Tuesday 23rd December
Wednesday 24th December
ADVANCED BOOKING ONLY
Once again we are delighted to be offering rides on our Christmas Experience trains during the month of December.
Each train will accommodate up to 35 passengers. Ticket prices are £5 for both adults and children aged between 2 and 14, under-2s go free.
The steam hauled train rides will start at Stopham Road Station. The train will slow down through a festive North Pole station where Santa and his Christmas Team will wish everyone the Season’s Greetings. The ride will continue back to Stopham Road where you can disembark and will take approximately 9 minutes.
You can book your tickets up to 9pm on the day preceding the day of your visit.
Due to the popularity of the Christmas Trains we shall have very limited space available for “on the day” travellers as we prefer our pre-booked families to choose where they wish to sit.
What our visitors have said
“Thank you for such a fabulous time on the Santa Specials today. The big man was fabulous!”…
“Wonderful Santa Special today, absolutely magical and no massive queues. Our girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves (as did we). We’ll certainly be back next year and also when the railway reopens in March”…
“The Chistmas Experience visit yesterday was great. Definitely recommend a visit”…
“Fantastic place for families to take little ones to see Santa. Relaxed atmosphere, very well thought out. The North Pole is awesome very well decorated. We had a lovely time. The train ride to the North Pole was brilliant – highly recommended.”…
“We had a very enjoyable afternoon at the SDLR yesterday. The Christmas Experience train was perfect. Santa and his team of helpers – excellent. Must be our 7th year of attending the Santa Specials – hopefully a few more to come.”…
“We had such a wonderful time today with our boys (4, 5 & 6). They loved talking to the volunteers to find out more about the engines, enjoyed the little trips with the steam train. All of the volunteers were welcoming, helpful and added to the experience. Well worth the visit, will recommend this to everyone both at Christmas and throughout the year. Our boys have already said they would like to come back again next year. Thank you so much for all your hard work, you have certainly given some Christmas magic to our children. Merry Christmas to you all! XXX”…
Fares
Adults – £5, children (2 – 14) – £5. Under 2s – free.
For all ticketing enquiries please contact us by email to tickets@south-downs-railway.com
Some important information about the Christmas Experience Trains
- In your own interests to avoid disappointment and for the benefit of other travellers it is essential that you arrive in good time for your train. The advertised times are when the trains depart so we advise you to arrive at Stopham Road Station no later than 10 minutes before the departure time. If you are late and your train has departed we regret that we cannot guarantee that you will be able to travel on another train.
- Unless weather conditions are really bad all advertised trains will run. You should treat your visit as an outdoor activity and wear appropriate clothing. If trains are to be cancelled we will announce that on our Facebook page by 9am on the day affected.
- If you decide not to travel on the day you have booked and the trains are not cancelled then you will not be entitled to a refund. If the trains are cancelled becuase of inclement weather or other unavoidable cause we will refund the ticket price you have paid less an administration charge of £5 if we are unable to offer you an alternative day for your visit.