Leek and Rudyard Railway
Santa Specials
Every year in December we run our signature event in association with Rudyard Lake, our Santa Specials.
These trains depart from Rudyard Station and you will enjoy a scenic steam train ride to Lakeside Loop before seeing Santa who will first sail past in his boat on his way to the Grotto. The train then returns to The Dam station where you will alight and take a short walk over to see Santa in his Grotto. The Grotto is inside in the warmth and dry of the Lake Visitor Centre where sherry, soft drinks, mince pies and biscuits will be served whilst you wait your turn to see Santa. After seeing Santa you will then catch a train back to the car park at Rudyard Station.
These trains are pre-booked and only ticket holders can travel and see Santa. Please arrive around 10 minutes before your booked departure time. Checking-in will be at our station ticket office at Rudyard Station, where you will be shown to your allocated seats. Please be on time as the train will not be able to wait if you are late because this would cause delays to all the other passengers for the rest of the day. The rail trip and visit to Santa takes around 100 minutes from the time the train departs until the train returns you to Rudyard. Unfortunately during 2022 some of our trains ran very late due to the adverse freezing weather so we have adjusted arrangements accordingly for 2023.
Booking Arrangements
Our Santa trains are very popular as we have limited capacity. All seats are reserved and prior booking is required, we have no spare on-day capacity. We endeavour to ensure that all the children have plenty of time to talk to Santa and there are plenty of treats whilst you wait your turn!
All bookings are online and tickets are issued via email. Tickets must be brought with you on the day so we can scan the ticket QR code. Note tickets are not transferrable and we are unable to give refunds if you change your mind after purchase or you miss your train.
Please note that unfortunately dogs are not allowed on the Santa Trains.
2023 Tickets
The cost of a ticket is £17 per guest for everyone aged 1 and over. Under 1s are free and get a small token present from Santa. All ticketed children get a soft drink, biscuits or a mince pie, a visit to Santa's grotto and a present (present details will be requested when booking tickets). All ticketed adults get a sherry (or soft drink), a mince pie (or biscuits) and a visit to Santa's grotto.
All bookings are made by email. Instructions on how to book are at the bottom of this page when tickets go on sale.
2023 Ticket Availability
Santa Trains will run on the following days in 2023:
9th, 10th, 16th, 17th December
How To Book
All bookings are made by email, only booking requests to the dedicated email will be responded to. Unfortunately we cannot take phonecall or postal bookings. Upon confirmation of your booking and receipt of payment you will be issued with a PDF e-ticket that must be brought with you on the day with the unique code clearly visible. When you arrive for your train your ticket will be scanned and confirmed against the passenger log and you will be shown to your seat. The booking and ticket must match the details of the persons attending.
To make a booking please send an email to the booking email address (email address will appear here when bookings open). For 2023 bookings will open at 3pm on Tuesday 17th October
