Broomhill – A Steam Train Afternoon with the Children
A few hours.
The route
The Strathspey Railway runs up the Spey valley between Broomhill and Aviemore, and this afternoon goes the whole way there and back from Broomhill, the quiet end of the line, after lunch in Nethy Bridge.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book standard return tickets for the Strathspey Railway on its website by 9am on the day, choosing Broomhill as the station you board at, for the 1.51pm on one of the running days its calendar shows.
The day
Strathspey
Lunch first, then about two hours on the railway, with two chances for the children to step off: at Aviemore, at the far end of the line, and at Boat of Garten on the way back.
Lunch, then two hours on the railway
Nethy House
Lunch
Nethy House is a café in a granite house on a corner in the middle of Nethy Bridge, with free parking for customers at the back. Lunch is served from 11.30am to 4pm, with vegan and gluten-free dishes among the choices, and cakes and coffee until 5pm. You can book a table by phone or text on 07498 151519, up to 10am on the day. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, and a ramp leads to the toilets.
5 min by car
Broomhill station
A station
It's 5 minutes' drive north to Broomhill station, where you park on the roadway beside it. The platform is level, and there are toilets, an accessible one among them. On the standard timetable the 1.51pm leaves Broomhill for Aviemore. A child's ticket, for ages 5 to 15, comes with an activity book, and children under 5 travel free. The railway aims for a steam engine on its ordinary trains, where its calendar shows steam, but can't promise one every time.
36 min by train
Strathspey Railway
An attraction
It's a 36-minute train ride to Aviemore, with a 5-minute halt at Boat of Garten on the way. Everyone steps off at Aviemore while the carriages are cleaned for the next run, so tell the railway's ticket office you'll be on the 3pm back, which keeps your seats. That leaves about half an hour to look round the Victorian station, and there's a wheelchair-accessible toilet on the platform. Tea, coffee and a bar are available on board.
18 min by train
Boat of Garten station
A station
It's an 18-minute train ride back to Boat of Garten, where the train stops for 10 minutes while the engine takes on water. There's time to step down onto the platform and look round the old station, which stands in the middle of the village. Then it's 23 minutes on to Broomhill, arriving at 3.51pm, back where the car is parked.
If it rains
Lunch and the train are under a roof; only the short station stops are out of doors.
Photographs by Veronica Atzei, Scott McCall and Rob Barron via Google
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