• Santa Special - child with present

Santa Specials

Sat 21 November – Wed 23 December

  • Enjoy a magical Christmas journey along the whole length of our line!

  • Meet Santa and receive a special wrapped present

  • Complimentary refreshments served onboard for Adults & Children

  • Festive activity booklets for each child

  • Balloon Modellers and Entertainers

  • Onboard Bar – Serving Alcoholic and Soft Drinks

What are the Santa Specials?

Enjoy a magical Christmas journey aboard a traditional steam-hauled train!

Sit back and relax as your train steams non-stop from Sheringham up the whole length of the line to Holt. Get into the festive spirit and make merry with complimentary onboard refreshments served to your table – mince pies and mulled cider for adults and gingerbread and hot chocolate for every child! There are festive children’s activity booklets too, plus entertainers and balloon modellers who will stroll through the train spending time in each carriage for part of the journey.

Your journey will break at Holt as the engine switches ends, giving you the chance to hop off and take photographs with the historic locomotive or to visit the onboard bar.

On the return journey, the train will stop at Weybourne Station where you will make your way through an enchanted Christmas Kingdom with a magical seasonal theme, a snowy model railway and Santa’s friendly helpers before you meet Father Christmas himself who will present every child with a special, wrapped gift before you rejoin the train for the short journey back to Sheringham.

The whole experience lasts approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes from the time your train departs Sheringham to arriving back at the station.

The Santa Specials are designed for a family audience – please note that bookings from all-adult parties will not be accepted. If you would like to enjoy a festive event suitable for adults and older children please consider joining us aboard this year’s Norfolk Lights Express.

Train Dates & Availability

Santa Specials run at weekends from 21 November until 20 December and on 21, 22 and 23 December. Trains will depart at 10.00, 11.00, 12.25, 13.35, 14.50 and 15.50 on each day.

Please check our Booking System to see the live ticket availability of each train.

Should you wish to amend or add to your booking please call 01263 820800. Please note that as each passenger is allocated a specific seat, it is not always possible to add to or move an existing booking.

Ticket Types

Santa Special Steam Trains have a range of carriages offering a variety of seating types:

First Class Compartment – seating for up to six passengers in a private compartment

Private Compartment for up to Eight – a cosy compartment for up to eight passengers. These are the best value tickets if you fill the compartment, or an exclusive treat for smaller groups to enjoy the experience in comfort.

First Class – Generous seating around tables of two or four. We endeavour to ensure that first class passengers do not share tables with other groups – occasionally groups of four may be seated at two tables of two.

Standard Class  – Seats are set out in blocks of four; please note that if your party does not fill the table, you may be seated with another group.

Accessible Compartment – many trains include an accessible compartment that can accommodate up to two wheelchair users and two other passengers. Please call our Enquiries Team to reserve space on 01263 820800.

Fares

Fares start from £24.25 per person, depending on the time & date of travel. All trains have First Class seating as well as Standard Class, and a limited amount of private compartments for up to 6 or 8 people are also available on each train. Compartments range from £189.00 to £247.50 per compartment.

Advance booking is essential. Please check our booking system for prices on your preferred date of travel.  

Under 1’s travel for a reduced fee of £8.00 providing they do not occupy a seat – the safest place for little ones is for them to sit on the lap of one of their parents.  As there are only limited seats on each train, we are not able to offer discounts or concessions on Santa Specials.

Tip:

Travel on any train on 21 & 22 November, or on the 10.00am and 11.00am departures on 28 & 29 November for our lowest fares.

Frequently Asked Questions

Overall, the experience lasts for around an hour and 45 minutes from leaving Sheringham to arriving back. However the Old Luggage Office Buffet at Sheringham Station will be open before departure and you should also allow time to check in and find your seats, so we suggest arriving early!

Our bookings system updates availability in real time – if your chosen date and time is full, a message asking you to select a different train will be displayed.

Advance bookings close at 11.59pm – to see if you are able to book tickets for travel the same day, please call 01263 820800 (Option 4 then 1).

Each passenger is allocated a specific seat so we are often not able to add to an existing booking. If you wish to add to your booking please call 01263 820800 (Option 4 then 1) – our booking team will then advise you whether this is possible.

It is not possible to add tickets on trains that are fully booked.

In most carriages seating is around tables of four. Please note that if your party does not fill a whole table (or tables) then it is possible that you will be seated with another party.

Yes. Many services have a compartment for a wheelchair-user and their party – please call our booking team on 01263 820800 to book and reserve. Please note that there are a limited number of compartments and these will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Unfortunately we cannot take pushchairs on the Santa Special trains, however we can store pushchairs at Sheringham Station ready to be collected afterwards.

Your ticket includes a mince pie and mulled cider for adults, and hot chocolate and gingerbread for children. There will also be a bar onboard each train if you wish to purchase anything extra.

Gluten free alternatives are available, and must be ordered at time of booking.

There are a limited number of toilets on board the train, and a larger volume of toilets at each of our stations.

Yes, there must be at least one paying child to enter. Please note that if you turn up to board without a child you will be refused entry.

No; other than assistance dogs no dog tickets cannot be purchased for the Santa Specials.

The trains are warm (heated by spare steam from the engine!), dry and able to operate in almost all weather conditions.

Once booked, tickets are non-refundable. Ticket Protection Cover is available to provide additional peace of mind – this can be added to online orders at checkout if required.

Please see full details of our Terms and Conditions here.