Bluebell railway - a steam train adventure

I make no secret of the fact that I adore steam trains. I'm lucky enough to live in a village with an actual steam train station and it always makes me gasp with excitement if I hear the toot when I'm out walking Rosie.

But its not just hearing them or seeing them pull into the station, oh no, I love being on them and chuffing through the English countryside. I think it is the best way to travel.

One of my friends also loves a steam train so for her birthday treat this year, I booked us tickets for The Bluebell railway a heritage railway that passes through the Sussex countryside.

We boarded at Sheffield Park and there are four stops (Horsted Keynes, Kingscote and East Grinstead).

The station, platform and trains are just so charming.I really feel like I have stepped on to the film set of a Miss Marple episode and I am here for it.

The journey takes 45 minutes and I would recommend doing this in the Spring as we saw so much wildlife from our window, deer, sheeps with their bleating lambs, pheasants and obviously lots of bluebells in the woods.

My friend and I often talk about our dream of one day taking the Orient Express from Paris to Venice in our floor length silk gowns. Hopefully one day, but now we will just enjoy this scenic train ride through Sussex (anyone have a spare £5k for my Orient Express train ticket?!)

Also I should mention, the steam train is dog friendly, huzzah! Rosie wasn't overly keen on the train but she was as good as gold all day.

We decided to get off at East Grinstead and go for a mooch so we walked to the centre which is a ten minute walk and we went to an old bookshop and they had tables outside with chess sets ready to play so we ordered some coffee and had a game of chess!

We had about 45 minutes before we needed to get the train back as we had lunch reservations but if you check the timetable you can make a real day of it and most of the stations have sights to see, Kingscote has a great vineyard and Sheffield Park has the lovely National Trust site perfect for seeing the ducks and taking a stroll around some beautiful parkland.

Tickets are £25 which I booked in advance but they often have special events and offers like Kids for a quid. In my mind, well worth it for a special and fun day out.

Toot toot!