“It doesn’t cost a fortune, it’s a £1 ride and what else can you get for £1 these days? You can’t even get a cup of coffee for that.”
The Peacock miniature railway in Willaston, Cheshire, on ground at the back of the Peacock Pub. They do regular Sunday train rides which cost just £1 per person.(Image: Peacock Railway)
There aren’t many pubs that can lay claim to a miniature railway in their back yard. But near Nantwich in Cheshire you’ll find the Peacock Railway nestled in the grounds behind the Peacock pub.
The railway has been created, and is run, entirely by a team of dedicated volunteers. And they open it up for £1 rides on selected Sundays and dates across the Summer.
Operating steam and electric miniature locomotives, they run around a picturesque setting with lawned track and through trees, and each ride gives you two loops around the track which is around a quarter of a mile in length.
And what makes it particularly quirky is that three trains can run at the same time, so as you ride around the track on the mini sit-on carriages, you can wave at other passengers on their way round too.
A miniature steam train prepares to set off at the Peacock Railway(Image: MEN)
The railway opened up last weekend for a VE Day special, operating all three steam engines for the first time.
This weekend, on Sunday May 18 the railway will be operating once again from 12noon to 4pm for families and rail enthusiasts to head along.
As well as the passenger-hauling railway, there’s also a Gauge-1 railway with tabletop engines that visitors can watch, while rail enthusiasts can also run their own model engines on the track.
The fact its on the same site as the popular Peacock pub makes it a great spot for a day out for families who head there before and after train rides for food and drink too.
Ken Grubb is secretary of the South Cheshire Society of Model Engineers that run the Peacock railway. There are 104 members of the club, and on open days up to 40 volunteers head down to the railway to get all the trains up and running.
The Peacock pub has a huge beer garden(Image: MEN)
Ken says first time visitors are often amazed by the location.
He says: “We have some people coming quite a distance to see us and they say ‘I’ve never known a railway with a pub and a hotel on the same grounds’ but it’s absolutley true! We think we are quite unique as most of the railways like ours go in public parks.”
Ken explained that the railway has been based at its current site for the past 35 years – after their last plot, also behind a pub, was closed due to plans for a new road going through it.
When they first took on the plot it was “a tip”, says Ken, but the volunteers spent hours of their own time transforming it into the picturesque setting we see today.
As well as the passenger railway, there’s a Gauge-1 model railway to look at too(Image: MEN)
Ken, 78, from Willaston, said: “The land is owned by the brewery and we rent it off the pub. “We work very closely with the pub, they help us with advertising the railway in the pub, and they see the benefits when we are open.
“They said to us ‘we have to put more staff on when the railway is on’- they were packed out last weekend.”
Ken adds: “When we first took it on it was literally a rubbish tip, we’ve completely rebuilt it over the last 35 years.
“We’ve levelled it planted trees, we have a little station, we look after the grounds, we have a team just on mowing!”
Trains head around a picturesque loop(Image: MEN)
The railway opens on selected Sundays across June, July and August. And this year they are also opening for the first time on every Wednesday through August.
Ken said: “What we’re doing in August we’re opening every Wednesday, it’s an opportunity for families to come and do something a bit different
.
The railway society runs model versions of real trains(Image: MEN)
“It doesn’t cost a fortune, it’s a £1 ride and what else can you get for £1 these days? You can’t even get a cup of coffee for that.”
Members of the railway club tend to all the engines with work sheds on the site that you can also see on the train ride.
They’ve started a junior section of the club for 10-16 year olds to get involved, with plans for them to get their own miniature steam engine with funds donated by Crewe’s Mornflake Oats.
Ken’s own children and grandchildren are now involved as well, and he said it’s lovely to see families’ faces light up when they first see the trains.
He said: “Both children and adults love it to be honest, it’s lovely to see. We started to talk about it on Facebook and it’s really grown since then, friends tell other friends and we get queues back to the clubhouse now to ride.”
Beer gardens at the front and side of the Peacock pub in Willaston(Image: MEN)
Meanwhile the pub sits in its own picturesque plot at the front of the site, with a huge beer garden both at the front and the side with a large meadow that kids love to run around in.
The pub is run by VIntage Inns and serves up food daily including a popular Sunday roast menu and full kids’ menu.
It does accept walk-ins, but it’s advisable to book ahead to guarantee a table in the restaurant, particularly on dates when the Peacock railway is running.
How to get there
The Peacock pub and Peacock Railway are just off the Nantwich bypass, at 221 Crewe Road, Willaston, Cheshire CW5 6NE. There’s a big free car park for the pub.
The next public days for the Peacock Railway are on Sunday May 18 from 12noon to 4pm and then Sunday June 1, 12noon to 4pm, and Sunday June 15 is a charity day for Air Ambulance North West.
In July they open on Sunday July 6, then host their big annual event on July 20 from 11am to 4pm where there will also be classic cars, army vehicles and displays to commemorate 200 years of railways.
In August, they will open up on Wednesdays throughout the month.