Exploring Grosmont Station

I love steam trains! (and now Grosmont Station).

Grosmont Station is a station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in Yorkshire, England.

When you go on a train, you don’t think about spending too much time at the station. Honestly, what do you do at a train station? You buy a ticket, maybe tea and a snack, and then sit on a bench and wait for your (hopefully on time) train.

However, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway stations are something right out of a wartime movie or magical wizarding movie…. let’s just say, Harry Potter.

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This was my first time exploring Grosmont Station and you can spend 4 hours doing so. (Note: estimated time due to me stopping to take a picture of everything)!

Grosmont Station is 1950s-themed and the end of the line (or start) for the heritage railway.

Thanks to the hop on and hop off that’s included in your return ticket for the railway, so you have the opportunity to explore this station a little more in-depth

If you time it right, you’ll be able to have a couple of hours to explore before the next train comes through that you’ll have to catch.

The first things you notice when you pull up are the baby blue roofs and brick buildings. Look a little past the station and you’ll notice a beautiful brick tunnel. That was built in 1835!

Other things to note are the Pullman carriages that sit on platform 4 when the dining service is not running (Monday-Wednesday and morning/late afternoon) and the signal box (big brick building) by the crossing.

I can’t say this is the most instagrammable station out of all the North Yorkshire Moors Railway stations, because each station is so unique and I can’t choose, BUT you will definitely get some great pictures in and around the station.

The Engine Sheds

Start your walk towards the tunnel and go through it! (It’s very dark walking through, so be careful!). At the end, you’ll see the start of the first engine shed and all the behind-the-scenes stuff. It’s free to walk around, so that’s another win!

If you walk into the shed you should be able to catch your first glimpse of a steam locomotive being restored. It’s cool to see an engine taken apart and how many odd pieces fit together to make the wheels turn or the boiler work.

Continue down the marked path and you will see even more sheds and a lot of train tracks. This is the area where they not only restore more locomotives but keep up with the maintenance of current steam and diesel locomotives and prep their engines for the busy day ahead.

Sandals or flip-flops are not the best options to be walking around the train yards so try to wear closed-toed shoes and they will get a little bit dirty because of all the ash that’s around. You might also get a little bit dirty, I did! They were prepping an engine and I was pretty close to it and they started cleaning out the front while it was steaming and the ashes flew up into the air and into my hair and on my cute white shirt. So keep that in mind.

Once you’ve finished walking around the engine sheds, it’s time to head back.

In between the tunnel and the station is a little cafe. You can grab some afternoon tea and sit right next to the tracks and watch the trains come and go if you wish.

The Station

Stick to the right side when you’re walking back to the platforms and hop onto platform 4.

If you’re visiting on a Monday-Wednesday or in the morning or late afternoon, then you will be able to catch a glimpse at the Pullman carriages. One of the carriages dates back to the 1930s and the rest are from the 60s.

You can take a wander down the platform and take a peek through the windows of the classic dining carriages (Agatha Christie anyone?).

Walk back over to platform 2 and explore the store before heading down to the bottom of the platform.

Once you get to the end, not only will you have a cool picture of the tracks and a cool picture of the steam train arriving from Whitby, but the 50s-style benches, lamps, and artwork make for a very cool photo.

Have you been on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway or checked out Grosmont Station?! Let me know about your experience below in the comments and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to get the latest updates on my adventures!