Over the next two weekends, the Leighton Buzzard Railway is holding two events specially designed to delight children before they go back to school after the summer holidays.
Next weekend Sunday and Monday 27th and 28th August is a Bank Holiday when the railway will be holding its ever-popular Pirates Weekend. All children who dress as a pirate for their visit will receive a small treasure and travel token that will allow them to take a future trip on the railway on a standard non-special-event day.
At Page's Park station, pirates will greet visitors and hand out information about the event which takes place place at the railway's terminus at Stonehenge. Near the end of the line be prepared for pirate ship attacks, and at Stonehenge there will be a chance to join in a treasure hunt in the cave.
Adventurers will be able to slide down the pirate ship slide and even risk their lives walking the plank above crocodile-infested waters. Of course, safety is paramount, so volunteers will be helping to supervise activities.
The following Sunday, 3rd September, dinosaurs will be visiting Stonehenge Works. To speed visitors' journeys to Stonehenge, trains will running non-stop trains, without stopping at level crossings as normal, and will be twice the normal length with seven coaches. This will be a rare event with plenty of opportunities for photographers, as well as families.
There will be five departures from Pages Park during the day at 10.00, 11.40, 13.20, 15.00 and 16.40, but it is already proving very popular as tickets are selling fast, and some trains are already more than two-thirds full.
The return trip will take 80 minutes, with visitors having 40 minutes at Stonehenge Works . As well as meeting dinosaurs, visitors will be able to enjoy the Stonehenge Trail where, as well as static engines and wagons, they can view a sand train that would have run on the railway from the 1920s to 1970s.
Among other attractions is a steam locomotive called Penlee where children can explore the driver's cab and pretend they are an engine driver, a train carrying bombs from an RAF ammunition depot, a train carrying logs, and displays about sand quarrying and military railways.
Back at Pages Park the popular craft shop will be open selling locally made items, hot and cold drinks, and confectionery. A full menu will also be available in the newly-opened The Really Awesome Railway Café will be open with a full menu from 10.00.
The Engine Shed will also be open for guided tour, with most of the railway's steam locomotives on display and photographs of the line and its construction.
Online booking is now open at www.buzzrail.co.uk, and anyone intending to visit is advised to book in advance to reserve a place, as very few tickets are expected to be available on the days.
