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Rail-based accommodation

Holidays beside the railway

Railfuture members know that travelling by train is a great way to enjoy a holiday. For some of us, staying near a railway station is a prerequisite for an enjoyable time. There are even places where you can stay on the station itself.

Rail enthusiasts have compiled the Railway Station Cottages website listing accommodation on stations, in railway cottages and in former railway carriages:

Below are a few examples which we know about; there are probably many more. If you know other rail-based accommodation, let us know:
  • 2024 addition: Platform 10, Bideford, directly opposite the Bideford Railway Heritage Centre.
  • 2023 addition: The Yorkshire Sleeper, part of Shed24H at Hellifield station.
  • 2022 addition: The Old Ticket Office which is part of The Station House at Eggesford station on Devon's Tarka Line.
  • On the Ffestiniog Railway and recently restored by the Landmark Trust, Coed y Bleiddiau is only accessible by train or on foot.
  • Helmsdale station in Sutherland is north of Inverness, on the line to Wick and Thurso. You can arrive and depart by train within yards of your bedroom.
  • Also in Sutherland and on the Far North Line, Rogart station has accommodation choices.
  • On the other side of Scotland, you can stay at Glenfinnan station in a coach which has been converted by the station museum into comfortable “bunkhouse” accommodation for up to 10 people. The famous viaduct is 20 minutes walk away as is the 1745 “Bonnie Prince Charlie” rebellion monument.
  • Cumbria, near Penrith, offers the former Cliburn station - once on the Eden Valley Railway - with its signal box, weigh house or a static caravan.
  • You can stay in the former Ribblehead station master’s house, and at Kirkby Stephen station on England’s Settle-Carlisle line. Trains still serve both stations.
  • Also on the Settle-Carlisle, three-bedroom Dent station, the highest mainline station in England, can be hired.
  • At Ruswarp, you can stay on the station where North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam trains chug past a couple of times a day, as well as a few regular trains to Whitby and Middlesbrough.
  • The Sidings Hotel has original Pullman carriages converted into guest rooms and is beside the East Coast main line, five miles north of York.
  • Alton station, Staffordshire, is on a former rail line in the Churnet Valley. Sadly there are no trains passing through.
  • On the single track Matlock branch (formerly the Midland main line), you can stay at Cromford station. Trains still stop at the downside platform while the accommodation is on the up platform, now with no track. The Cromford and High Peak Railway, now a trail, started from High Peak Junction, about a mile south from Cromford station. The High Peak Trail is part of the National Cycle Network and popular with walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Peak Rail at Matlock is three miles to the north of Cromford and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway at Wirksworth is two miles south, offering direct interchange with the Derby-Chesterfield mainline at Duffield.
  • Stay at Brockford Railway Siding while visiting the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
  • You can stay at Acle station on the Norwich-Yarmouth line.
  • Bed and breakfast accommodation is available at Lingwood station on the Norwich-Yarmouth line.
  • In Devon try a 1950s camping van holiday at Christow on the preserved Teign Valley Line. People who arrive on foot, bike or public transport get a lower rate than those who arrive by car.
  • In Devon, at Bere Ferrers station, the Tamar Valley Line hosts The Tamar Belle.
  • In Cornwall there's a choice of five carriages, four at St. Germans and one at Hayle.
  • No trains will disturb your sleep at the former Petworth railway station (two miles down the A285 from the Sussex town) on the closed Pulborough to Petersfield line. The last train ran in 1966.

Planning your journey | What type of ticket | Finding the best price | Getting to and from the station | Making the journey easy | When things go wrong | Rail tours | Going abroad

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