East Somerset Spring Gala 2026

There is indeed. I was there last season. The path is not easy to navigate and considering the recent weather would suggest wearing a pair of wellies. <BJ>

 

Thanks to both of you for the replies, always have sturdy boots on hand for this sort of trip and it's Sunday afternoon when I'd be free to head over for the gala anyway so good to know that could be the (relatively) quieter end of things.

 

From two years ago, unless things have improved I would suggest "not easy to navigate" is perhaps an understatement. That of course does depend on your general mobility on very uneven ground. I felt a stick or as I had to do the use of a tripod and advantage.

 

Also good to know, thank you! I used to refer to my heritage railway visits as 'spending an afternoon falling in a hedge' as I've got through a few (literal) scrapes while finding appropriate lineside locations over the years and am fortunate enough to be ok on the mobility front right now. Helpful warning for this path, though, so it's much appreciated!

 

I would advise you not to venture into the fields to the south of Mendip Vale. The farmer is not the most welcoming of characters, probably due to past confrontations with trespassers. <BJ>

Timetable available here.
esr_spring_gala_2026_timetable.pdf

 

Ha! The scrapes have only been with foliage and the odd tumble! I'm if anything a bit too meticulous about avoiding trespass and probably miss out on some great shots by being too over-cautious in places that are public access just not clearly so. (e.g. I've never crossed over into the field on the other side of Bishops Bridge loop at the SDR even though there are so many people in it at every event that I assume it can't actually be private land)

Anyway, enough hedge divergences, I'll let this thread get back to the ESR event.

 

The comment about Saturday being "very very busy" is worrying - I fear that having supported the railway by buying a ticket in advance, I might then stand next to no chance of getting a seat on the star visitor (or even on any train). If they've oversold, on such a limited site, that will be very disappointing. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong!

 

Only 3 tickets online left for Saturday anybody turning up on Saturday may not be able to get a ticket according to the website

 

Saturday now showing as sold out; however, it says tickets are available on the day

 

It was always going to be extremely busy on Saturday and with the limited seating in the railcar, I expect there to be quite a scrum for that. If it’s the railcar you we’re going for, you’re probably better off waiting for their diesel weekend when it’s out again.

 

I turned up and was told that it was unlikely that any car parking spots were available. I did a turn around the car park which did indeed confirm that there were non (apart that is from a few that were so churned up they were unusable except for a 4WD). I drove on to a cidery in Street, a very nice cidery in Street.

 

A superb gala combined with superb weather. Although a steam gala, it was good to see the GWR railcar which proved to be a popular visitor. Two additional railcar runs to Mendip Vale were added to the timetable at the end of the day.
It was also good to see the tanker wagons in service. Many thanks to all at the railway for such an enjoyable day. [BJ]

 

A good day. Well done all who made it happen. Saturday at Cranmore.

 

Oldest son and I had a great time

We did get there though at about 8.20am and got the first railcar trip

Plus drove Lady Nan

I think it was unfortunate that there were no arrangements to book reserved seats on the railcar

Not only was the car park(s) packed but the village was crowded with parked cars

 

Perhaps at some of these events it would be nice to have a NP meet up?

 

Really enjoyed this event, and very happy for the East Somerset that it was able to reap the benefits of being the first stop on what does look like it's going to turn into a bit of a tour for the GWR railcar. Operationally, this was a very sharp gala - I wouldn't have been at all surprised to see the timetable slip given what was planned but it stayed bang on time to the end (and ahead of time in places, the timetable note that Mendip Vale and goods departures may be early was a smart move for creating leeway). The mix of goods, normal passenger, Lady Nan shuffling around and railcar meant there was loads going on and there's plenty to see and experience around the improved Cranmore site too. Lots of great additions since my last visit.

I hadn't been to the ESR at all since at least 2018 and I have a feeling my last few visits were just popping in for a coffee and a few pics while driving past rather than travelling. I remembered the climb out of Mendip Vale was really good, but had totally forgotten that it's a very entertaining run out of Cranmore to Merryfield Lane too. A great afternoon of noise.

The railcar was too packed to comfortably get in on the journey when I'm planned to sample it, but it was just great to see it out in the countryside anyway so I didn't mind too much that I opted out of squeezing on for a ride too.

Only disappointments: 1) the weather... the freezing torrential rain + wind combo for a bit of Sunday afternoon hadn't been there when I'd last checked the forecast, that was unpleasant. At least I'd changed my original plan of being out on the Mendip Vale footpath at that time! 2) The double-header on the final train back not happening. I think I heard the crew of 4555 say it had less water than expected on its previous run and it looked like the decision was taken to keep things simple and on time by just running the last trip entirely with 7754. But no real complaints there because the Pannier was still VERY entertaining solo and I was glad to get home and dry out in good time rather than the timetable being held up to allow the watering to take place and 4555 get reattached.

Curiosities - I'd spotted the lack of intermediate stops on the timetable but didn't realise Cranmore West station no longer existed at all! Given how easy that footpath walk from Cranmore to the depot is, I can see that this was a superfluous stop. Do trains still call at Merryfield Lane on normal service days? It looks like the only way to access it is by train, and I've often thought it might be a fun place to stop for some different pictures on any days with two trains running so you're not stranded there too long. And is that kit of parts in the siding there 31 Meteor? That's quite a sad sight as I imagine that was once a very entertaining loco.

 

Indeed that is what's left of Meteor. A sad case of restoration gone wrong. I spoke to the owner more than ten years ago and it was on offer on a long loan to any railway that would put it into working order. What the situation is now I don't know.
The East Somerset was working at capacity on the Saturday and bit of forethought on ticket allocation for the railcar would have made things easier for passengers and staff. However, they got through and ran some addition railcar trips at the end of day so all who wanted got a ride. Communication wasn't good. A PA system would have been helpful and there didn't appear to be anyone on the platform taking charge of things. The staff were well intentioned but at one point managed to get passengers for the railcar on platform 2 when it was to depart from platform 1. Five engines in steam if you count the out-of-frames steam test being carried out on 46447! Well done to all.