Barnards Farm Miniature Railway

Barnards Farm Miniature Railway

Barnards Farm Miniature Railway
4.5

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles45 reviews
Excellent
30
Very good
9
Average
1
Poor
3
Terrible
2

Dean W
Southminster, UK44 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
What a wonderful day, the staff were all really friendly and the railway was fantastic and really well maintained.

The grounds are lovely and lots for the kids and the family to walk round and see. We will be back!
Written 31 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jane T
London, UK251 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
We visited on one of the miniature railway open days. Unfortunately we got there quite late on the Saturday afternoon due to our sons nap so we only managed to go on the steam engine which was approx a 30 mom journey. There were two other trains operating that day and we'll definitely be back to go on the diesel and electric trains. The queue to pay for tickets is really slow. It's also confusing as it merges with the cafe queue. It's slowed down further by the members of staff explaining the same information to each customer. A board with info as you enter would save lots of time. There is a little station platform although there is little queue management. We were the second customers prior to one train but as the staff didn't know which platform the next train would go from, we stood on the wrong one and by the time the train came in and we swapped platforms, the train had filled up and we had to wait for the next one. Not ideal with an 18 month old. A little more organisation would go a long way. The trains go quite far through nice woodland and gardens. We'd like to have explore the gardens but they were closed on the day we visited. Overall, a great day out for young families and we'll definitely be returning. Good value for money too.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David B
Bristol, UK461 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Friends
A lovely garden which was opened for the National Gardens Scheme together with a pleasant and very well laid out miniature railway. Two children and a grandfather enjoyed the ride! There is plenty of room to walk around and you can even arrive in your own private light aircraft should you so wish!

Staff very friendly and helpful - small area for light refreshments [cake and coffee and so on]
Written 15 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lorraine L
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023
Very disappointing Easter event today. Only one train running, lots of waiting. No easter Bunny no other easter themed activities for the children.

Have been a few years ago to an amazing day, much much cheaper with museum open, vintage cars to drive, tours of the park, train rides, classic cars to view.

Today nothing but short few minutes on a train and a cup of tea.

Won't be going back for £100 for half hour outing
Written 8 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fran B
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021
A very interesting place, with plenty to see and do. The railway is long and weaves its way around most of the site. The volunteers running it are helpful and friendly (ignore the other review by Mr Grumpy!)
Written 6 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pabaan
Greater London, UK28 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
A lovely day out. Everything has an interesting quirky feel to it. Plenty of sculptures to view, take a brochure as the sculptures are numbered and it tells you about them. Life size cows in bright colours, beautiful views. Also, a miniature railway that has a separate charge for. A lovely tea room with super clean facilities.Plenty of different benches, seats and sitting down places everywhere. An amazing place. What not to like.
Written 4 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Travels659
Essex, UK2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Family
We'd discussed visiting Barnards with our kids (6 and 8 years old) on several occasions but hadn't managed to make previous running dates due to the kids rugby matches etc. Prior to our visit we had to ask several questions about train running times etc. as this detail wasn't listed on the website.

We decided to make arrangements to attend on the first session of the season on 30th June, which the kids were very exited about. The website stated that it was also a Garden Open Day and that an additional fee applied for the Gardens. Therefore, as we weren't visiting the gardens and due to the wording on the website, we assumed that we were just going to pay the train ticket prices as advertised on the website. However, when we arrived at Barnards, the guy on the gates advised that a £10 fee per adult applied to get into Barnards as a whole and that he could either turn us around and we could drive home or he could take our money - his attitude was pretty much to 'like it or lump it' but to avoid disappointing the kids as the trip had been built up over time, we had to pay the fee for 3 adults. On the day, we didn't access the Gardens as we'd already made arrangements to be somewhere else after the train ride, so ended up paying for something we didn't use.

To add insult to injury, while we were queuing to get onto the trains, a member of staff approached us and accused us of entering the premises through a gate on the main road and not paying. We showed him our tickets and he apologised although we weren't impressed.

I contacted the Barnards about the additional £10 fee (£30 in total) and the fact that the website doesn't make it clear that to get access to the train rides you must pay the Garden Entry Fee, although they didn't see my point and despite stating that they'd put my compliant to the trust, I've heard nothing.

The part that we were most disappointed with was the attitude of some of the staff (who they need to send on customer service training) and the fact that they haven't looked at this from our point of view at all. The train ride was OK but wasn't what we were expecting.

All in all, not a great experience and we won't be going back!
Written 26 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Carley O
Essex, UK166 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2018 • Family
Arrived for the end of season gala and it was explained that we could have a day ticket, but with a day ticket we would still need to queue and if we only got on one ride they would refund the difference, this was done politely and the lady even checked we were paying the correct prices (ended up with 2 concessions due to one over 60 and a child ticket) the first ride, we were on the astrid carriage, so you sit with your legs either side of a cushion, the ride was great, through the trees and see all the animal sculptures around the on the tracks, my daughter loved spotting them. At the end of the line, you need to turn round on the astride seats

The second ride we did queue for nearly an hour, so my daughter and mum played in the picnic area picking conkers and chatting to the staff whilst I queued, the staff were all so friendly and happy to speak to the children and answer questions to the kids when asked, the second ride we were lucky enough to be behind the driver so got a great view (and a free shower from the steam) would highly recommend and can't wait to come back and explore the gardens
Written 22 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Callen888
Chelmsford, UK40 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2017 • Family
Suitable for toddlers and train buffs alike. Minature railway goes through trees and grassland with statues and curios to see enroute. There are steam trains and diesel with carriages open to the elements so wrap up if you go during the colder months.
Written 10 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

NichaUk
UK1 233 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2018 • Family
My young children love trains and this miniature railway is great. It's all run by volunteers, all of which very friendly.

You can get a drink /biscuit whilst waiting for your train (which is not long as there were three trains running). There are also toilet facilities, picnic tables and free parking.

There are a couple of stations along the ride,so you can get off and walk around. The last station is closed when the gardens aren't open.

We'll definitely be going back.
Written 16 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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BARNARDS FARM MINIATURE RAILWAY: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Barnards Farm Miniature Railway