The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, otherwise known as ‘The Honeybourne Line’, runs along part of the former Great Western Railway’s line from Birmingham to Cheltenham. Passengers can see beautiful Cotswold landscapes as they travel through the many stops. First built in early 1900s, the train aimed to improve services from Birmingham to the West Country. It also carried produce from the fruit farming areas in the Cotswold through to the other locations. The track continued to serve passengers until 5^th March 1960, and closed permanently to goods trains in August 1976.

After the purchase of the track, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway was born in 1984. Since that point, the service has restored over 10 miles of track, opening the Cheltenham Racecourse station in 2003. Since then it has provided an incredible service to the Cotswolds. For instance, whilst visiting the races, Cheltenham can become very congested, but the Gloucestershire Warwickshire railway presents us with an alternative to tackling the traffic. Why not park outside of Cheltenham and travel by steam-train, entering the racecourse in style. More information on such days can be found here.

More history can be found onboard the trains, with a specially converted museum coach at Toddington, Cheltenham, housed by a Colllett Brake Coach dating back to 1935. It holds displays of train memorabilia and a snapshot look at the early scenes of the railway. The Cheltenham and Toddingtion shops continue the celebration of the railway with a wide variety of books, magazines, models, toys and souvenirs. The GWR also runs an online store, perfect for buying gifts for the railway enthusiast.

The events held onboard the trains recall the days of stylistic travel on the British railway network. The Elegant Excursions on offer have been described by many as outstanding and quality examples of dining, both on and off the tracks. Excursions run right through the year and can vary from regular Sunday lunches to holiday specials, live music and even Murder Mystery evenings. The meal excursions are prepared with fresh local ingredients by the train’s own top quality chefs in their onboard kitchens.

The stations, coffee shop and tea rooms are open on all operating days. Toddington and Cheltenham shops are also open for the public on the weekends. The trains run on a schedule and timetables can be found online or at the stations themselves. Tickets can also be bought from the website. Prices from All Day Rovers, to single way tickets can be found here.

The railway also provides group bookings, school events, lessons on how to drive locomotives and the ability to hire your own private train.