Heatherslaw Light Railway — Attraction in Ford

It's a stunning place. The Picturesque village of Etal, with views of Etal Castle ruins and the grounds to explore/picnic in. At the side of the castle is a pathway down to the train station platform. It has a covered seating area to wait, which would help in all weather. This wonderful little train ride last about 20-25mins. It journeys through beautiful woodland and fields whilst following alongside the river. Ample wildlife to sea on the way also. Etal also has multiple freeparking, public toilets, a village pub, and tearooms. The grounds, railway, and village are all disabled/wheelchair friendly. Once in Heatherslaw, you are met with a little station shop (tickets can be purchased here as well as souvenirs and ice creams), all reasonably priced. Various mill buildings on both sides of the river are filled with local art, handmade jewellery, local produce, and much more. Here also is the historical watermill and museum. It is well worth a visit. There is so much information and a fun mouse trail for the children to do. On our family visit, the museum manager allowed my children to turn on the water wheel, something they greatly enjoyed. Both subsequently now want to be Mill owners. The mill also has a lovely tearoom serving a variety of lite meals, snacks and cakes, etc. We are definitely looking forward to visiting here again. It is such a beautiful place surrounded by...

This Railway was built as an added attraction for the Ford and Etal estates. Heatherslaw station is actually built on the site of the old estate saw mill, the ride is an approximate 4 mile round trip.

I paid £7.50 for my round trip ticket which I bought at the station which accepts cash or cards. You can also by your ticket from the guard but it's on a cash only basis. This is a 15 inch gauge railway and wheelchair users can be accommodated but you should contact the Railway as space is limited.

The site also has a railway model room which houses a 'G' scale model railway which is free to view.

Now for the technical stuff 😆.

🚻 No toilets at the station, nearest are at the Heatherslaw Visitor Centre or Etal Castle. Parking is available at the station and castle and its Free 😃.

🐶 Dogs are welcome and at no extra fee.

Nice tearoom with space outside should you feel inclined.

This is a very good family day out with views of the Northumberland country side and the castle just a hop,skip and...

Lovely welcome in the shop/booking office. Was told to wait whilst they cleaned the train due to Covid - but they didn't clean it l at either end of the track. Why bother saying that? Train ride was great value for money with excellent social distancing procedures in place. Staff on board were happy & friendly. What was disappointing was the fact the toilets were closed at the centre after we got off the return train. The visitor centre was still open at that point & lots of people got off the train & went to the toilets but they were shut. It was a long drive home for us so very inconvenient. It should be mentioned on your website that the toilets close before the last train returns. Overall a great day out & well...