If a visit to the Giants of Brede isn’t enough to slake your thirst for 19th and early 20th century engineering, then the Kent and East Sussex Light Railway runs through nearby Northiam, where you can watch the antique locomotives take on water at the restored station which, with the rest of the railway, frequently appears in period dramas on film and television.
Kent & East Sussex Railway – Locomotive at Level Crossing, Northiam Station
East Sussex and Kent are well supplied with heritage and recreational railways [See “A Bit of A Thing About Railways”] run by enthusiasts, but I only had time enough for this one, and only for a short visit to the station at that. Still, I watched several small locomotives, hauling a variety of rolling stock, call at the station as they run between Tenterden and Bodiam; a distance of about 11 miles. Tenterden is a small town with plenty of historic buildings including a fair number of quaint old pubs, while Bodiam has its fairy tale castle.
You can get a ‘hop-on, hop-off’ ticket allowing you to explore along the route, which runs through some fine countryside. An excellent trip on a sunny day. Along the way you could stop at Northiam and perhaps visit the Whispering Giants of Brede, and the historic village of Rolvenden, although the latter is a little far (about 2 ½ miles) for a detour.
As so often when I’m touring, I’m already making plans for a return trip to explore something off my main itinerary.
Some of these engines are well over a hundred years old, and a few of the enthusiasts, volunteers, and passengers seemed not far off. But there’s a convivial atmosphere and everyone seems friendly – it’s a good way to meet the English, with the added reassurance that escape can be achieved easily and tactfully at the next station, if necessary.
It’s a hackneyed cliché to say steam engines are like living creatures, but it felt like there was something animate about the way the locos hissed and spat and blew out clouds of steamy breath. They suddenly surprise you with clanking noises and a gout of superheated boiling water, and some subroutine deep in my monkey brain says, ‘alive!’ And when the whistle blows and the rhythmic chugging gathers pace, well, it’s hard not to be fascinated and feel a surge of excitement. It was like watching some great creature slowly rouse itself and get to its feet, its obvious weight and solidity, its inertia, is gradually overcome as it builds up an unstoppable momentum. I wanted to urge it on. I wanted to cheer its efforts, take joy in its strength and wave to the passengers and engineers, who will always wave back. Great fun!
Loco under steam, Kent & East Sussex Railway
As I said before, Kent and East Sussex has ‘A Bit of a Thing About Railways‘ and I’m planning more visits soon.
Practical
Best reached by car, but buses from Hastings (340/1/2 approx 55 minutes, hourly, or 344 via Rye 1½ hours, hourly.)
Brede to Northiam (340/1/2 approx 15 minutes, hourly.)
See Stagecoach website stagecoachbus.com for timetables.
Kent and East Sussex Light Railway Website
Entry to station and exhibitions, by Platform Ticket £0.50p (donations appreciated.)
Ticket for train, various up to £16.00p.
Steam at Bodiam. Excursion passing Bodiam Castle, Kent & East Sussex Railway