My day on the Talyllyn Railway

The day started with myself meeting Rob and Jan at Machynlleth station before hoping into Robs car and driving to Tywyn. We decided to arrive in plenty of time as we knew there was a cafe at the station that had a reputation as been very good for a fry up. Given I love a good old fry up I was never going to turn down trying one of these out! I can confirm it was rather brilliant. A nice little surprise was that the fry up was under a tenner! We also got a free drink each as we chose to gift aid our ticket purchase for the trains that day.

After we had all devoured our breakfasts we went for a little wander around Tywyn Wharf station before then baording a train and setting ourselves in for the journey to the other end of the line, Nant Grewnol! Along the way we got to grips with the line, what the other stations looked like from the train, and most importantly, what the footpaths alongside the railway looked like. Footpaths later in the day would turn out to be a bit of a problem.

We arrived at Nant Grewnol and found ourselves in what could of easily been deep in the amazon rain forest! The station setting was stunning! Surrounded by some beautiful Welsh woodlands. We took a few quick photos and set off on our way to walk to Abergynolwyn station. We only had 10 minutes slack so leaving the station and discovering the first part of the walk was a vicious up hill section. Short section, but incredibly steep. After we climbed this it was pretty easy going and only took us 20 minutes to complete the walk as apposed to the 35 minutes online maps suggested.

After arriving at Abergynolwyn station we had time to have a look around and visit the shop for a drink and snack (FYI, the donuts are very nice). After this we was about to board the service before it departs. As we boarded we was given a nice surprise, the kind guard upgraded us to first class and a trip in the saloon car. After a trip in first class I can confirm the £7 would be money well spent, and I will happily pay it next time!

After the enjoyment of the first class saloon we alighted at Rhydyronen where knowing we had a ton of time here I decided to take a short walk to check out the request halts near by before returning to the station and continuing on with the walk to Brynglas. Sadly shortly after visiting Tynllwyn Hen request stop we discovered the public footpaths was really badly signed to the point where it was not going to be possible to continue with the walk. So we returned to Tynllwyn Hen and boarded the next train there. Requesting a steam train to stop at a halt with no platform certainly was an experience.

After this we travelled in one of the open air carriages which gave a very nice breeze after all the walking we had done. Despite missing a station it wasn't the end of the world... We knew there was a station with a tea room coming up! Food was very much needed at this point.

After alighting the train at Dolgoch we headed down the path to where the Dolgoch tea rooms was. We enjoyed a rather lovely light lunch. After this we took a walk to the waterfalls. They was pretty beautiful! It is on my radar to explore the waterfall area more in the future!

After this we boarded the train back towards Tywyn. I alighted at Pendre which is where the engineering shed is for the Talyllyn Railway. There is no doubt plenty to see here. But sadly the weather was starting to turn and some drizzle was starting. So I took a few photos. The plan here was to then walk to Hendy and then back to Tywyn Wharf. But as Rob had his car I walked to Hendy and he then came and picked me up.

Now about the request stop halts. My original plan was to just visit them on foot and only count the timetables stops as proper board/alight rules. But it became clear as the day went on I was not going to be comfortable with this. As many know, I am very strict with the board/alight rules, and heritage railways will be no exception. So with that in mind there is already another trip planned in the diary to return to the Talyllyn Railway to visit the request stops and Brynglas. 

After our day on the Talyllyn Railway we was in need of a proper meal, and what is better than a proper pub grub meal. So we went in search of this. With me & Jan both staying in Machynlleth we decided that stopping in the beautiful village of Aberdovey and immediately found the Dovey Inn which looked very inviting.

The food was very good and my mixed grill was cooked to perfection. We was just about to go and play a few games of pool, but as we about to go and play a few games a family got to the table first. So we decided to call it a day.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to returning to the Talyllyn Railway to complete the line.

Below are some further photos from the day.