Leighton Buzzard Railway set to host pirates and dinosaurs at family fun events

Pirates and dinosaurs will be taking over the Leighton Buzzard Railway in the next few weeks.

On the Bank Holiday weekend of Sunday and Monday August 27 and 28, the railway’s Pirates Weekend returns.

And any children who dress up as a pirate will receive a small treasure and travel token for a future trip on a standard non-special-event running day.

There will be pirates to meet you at Page’s Park station and provide information about the event taking place at the Stonehenge terminus. Watch out for pirate ship attacks near the end of the line and join in the treasure hunt in the cave at Stonehenge. You can slide down the pirate ship slide and even walk the plank above crocodile-infested waters. There will be volunteers to help supervise activities.

Then on Sunday, September 3, the dinosaurs will be back for one day only at Stonehenge Works.

There will be non-stop trains – not stopping at level crossings as usual – which will be double the normal length at seven coaches.

There will be five departures during the day – at 10am, 11.40am, 1.20pm, 3pm and 4.40pm. Tickets are selling fast, with some trains already more than two-thirds full.

The return trip will take 80 minutes, including 40 minutes at Stonehenge Works where, as well as the meeting the dinsoaurs, customers can visit the Stonehenge Trail offering the chance to view static engines and wagons, including a sand train as it would have run on the railway from the 1920s to 1970s. In the steam loco, called ‘Penlee’, children can climb in the cab and pretend to be the engine driver. There is also a bomb train from an RAF ammunition depot, and a logging train, as well as displays about sand quarrying and military railways.

Fee-free online booking is available at www.buzzrail.co.uk, and we advise booking in advance to reserve your place, as we expect there to be very limited ticket availability on the days.

The popular craft shop will be open and there will also be a guided Engine Shed Show tour at Page’s Park which will include most of the steam locomotives as well as the photographic display of the line and its construction. The newly-opened The Really Awesome Railway Café will be open from 10am.