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For the second year running families turned out in their hundreds to enjoy the family friendly spooky atmosphere at Groudle over the weekend. Sea Lion & Otter were in service hauling busy trains from Broomstick Halt where passengers had been met by Mr Pumpkin, a spooky trip through the glen passing some of our cheerful ghoulish friends then arriving at Witches Hollow. As well as the warm and spooktacular atmosphere, families visited Jinny the Witch in her lair to receive a frightfully fun gift, enjoyed sweets from her friends and refreshments including hot chocolate with cream and marsh mellows and spooky doughnuts! Our thanks to not only everyone who visited us, but also the volunteers who helped make the event so special and for the support of Bus Vannin for the provision of the shuttle bus to the railway. Next stop....CHRISTMAS!

The weather eventually played ball for our September Steam Gala as the day started damp and overcast, but by midday the sun was thankfully shining and the railway was very busy with all three steam locomotives in service with two trains passing at the headland loop. Visitors relished the opportunity to see all three locomotives; Sea Lion, Brown Bear and Otter in service together all day operating an intensive service. Sunday services now continuing into October. Our next special event is the Hop Tu Naa Trains at the end of October which is booking only. Tickets available online.

We are lost for words for just how well received our Cliff Top Concerts event was this year. Considering 2024 has not been the best of summers on the Isle of Man weather wise, the sun certainly shone on Groudle for this year's event. It was a day of wall to wall sunshine and people flocked to the cliff tops at Sea Lion Rocks to enjoy the free concerts from some of the island's most talented musicians. This year they were treated to performances from Callum Rowe, Mine's a Shanty, Biskee Brisht, The Reveilettes and our traditional finale group; The Shenannigans Band. A three coach shuttle service was operated with Sea Lion and Brown Bear topping and tailing the service all day.

The annual Manx Heritage Transport Festival has become a huge week for the unique collection of Heritage railways on the Isle of Man, with large numbers of visitors flocking to the railways for a festival of unique transport opportunities. At Groudle we offered an extended day of running with services from dawn til dusk, a Victorian Day recreating Sea Lion's early years at the railway in the 1890s, workshop and shed tours, photo line ups and finally a big Gala day when all locomotives and coaching stock was in service. The final gala day saw all 7 locomotives; Sea Lion, Brown Bear, Otter, Maltby, Dolphin, Walrus and Polar Bear (Annie is away under rebuild) perform a pre-service photo line up on the headland section of the railway which was quite a spectacle. The railway was very well supported with near to full trains operating on busy shuttle service during the festival. We look forward to welcoming you back in 2025!

The glorious sunshine of Easter Sunday 2024 was a perfect accompaniment to the fun and frollicks of the popular Easter Bunny trains at Groudle. Sea Lion and Brown Bear were both performing an intensive top and tail service across both Easter Sunday and Monday transporting large numbers of families from the brightly decorated and lively Lhen Coan out onto the cliff tops to see the Easter Bunny and receive chocolate eggs in the vibrant and musical surroundings of Sea Lion Rocks. Also whilst on the trip visitors kept their eyes peeled for the Easter Egg Hunt to spot the eggs that the Bunny had left behind in order to enter the draw to win a voucher to spend at the Ocean Views Bar and Grill, plus a giant Easter Bunny Teddy and a year's family pass to the railway. A memorable time was had by all and if you visited with your family, we hope you made some wonderful memories and had a fun experience. The railway reopens for the summer season on Sunday 5th May.

The initial terminus of the Santa Trains - the starting point of the restoration - The Headland! Santa's Grotto was located in the temporary wooden engine shed seen on the right in the first image. Plus images of the early years of the Santa Trains in the 1980s. Things have come a long way! 2023 proved to be another hugely successful festive season at the railway with record bookings for our Santa Trains and Boxing Day Mince Pie trains as they continue to grow in popularity. Over the various operating days all three steam locomotives; Sea Lion, Brown Bear and Otter were in service operating intensive shuttle services. We continue to improve the events bit by bit every year from reducing queing with the ticketing system, to improvements in decorations, a newly refurbished grotto for our guest from the North Pole and the new addition of the snowmen photo seat nicknamed 'Boris & Doris!' 2023 was also the 40th anniversary of the Santa Trains, the first services being a simple affair operated only a year after the restoration of the railway had been started in 1982, primarily as a much needed fundraiser. Since then they have continued to grow in popularity and also in term of complexity and standards.

Our first ever Not So Scary Hop tu Naa trains have proved a big hit with families. Ran over the weekend of 28th and 29th September, the trains were a new addition to our special event calendar as Jinny the Witch welcomed children (young and old) to her lair. Fortunately for all the boys and girls, Jinny is a kind witch and her assistants were on hand to give out plenty of sweets. With passengers met by a giant pumpkin, they boarded the train bound for Witches Hollow, passing some friendly ghosts hanging out trackside. Once at the terminus, they met Jinny and her assistants, had some hot chocolate (with whipped cream and marshmallows) and headed off on the train back down into the glen. Railway chairman Trevor Nall said that the railway decided to run the trains when they thought that younger children weren’t being catered for during Hop tu Naa. He said: ‘We picked the non-scary trains hoping that would be an attraction and I think judging by the amount of people we’ve managed to attract, it appears to be working well and it certainly seems to be popular.’ Trevor said that by booking people into 15 minute slots, the railway had managed to ensure no-one was waiting for too long, while running the trains at night was a special treat for the volunteers as they never normally get to operate in the dark. Looking ahead, Trevor confirmed the trains will be back next year, but with some new additions, saying ‘we will certainly improve that we’ve noticed that maybe nobody else does’. In the meantime, Groudle Glen Railway will be back in operation this winter with the Santa Trains and the ever popular Mince Pie Trains. For a video from the event and a full story, check out the Gef story here.

Despite the changeable weather recently, Groudle was lucky last Sunday (13th August) as the sun had his hat on! We were treated to glorious sunny weather along with a full day of open-air concerts at Sea Lion Rocks. Sea Lion and Otter were both in service all day, "topping & tailing" three bogie coaches with trains packed with families, visitors and locals alike to enjoy the concerts in this unique location. Performances took place all day at Sea Lion Rocks station from 11am to 4:30pm from Matt Creer, Mine's a Shanty, Ellan Vannin Pipes and Drums, Rushen Silver Band and The Shenanigans Banned. It was great to see so many people visiting. The railway and tea rooms are now open on Wednesday evenings 7pm - 9pm alongside the Manx Electric Railway shuttle services until the end of August and Sundays 11am to 4:30pm until the end of October. Our next special event is the Steam Gala day - Sunday 17th September and tickets are already available online for our new 'Not So Scary' Hop tu Naa trains at the end of October.

The new Lhen Coan shop is proving extremely popular with visitors, especially during the Heritage Transport Festival. Along with it's attractive appearance and much improved size and space, the new welcome centre is proving popular, especially the huge range of railway books. The shop features possibly the largest collection of railway books on the island, both new and second hand with some very rare titles available. The shop is open whenever the railway is operating, so if you'd like to purchase a rare gem... make sure you pay it a visit.