Talyllyn Railway, Nant Gwernol Station

Today we spent much of the day riding on the Talyllyn Railway. This railway line, one of several in mid and north Wales, was originally built in the 19th century to carry slate from the quarries. It stopped operating in the 1940s and in 1950 it was taken over by a preservation society, the first of its kind in the world. Today all the workers on the line are members and volunteers. The friends I'm camping with are members and when they holiday here in May it is to actually take part in the maintenance of the line and the land around it. My friend's father was one of the early members and volunteers, so they and their family have been involved since the very beginning of the restoration.

While this railway is open all year long, today was 'Duncan Day', a special day for families, with a lot of activities for children. There is a link between the Talyllyn Railway and the Rev Wilbert Awdry, the author of the Thomas the Tank stories, and so the day had a definite theme from that series of books. Although it made it an extra busy day with more of a family focus than I am used to, I enjoyed it very much, and it was fun to see the excitement of all the little kids!

In addition to the busyness of the railway, we also enjoyed a pleasant and quiet walk through the woods, as we got off at Abergynolwyn station and walked to the next and last station, Nant Gwernol. We timed it perfectly as the rain only started at the end of our walk as we were about to get on the train.