Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway - (Bolton Abbey Station) - Skipton

Toni Salters

We took our 2 little boys 7 & 4 to the Polar Express experience last night at Embsay Bolton Abbey Railway. We also went with close family, my niece of 9.
It took us just under 2hrs to get there from our home so we were hopeful for a great experience and it’s fair to say it exceeded our expectations!!
We arrived with 20 minutes to spare, it was very busy as a Saturday evening and 4.45pm train ride.
Given that there were lots of families, parking was easy and organised well.
Before we boarded the train, there is a shop, cafe (drinks for the adults! ?) and entertainment starting the show.
I don’t want to spoil it for others, but when they announce the train was arriving - from the conductor of course - to see my kids faces was a moment and I actually had tears watching….
We boarded the train in Coach G, having tables 7 & 8, with Premium tickets.
From the start the Conductor, Chef, waiters were excellent. They stayed in full character for the whole time. The chef and waiter were so engaging with the kids and adults! Really funny and kept us well entertained. The conductor was fabulous,
Santa arriving on the train was epic for our kids (and for us!)
Would highly recommend this experience, it’s well worth the money. To see our boys, who love the film, indulge in the whole atmosphere and believe, is something we won’t forget.
Thankyou for bringing The Polar Express to life for all of us.

M B

Visited Embsay a lot as a child and had the lovely experience of taking my own child back there this year. We bought tickets for the Polar Express. Well worth the money for the experience! It’s lovely to see places being looked after and yet evolving to give new generations relevant experiences. Well done to all the volunteers involved!

William Pinnington

All the family went on the Polar Express on Saturday evening. Absolutely fantastic, well organized, well entertaining. All the staff , and actors did themselves proud. I enjoyed every minute and I highly recommend this experience.

David H

A charming, quaint steam railway.
We enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea. The journey isn't a long one, but memorable one.
The staff were attentive and friendly. A shout out for Phoebe and Delilah and one whose name we didn't catch. (Sorry!)
The food was just perfect. The endless tea and coffee were very welcome.
Views of the Dales and the sounds of the steam engine!
There was time at the Bolton Abbey station to hop off and look around the souvenir shop.

John Williamson

I really wanted to like this, but I feel like I was a bit mis-sold on what it was. I also drove quite far to get here, so the experience was quite underwhelming. The description of it as a 60-minute round trip feels misleading when half of that is spent waiting for the train to turn around. It is 15 minutes each way.

There is very little to do at the stations, so even half an hour feels like too long to wait. They are also in the middle of nowhere so it's not like you can do much while you wait for the later train.

The trip isn't especially memorable. I feel like I'd seen more of the Yorkshire Dales driving to the station. And at least my car windows are clean.

I paid half price for our tickets, and even at that price I feel like I was a bit ripped off. I appreciate what is being done from a heritage perspective, but as a tourist attraction I felt this was severely lacking. If the stations were actual destinations this might help but there's just so little to do there and the cafes don't look very inviting.

The staff were very friendly and decked out in all the old-school attire. No complaints in this regard.

My overall impression when I got off: was that it?

Lisa

We went on the Polar Express. Highly recommended to any young family, just a magical experience. Make sure to dress in your pyjamas, we loved how everyone took part and such a beautiful way to start your Christmas with the first Christmas gift from Santa. A silver Christmas bell which we will keep forever. Great facilities with plenty to eat and drink before and a beautiful display of gifts in the gift shop. On board we enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies and we also did have a premium carriage but well worth the extra money. Also each had a beautiful large polar express mug and gift bag to take home
as part of the extras. Beautiful dancing waiters and absolutely fantastic conductor, we absolutely loved it. I took my son of 13yrs and daughter 11yrs it doesn't matter what age you are it's magical. Thank you.

Bekki Young

Absolutely adored this experience with the family, the kids loved watching the trains come in and out the station and eating scones on the train.
Everyone we talked to was so knowledgeable and generous with their time, answering questions and giving us little tours

Martin Slater

A lovely place to visit to step back into a by gone era.
Access is easy and there's plenty of free parking on gravel the car parks situated a few meters from the actual station.
The sight, sound and smell of the old steam locomotives was fantastic to experience and the olde world station a charm.
BUT, the cafe was so disappointing. We ordered two sausage sandwiches which were quite honestly disgusting. They were pre-made and packaged which were then heated up in the microwave. (Bread and all). What we were presented with was soggy bread and tasteless and low quality sausages for £3.50 each. Thankfully, the coffee was really good, but at £3.70 per cup, way over priced.
All in all, the station is definitely worth a visit, but AVOID THE CAFE.