Whilst on holiday in east Dorset we wanted to visit Swanage and it was recommended that we use the park and ride from Norden, however this park and ride is not a bus service but a steam and deisel railway line, located between Poole and Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck. It is possible to book tickets in advance online. The tickets were £9 for an adult and £7 for children. The journey from Norden to Swanage is 6 miles and stops at Corfe, Harmans Cross and Herston Halt (by request only). I would recommend stopping off at Corfe to visit the castle (see seperate review) to enjoy the superb views of the Isle of Purbeck. All of the stations ...  Read the complete review

If you like trains you will obviously love this place. If you also love to lap up a bit of British heritage and wallow in its nostalgia, this is a must visit day out. I am not a train buff, so you must excuse my lack of terminology and straightforward, if perhaps naive, review. The Swanage Railway was set up by enthusiasts keen to preserve the local line after being chopped by the Beeching Axe. There are a number of ways you can enjoy the Swanage railway. You might wish to start at the historic Corfe Castle end, or at the seaside Swanage end. Obviously Corfe Castle and Swanage have their own merits, but I won't dwell on those. I will ...  Read the complete review

On a recent trip to Dorset we had already decided before going that going to the Swanage Railway was one of the things that we'd do. It had been recommended by my Dads colleague and after looking it up it did look like an enjoyable day out. I'm not exactly a train enthusiast but I thought it would be a nice nostalgic day out and a trip down memory lane for my Gran. The line runs six miles from Norden to Swanage and passes the stunning Corfe Castle. The trains are steam run and having never been on a steam run train before I was looking forward to it. ***History of Swanage Railway*** Swanage Railway originally opened in 1885 and was operated by the ...  Read the complete review