Up the valley to Corwen: the Llangollen and Corwen Railway

The railway nearly went. Llangollen Railway plc, the company that ran the line, went into administration in 2021. The railway's own history says services were suspended that year, the Llangollen Railway Trust took full responsibility, and trains ran again later in 2021. On its own news pages it now calls itself the Llangollen and Corwen Railway, which is a fair description of where it goes.

The line

It starts at Llangollen station on Abbey Road, near the bridge over the Dee. The station is the railway's, not part of the national network; the nearest mainline stations are Ruabon and Chirk, covered on the getting here page. From Llangollen the line runs about 10 miles up the valley through Berwyn, Glyndyfrdwy and Carrog to Corwen. The station at Llangollen has a shop, a licensed cafe and toilets, and the railway says it is always staffed.

Corwen is the end. The railway reached a temporary platform at Corwen East in 2014, and the permanent Corwen Central station, with its island platform, run-round loop and signalling, officially opened on 2 June 2023. The platform is reached by an underpass with steps, and there is a chairlift for standard wheelchairs.

Steam, diesel or railcar

Most trains are steam-hauled, the railway's FAQ says, though some days mix steam with diesel or heritage railcars. The timetable is colour coded, yellow, blue and green, to show which kind of train runs on which day. If steam is the point of the trip for you, pick the date by the timetable, not the other way round. The FAQ gives the season as mid-February to early November, with Santa and Mince Pie Specials in December.

Tickets

• Buy online through the railway's booking site, or at the station on the day, subject to availability.
• On regular services children travel for a flat £5 return or £3 single, per the FAQ. The booking site gives a full-line adult return at £25.
• Dogs on a lead are welcome on regular trains, but not on dining trains or the Santa Specials.

The booking office number on the railway's FAQ is 01978 860979, and it asks wheelchair users to call ahead: each train has up to two wheelchair spaces.

Parking

The railway's official car park is the Llangollen Pavilion car park on Abbey Road, about 500 metres from the town centre by its reckoning and a short, step-free walk from the station. The lower car park is open 7am to 11.30pm and charges from 70p for 30 minutes to £10 for 12 hours. The railway asks people not to drive into the centre looking for a space, and suggests parking at Corwen or Carrog and taking the train in instead. During Eisteddfod week the Pavilion is the festival's, so plan around it.

The special trains

The railway runs a calendar of events on top of the normal timetable. Still to come this year:

• Halloween, Saturday 31 October 2026: Spooky Specials at 10am, 12.20pm and 3.15pm, and an Ales from Wales evening train at 7pm.
• Ride the Rocket, Saturday 7 November 2026, a 6pm steam train to the Corwen fireworks; adult £28, child £10.
• Santa Specials from Saturday 28 November 2026 on selected dates to Christmas Eve, with Santa's grotto at Carrog. The railway says every 2025 Santa Special sold out and it has frozen prices for 2026; an open carriage seat is £32.
• Christmas Ales from Wales, Saturday 12 December, £30.
• Mince Pie Specials, 27 to 31 December 2026 and New Year's Day 2027, leaving Llangollen at 10:00, 12:20 and 15:15; adult £28, child £12.

On the food festival's Saturday in October the railway runs its real ale train too, which is the railway and the town working the same weekend.

Using the railway for a walk

Berwyn is the stop for the Horseshoe Falls and the Chain Bridge: get off there, see the falls, and walk the towpath back to the wharf, what the railway calls a gentle 45-minute stroll. That is the gentlest way to see the top of the canal, and it is in the canal guide.