Conwy Valley Railway Museum is in the picturesque village of Betws Y Coed, Conwy. It’s an ideal day out with the kids – I certainly loved it as a child and my girls now love it as well. There’s on site parking but be warned, it can get busy and when the car park is full, you’ll have to find alternative parking in the village itself.
Mini Steam Train Journey
The mini railway costs £3 each (under 1s get to go for free) and will take you around the route twice. The route starts from the station and follows the Conwy Valley mainline for about X yards before circling back on itself and into the grounds of the Conwy Valley Railway Museum. The train will take you by the Railcar Cafe and through the trees before going through the open green area where you will pass over a pond. Unfortunately the ducks aren’t real! At the end of the trip you will arrive back at the station where you started.
Self Drive Train and Bumper Trains
In addition to the circular steam train route they also have a mini self drive electric train. It’s a short straight track and it’s only for little ones (shame!). Our girls loved having a go! I think it was £1 for one go. We did have a mild anic attack that they were going to derail the train but thankfully the clever people of the Conwy Valley Railway Museum have though of that and put in a stopping mechanism at the end.
Not only that, there’s mini train bumper cars on site for the older kids…. but again not for adults! Inside there’s a shop selling all sorts of train paraphenalia for both little kids and big kids. Thomas the Tank toys and Hornby trainsets are brimming over in that little shop. There’s also books about trains and books about the local area – plenty of stuff to read.
Conwy Valley Railway Museum
Behind the shop is the Conwy Valley Railway Museum itself. You’ll have to buy tickets from the shop before going through though. I’ve not been to the museum part for a number of years but from memory, I recall they had lots of miniature railways setup that you could play with. I think they also had some real life steam trains there but I can’t be sure. I have to go back to the museum to check it out again but everytime we go, the girls just want to go on the trains!
Buffet Car Cafe
On site there’s an old railway carriage which has been converted into a cafe. They serve all sort of food – hot meals, cold meals, snacks, drinks etc everything you would expect in a typical cafe. It’s a unique experience to sit in the old carriage seats to eat your food. From the carriage you can see the mainline station of Betws Y Coed and the Conwy Valley Railway Museum station.
Village Access
You can walk into the village from the Conwy Valley Railway Museum via a footbridge which crosses the mainline. After walking through the mainline sttaion you will be at the village’s main park area. On a sunny day it can get really busy but still worth it for the views. Also, there are plenty of ice cream parlours around so I would highly recommend getting an ice cream and sitting down on the grass for a breather.
