Derbyshire Luxury Afternoon Tea for Two on a Vintage Train

We were given this as a birthday present. Living fairly local we knew that the railway is situated in a picturesque village. We arrived 30 minutes before the booking and I have to say that parking was a problem, luckily we managed to find a spot but cars behind us were struggling and there was little the volunteer staff could do. All the volunteers were very helpful and cheerful. The tea itself consisted of sandwiches with salad dressing then scones and fancy cakes. It was all nicely presented and fair value for the money. The main drawback was the small teacups and having to ask for more tea. This was not a problem for the staff but we thought larger teapots would be better. Having said that it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Thank you to all concerned.

Railway station set in a pretty village in Derbyshire, easy to find from M1. We got there with plenty of time so that give us a good opportunity to look around the station and site. All the volunteer staff were very friendly and everyone of them give you a big hello. Train was on time (No surprises as there was only one train on the line!) The carriage was I think was built in the 50s and refurbished to a high standard. Every table had a table clothe and a vase of fresh flowers, seats were comfortable and plenty of room for your elbows. The tea severed had a good range of sandwiches, cakes and scones. and a doggy bag was provided. Only minor complaint was there was not enough tea, small teapot and cups meant only two small cups each. When you are eating all the nice goodies a larger cup of tea would not have gone a miss. We were very lucky with the weather sunshine all day, so made the journey even better to view the beautiful countryside. I'm sure the experience would have been ok in the rain, but would have limited walking around and looking out the windows. All in all, this was a great day out and would recommend it if you like steam trains and cream teas,

We arrived at the station at 1300 in time for the 1320 departure in late July 2023. Finding a parking place was not easy. The train was clean and comfortable. We were met and politely shown to our seats where the tables were laid with clean linen. Service of the afternoon tea was prompt and the staff were courteous. The food was presented on a two-tier stand. There were eight quarter-sandwiches, two scones with jam and cream, eight cubes of cake, along with some salad leaves, a couple of raspberries and four blueberries. The promotion material from when this train was booked (which was some time ago) said "you will be greeted with bubbles so enjoy sipping from your glass..." and "French fancies, pastries and more". We note that the same promotion if booked today does not include these aspects. There were no "bubbles" to greet us (unless we paid for them), I'm not sure what a French Fancy is, and there were no pastries. The scones were delicious, but the sandwiches were made from white sliced "plastic" bread. I imagine that the cubes of cake were cut from mass-produced slabs; sickly sweet, topped with very sugary icing. It is appreciated that it is a subjective thing but the food was not to our taste. We would have preferred more sandwiches on healthier, tastier bread and fewer, less sickly, cakes. We noted that the station had a large shop which we had intended to visit when the train returned to Wirksworth. Having alighted at Wirksworth at 1500, with passengers arriving for the 1520 departure as we were leaving the station, we found that the shop was closed. We imagine a lot of this is dependent on availability of volunteer effort, but it was a little disappointing. On the journey itself, the line has limited "views". There is not a great deal to see from our view out of the window to the left as the train leaves Wirksworth. What there is to see is largely obscured by dense lineside vegetation. Having been responsible for an industrial rail network I know what is involved in keeping lineside vegetation at bay; it is a never-ending challenge with costs attached. It would have been nice to see some of the other traction and rolling stock present on the railway but this was not possible. It is recognised that safety is paramount so providing safe access to see these vehicles whilst not presenting a hazard to passengers nor interfering with operations is a costly endeavour. Nevertheless it would have been nice to see them. In summary we left the railway with mixed views. Preserved railways face challenges in this economic climate. We appreciated the efforts of the staff and the cleanliness of the steam-hauled train. We did not receive all that had been offered and for only a little more cost to the railway the food could have been so much better. We went away feeling rather underwhelmed by the experience. To be fair to the railway, we have sent this same text to the railway who responded before this review was posted.

Apart from not getting any 'bubbles' we received everything we were offered, including a bonus ride on the earlier train, enabling us to make the most of the train, the scenery and the friendly volunteers before we enjoyed a delicous and ample cream tea. on our scheduled ride. Thank you very much. And the attractive gardens just added to the day.

This steam train ride and afternoon tea were bought for 18 months- 2 years ago for a birthday treat. it took me more than 12 months to book an actual date! I was finding phones were just ringing out with a message that staff were busy or when I did get through they were fully booked! We finally managed to book and enjoy. There are one or two things that caused us stress and the first was parking. We got to the station at Wirksworth half hour early, which I am glad we did. Parking was a nightmare. If you book this would allow plenty of time! The staff were very friendly and escorted us to our table. There was no complimentary glass of bubbles as per write up and it was a very hot day. The stand of cakes and sandwiches were bought out, which were ok but would have preferred more sandwiches as there were just just 4 quarters each a bit of wilted lettuce, a strawberry and two blueberries. Other than that the plate was loaded with small cakes and a scone. Due to heat we would have liked a drink with our food but this wasn’t bought out until we’d nearly ate our food. Saying that there was a drinks menu on table (to pay extra for) and they did take orders just after we set off on our ride. They seemed to focus on that rather than drinks included! It was soo hot and I asked if we could have more tea but was told they would bring more tea round on return journey, however, I was offered some cold water that they’d got in the fridge. All in all it was it was a nice experience even though not as described due to lack of ‘bubbles’ . Would we do it again well not sure. At £81 fir 2 a bit pricey! Maybe next time try fish and chip experience!

Amazing experience, great ambience of the steam train from a lost era. The food & tea when we got it was nice but it all felt disjointed & a little disorganised. The description promised greeted with bubbles in a glass, this did not happen it was to be paid for. Fresh sandwiches they were not fresh & bit limp on slightly browning lettuce with a fresh strawberry & two blueberries per person, the scones were nice but looked more of a biscuit style, lovely clotted cream & pot of jam, no french fancies, no pastries, small cubed cakes, flapjacks which were lovely but a bit dry when you did not have a drink with it. The cake stand was brought out first, but emphasis was then more on paying drink orders from tables before bringing the pots of tea, which was almost thirty minutes after boarding, so you could enjoy both together. We tried to order cool drinks while waiting for tea but they had no diet drinks left at all only full sugar drinks which we could not have as diabetics. I had stated this when I rang to book the date but it was not on my ticket when I collected it. I just asked for glass of water to get me through till we got our pot of tea. The other condition I asked for was to be as close to the toilet as possible this was on my ticket. We were seated in seat numbered 4, close to the dining serving carriage but I had to walk down towards the other carriage were they were serving fish and chips, traverse past some type of machineries and some other items to get to the toilets all this with a walking aid. The trip was peaceful, we had a nice time but I felt for the price I paid it was a bit of a let down to what the description said it would be like I felt I had been misled I still have the original voucher and envelope the description on there does not match with what we got. I bought it as a gift for my friend who turned 70 the day before and I wanted him to have a special day and he did but only because I had dealt with it all so he was unaware of what was missing but I knew and I was disappointed meaning for me the day was lovely but not what I expected. I then tried to do a review but it keeps saying error on saving your review so am doing it this way hopefully it gets heard.

This was such a lovely time we spent together. We arrived early and spent that time visiting to model railway and the museum and was pleased to have picked up a map of the area we had just moved to. Staff there certainly know how to treat their customers. We boarded our train on a red carpet they laid out shown to our seat's which was setout with a glass of bubbles. As they train left the station they brought out our food. Food, experience, staff and location was fabulous. Would definitely do this again.

A very nice experience aboard the steam train from Wirksworth . We were met with a glass of prosecco. Then waiters brought out the 2 tier plates of sandwiches and exceptionally good assortment of cakes. Our order for tea or coffee was take. Then a waiter came round again to ask if we wanted any other drinks. A nice selection of wines and spirits. Also addition refill of tea or coffee. Very good service.

Our son and daughter had bought the tickets for us for our 66th birthdays It was lovely. Just enough food tho i am more a savoury person so maybe a little more sandwich or a piece of pork pie and crisps but thats just me. The food was all excellent and it all went so thats a good sign. The waiters were lovely and so pleasant we were very lucky.

We were very impressed with the decor in the carriage, each table with a crisp white tablecloth and napkins. The tiered plates seemed to be top heavy, the cakes were rather crowded and on top of one another, would have been better if the finger sandwiches were put on the top plate and the cakes on the bottom. Apart from that we had a thoroughly good time on the train journey and enjoyed the tea. A big Thank You goes to all the staff on the Train.