Santa Steam Express Review
Disclosure: We received offered complimentary tickets, but as always, my opinions are my own.
The Santa Steam Express is London’s only Santa Steam Train. It departs from London Victoria and takes you on a tour of London in highly decorated carriages. We travelled on the Santa Steam Express as guests of Steam Dreams and it was the most magical experience. You can read all about the details of the Santa Steam Express in my preview piece.
Austin has just turned 3½ so he’s the perfect age to start understanding the magic of Christmas. He’s also pretty interested in trains, so a trip on the Santa Steam Express was a perfect match. Autumn at 6 months old is a little small to appreciate Christmas, but she loved all the decorations, the highly colourful costumes and everyone who stopped to make a fuss of her.
On arrival at Victoria Train station, we only had a few minutes before the very impressive Santa Steam train huffed and puffed its way into the station. For the train enthusiasts out there, it was a 45321 Sherwood Forester, an LMS Stanier Class 5 steam locomotive, which is more commonly referred to as a Black Five.
After a few minutes, we were invited to board the train. We were at the front of the train, in one of the first class carriages, seated at a table of four. Austin made a beeline for the window seat and we popped our coats and bags into the luggage rack. Anyone who travels with kids will know that travelling lightly isn’t an option. We had already stored our stroller with the buggy store facility right by the platform which was staffed by a wonderfully friendly and helpful lady from Steam Dreams.
Once seated, Austin begin tucking into a beautiful little box of treats which included a gingerbread man, raisins, festive chocolate and a cookie. There was festive music being piped through the carriage and it had a lovely, relaxed and Christmassy feel to it.
Soon after departing, Mother Christmas came through. She handed out stickers, popped in for a chat and generally made a fuss of the kids. She was shortly followed by Father Christmas. He also spent time chatting with all the children, bringing them gifts and stopping for a photo or two. Austin was a little shy to see Father Christmas up and close, but he loved receiving a present from the big man.
There were lots of other helpers from the North Pole around as well. They passed through the carriages offering tea, mulled wine, mince pies and sausage rolls. All of us were full of Christmas treats by the time we rolled back into London Victoria.
The train journey was around an hour and a half, which was a nice length. It felt very relaxed and we were well looked after. There were some Christmas activity sheets on the table and pencils were brought around to us. We had fun colouring in and finding the words on the word search. Some of the activities were a little old for Austin but the older children in the seats across the aisle from us were fully engaged in their puzzle sheets. Austin also enjoyed colouring in the paper cups whilst looking out and seeing what was out the window. He’s never been on a train before and so it was a really special experience for him.
As I tucked him into bed that night, I asked him what his favourite part of the day was and he said ‘steam train’ which is a high accolade indeed as he normally chooses the thing he most enjoyed eating that day!
We adults also had a really lovely time. The team there were amazing, they were festive and happy and we were well looked after. The whole event was really well organised and it felt quite relaxed which is a tricky thing to pull off when there are children involved. I’d highly recommend a day out on the Santa Steam Express to anyone with kids, as it’s a memory that both you and them will treasure forever.
Standard class tickets for the Santa Steam Express were priced at £40 per adult and £30 per child. First class tickets were £50 per adult, £40 per child or £275 for a group of six. The Santa Steam Express is operated by Steam Dreams. They run some amazing trips, including day trips to places like Bath and Winchester and even multi-day rail holidays. It’s well worth having a look at their website and seeing what steam train experience you’d like to go on.
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