What an interesting discovery made on a day out trip to the Embsay steam railway line.
A mere twenty minutes drive from Bramble Cottage Hetton and ten minutes from The Bolton Abbey Estate we boarded the steam train at the quaint Embsay station.
https://www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk/
Run by volunteers it cost £12 for adults and £5 for children ( June 2022 ) for the return ride. These tickets cover the journey but they do offer afternoon teas on board in the first class carriages and certain themed food trips throughout the year as optional extras.
Parking is free, the journey up to Bolton Abbey Station takes approximately 30 minutes through the rolling Yorkshire countryside and the same on the return.
It has to be said that the Bolton Abbey station is a poor second to the well kept and pretty Embsay station and a little shabby in places although in reality just a reflection of the continual funding needed to maintain and improve the attraction.
A good cafe and outside picnic tables at Bolton Abbey Station mean you can stop to eat or venture on from the station to the Bolton Abbey Estate.
Approximately 20 minutes walk to the Devonshire Pub and a further 10 minutes to visit the Priory.
The stations biggest claim to fame must be its May 1918 visit by King George V via the railway from Sandringham, complete with his horse Jock. Accompanied by his wife Mary it was a visit to shoot with the then Duke of Devonshire on the estate and more importantly to visit the locality and local factories as a rallying call to raise morale during World War One.
Fascinating !