Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway

We operate an hour roundtrip, although we recommend two hours, with toys for the kids to play on whilst the adults have a cup of tea or coffee and a natter in a secure and quiet environment. The trains aren't so large that they are scary and not too small that they look like toys. Starting from Sittingbourne Viaduct station is very exciting as it is an uphill start with lots of chuffing and puffing!

We have children focussed or friendly events throughout the season. One of the most exciting is Wild West Weekend at the end of July, which sees a shoot-out shortly after each train arrives at Kemsley Down station.

We often have treasure hunts and on Good Friday we have a free planting activity where children can pot a plant to take home with them.

We are also part of the Wheels of Time initative, which includes museums across Kent, where children can partake in an acitvity to earn a badge at each site, they also receive a lanyard to put the badges on over time - there are special badges for visiting a number of sites.

Lots of railway traverse pretty countryside with commanding views of the mountains and valleys - the North Kent coast is not like that!

We start the journey on a kilometre-long, century-old viaduct crossing the industrial outskirts of Sittingbourne and Milton Regis before crossing Milton Creek Country Park and arriving at the very industrial station at Kemsley Down which is actually in Britain's largest paper mill.

You get a real feel for industrial railways with their not very smooth track, wagons that have been turned into coaches and it is all authentic because you will be travelling behind locomotives and in coaches that were built specifically for this railway (there are a few exceptions which were built for the Admiralty). The sights and sounds of modern British industry can be glimpsed beyond the fence whilst it's actually quite calm and relaxing outside the Footplate Café or at the wildlife garden.

Not only do you have the excitement of travelling behind a real steam engine, you can also see a variety of trucks, cranes, dustcarts (on Wednesdays) and general industry.

At Kemsley Down you can see lorries driving around paper mill as well as the skip truck or industrial vehicles working alongside the station. You may even see the paper mill's fire engine!

Whilst you're at Sittingbourne Viaduct, the Raybel (a Thames sailing barge) and the Barge Museum are located a few minutes walk away.

We are also part of the Wheels of Time initative, which includes museums across Kent, where children can partake in an acitvity to earn a badge at each site, they also receive a lanyard to put the badges on over time - there are special badges for visiting a number of sites.