Ffestiniog Travel

As the Ffestiniog Railway Celebrates 150 Years of Steam join us on Wales's Finest Steam Railways!

Ffestiniog Travel are looking forward to celebrating the Ffestiniog Railway's 150th Anniversary of steam power in 2013 and invite you to join us on a number of special events and tours happening on some of the world’s greatest preserved railways in Wales!

Magnificent Wales - 6th June to 17th June 2013

An escorted 12-day tour that embraces no fewer than 10 railway jewels of Wales including journeys on the Vale of Rheidol Railway, Corris Railway, Welshpool and Llanfair Railway, Talyllyn and Bala Lake Railways, Llangollen Railway, Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, Snowdon Mountain Railway, the Welsh Highland Railway and Ffestiniog Railway. The scenery will be stunning, the train journeys fabulous and the general sightseeing and hospitality congenial. This escorted tour, priced at £1,350pp is also available as a bespoke, unescorted rail holiday. Click here for full details.

As a sister company of the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways we are in a unique position to provide rail mini-breaks that coincide with special events happening in 2013. Contact Jenene Craven on 01766 772030 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to arrange a mini-break around any of the following:

A Steam Odyssey - ‘150 years of Narrow Gauge Steam’ - 4th, 5th & 6th May 2013

Celebrate 150 years of steam on the Ffestiniog Railway. Featuring stories from many of its exciting milestones and showcasing its ground breaking locomotives & rolling stock. Watch slates come to the sea once more in commemoration of this auspicious occasion. The Welsh Highland Railway will also be running extra services to mark this event. Visit our Narrow Gauge Steam Odyssey page to find out more.

‘Welsh Highland in Miniature’ - 6th, 7th & 8th September 2013

A great opportunity to view a scaled down version of the WHR! Appreciate the art of model railways with layouts displayed at Caernarfon and Dinas Stations. Extra WHR trains will be running and there will be a café and bar also available at Dinas Station.

Vintage Weekend - ‘1863 and all that’ - 11th, 12th & 13th October 2013

Roll back to the mid-1800s when steam was new and slate was king. Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog were busy industrial towns, but soon there were tourists too. Ffestiniog Railway plays host to vintage train formations, vintage costumes and a look at the world in 1863.

Experience Steam Power First Hand

Be a ‘Guest Driver’ on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways or a ‘Guest Shunter’ during a 4-night mini break in North Wales with Ffestiniog Travel. The 4-night packages include:

• A day’s driving on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways – after instructions at Boston Lodge works you will be allowed out on the main line to enjoy a day’s driving. Click here for full details.

or

• Spend a day at the FR’s engineering depot at Minffordd Yard shunting and manoeuvring original quarry slate waggons with ‘Lilla’, one of FR’s Hunslet locomotives. Click here for full details.

York Mallard 75th Anniversary Mini-break in York

Ffestiniog Travel are keen to help you mark this great milestone by offering a mini-break to commemorate the memorable breakthrough that occurred 75 years ago - Mallards' steam locomotive world speed record.

This steam achievement took place on 3 July 1938 when the London North Eastern Railway's A4 Class locomotive Mallard raced down Stoke Bank at 126mph to set a new steam locomotive world record which still stands today. The National Railway Museum in York will be marking Mallard's 75 year triumph in July 2013 with a series of commemorative events including a never-before-seen gathering of all six surviving A4s and Ffestiniog Travel wants you to be part of it. Click here to find out more.