Ffestiniog Railway, Porthmadog

A lovely little steam railway which wends it's way from Porthmadog on the coast, up into the mountains towards Ffestiniog, and back again. There are options to do the full journey, half the journey or get a rover ticket allowing you to do what you wish. All children under 3 travel free. One child under 16 years travels free with each adult or senior citizen paying ordinary 3rd class fare. Additional children travel at half fare. We decided, given we had a 5, 4 and 6 month old to do half the journey by going from Porthmadog to Tan Y Bwlch, stopping at the station cafe there, and then returning. This trip would cost £22 in total. The journey up to the station and back is about 30 mins and the total time we spent at this attraction was about 2 hrs - just about right for our kids. The full journey to Ffestiniog apparently takes about 3 hours. The journey itself was very pleasant and the views are beautiful. We chose to take a picnic which we ate on the way up and between this and a game of sheep spotting seemed to keep the 5 and 4 year old amused. On the way back they seemed less interested - despite my youngest being a Thomas the Tank engine fan. The cabins are small so be advised to try to find one with other children or take something else to amuse them. After ten minutes down the track of loud play between the 5 and 4 year old and some sideways glances from what were obviously steam train enthusiasts I had to pull out the pencils and paper and calm the two of them down! Also be aware that most of the track is single with passing only possible in the stations. And whilst the timetable is designed so that there is minimal waiting time in the stations we were held at Minfford station on the way up for 10-15 mins whilst we waited for the late running downhill train to pass. If you have a baby I'd strongly suggest leaving the pram at home and at minimum take the stroller or preferably the baby sling as the doors are narrow, there is limited storage for prams (although on the way up a very helpful guard did assist by looking after our bugaboo) and the carriages themselves have very little space to move in. There is a variety of different carriage styles - some better suited to families than others. Suggest if you have lots of little ones you look out for the carriages with the bench style seating that goes across the entire carriage - that way you are in a more contained environment. On arriving at Porthmadog there was plenty of parking in town and only a short walk to the station on the harbourside. The ticket office was well manned, queues small and the staff friendly. Be advised to arrive with plenty of time before the train departs. We arrived with only ten minutes to spare. Not a good idea! The station layout is very compact, with travelers having to walk through the gift shop to get to the platform - too much distraction for my 5 and 4 year old! We then had a real rush to get onto the train - it was very busy so hard to find a carriage with ample seating for all of us and we had unfortunately brought a pram which needed to be collapsed and stored. On the upside the station staff were brilliant - really helpful in getting us sorted. As to facilities at Porthmadog station these were great - good toilets and baby change facilities. Apparently there's an excellent cafe, however we didn't get around to using it. As to facilities at Tan Y Bwlch, these were also excellent. They have toilets (although these get very busy when the trains arrive), a cafe selling a reasonable selection of food and drink and a lovely play park area with train and station themed equipment. There is a bridge link with stairs to leave the platform to reach the road and cafe - if you have a pram or stroller, wait on the platform till the train departs as there is the possibility of leaving on the level by crossing the line and exiting by a gate which is usually unlocked. Unfortunately this wasn't clear to us on arrival, so we took the step of carrying baby and pram over across the bridge link only to find out later when we had to get back onto to the station platform that this existed. On the train itself there is a buffet service although you need to be in one of the carriages that offers this. There is also first class accommodation if you want more privacy. We didn't see any toilet facilities on the actual train, so make sure the kids go beforehand. All in all a very pleasant day out, although I think it may well be more appropriate for those with slightly older children, big kids (like my husband), train enthusiasts and those without babies.