{"id":54580,"date":"2026-07-09T16:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/?post_type=event&p=54580"},"modified":"2026-07-09T16:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:02:03","slug":"prehistoric-roars-at-the-spa-valley-railway-2","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/event\/prehistoric-roars-at-the-spa-valley-railway-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Prehistoric Roars at The Spa Valley Railway"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Prehistoric roars and Wonderland wonders arrive at Spa Valley Railway this summer<\/span><\/b><\/p>

Families can enjoy two magical summer adventures at the heritage railway, with Dinosaur Weekend in July and Alice\u2019s Wonderland Express in August and September.<\/b><\/p>

Families looking for memorable days out this summer are invited to climb aboard the Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells for two special events packed with steam trains, character encounters and imaginative family fun.<\/p>

First up is\u00a0Dinosaur Weekend<\/b>, taking place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, with a further weekend on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026. Life-like dinosaurs will roam Tunbridge Wells West and even travel on board the railway\u2019s heritage trains, with children aged 0\u201315 travelling free of charge.<\/p>

With the help of their rangers, visitors can meet a selection of dinosaurs large and small throughout the day between 10:30 and 16:30, including a lively Teenage Dinosaur, a friendly Velociraptor and a baby dinosaur roaming the train. There will be plenty of opportunities for photos and close-up encounters as dinosaurs mix with steam, whistles and 1960s carriages.<\/p>

Visitors can also enjoy rides behind steam and heritage diesel locomotives between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge during the event. Adult tickets are valid all day, allowing passengers to travel up and down the line as many times as they wish.<\/p>

The summer fun continues with\u00a0Alice\u2019s Wonderland Express<\/b>, running on Saturday 29, Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August, and Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September 2026, with departures from Tunbridge Wells West at 10:00, 11:30 and 13:55.<\/p>

Created by PNP Events Ltd, the team behind THE POLAR EXPRESS\u2122 Train Ride at Spa Valley Railway, Alice\u2019s Wonderland Express brings a playful royal adventure to life aboard a steam train. Passengers will join Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter as they race to prepare the Queen of Hearts\u2019 Royal Train before her arrival.<\/p>

From the moment they board, families will become part of the story, helping to recover missing words, navigate a maze, solve riddles and complete Wonderland-themed activities in an activity booklet. Children can colour the Queen\u2019s roses, create royal decorations and earn Royal Railway Stamps as they help transform the train into a carriage fit for royalty.<\/p>

Every passenger on Alice\u2019s Wonderland Express will receive a slice of cake and a cold drink, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free dietary requirements catered for when noted in advance at the time of booking. Tickets also include travel on other Spa Valley Railway trains operating that day, either before or after the Wonderland experience.<\/p>

Train tickets for Alice\u2019s Wonderland Express are priced at Adult \u00a324, Senior (60+) \u00a320, Child (2\u201315 years) \u00a314, and Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) \u00a362.<\/p>

Advance booking is recommended for both events. Subject to availability, tickets can also be purchased from the ticket office at Tunbridge Wells West on the day of travel. Book online at\u00a0www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>

Alongside the special events, visitors can enjoy hot, cold and alcoholic drinks, light refreshments from the bar or buffet car, and a wider programme of pre-bookable dining experiences throughout the summer, including Afternoon Tea, Cream Tea, Fish and Chips, Ploughman\u2019s and Sausage and Mash events, as well as themed experiences such as Whisky Trains, Gin Trains, Cheese Trains, Murder Mystery evenings and Faulty Towers dining events.<\/p>

About the Spa Valley Railway<\/b><\/p>

The Spa Valley Railway is a five-mile heritage railway operating steam and diesel trains using vintage rolling stock between Tunbridge Wells West in Kent and Eridge in East Sussex. Four miles of the line are managed by Spa Valley Railway, with the remaining mile maintained by a mainline railway contractor on behalf of Network Rail.<\/p>

Founded in 1985 by the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society (a registered charity), the railway is owned by the Wealden Railway Company with the supporting charitable organisation being the majority shareholder.<\/p>

More than 85,000 visitors travel on Spa Valley Railway each year, making it the biggest tourist attraction in Tunbridge Wells.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"featured_media":54575,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"event_categories":[567,769,959,837],"class_list":["post-54580","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","event_categories-activities","event_categories-days-out-arts-crafts-activities","event_categories-family-fun-christmas-additional-needs-activities","event_categories-summer-holiday-fun-family-fun-arts-crafts-activities"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-09-28 04:00:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[0],"taxonomy":"event_categories","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/54580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/54580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54584,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/54580\/revisions\/54584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"event_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/west-kent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_categories?post=54580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}