Address: Station Rd, Wakes Colne, Colchester CO6 2DS, United Kingdom
Phone: +441206242524
Rating: 4.5
based on 172 reviews.
Attractions and Activities
Pros:
"We had a great time looking & getting a steam train ride on a steam weekend."
"Meeting (and riding on!) Thomas and his friends was undoubtedly the highlight."
"The site isn't too big – you could get from one end to the other in 5–10 minutes – but there's lots to see and do wherever you look."
"We spent a very pleasant half day here looking at the old signal boxes, engines and carriages."
"There is a shed to have a look round and also some bits and pieces to look at in the building at back."
"Wandered around the museum and model railway, then all went on the ride-on mini train."
"Great bit of history. There are all sorts of trains, carriages and other bits around the birth of the railway and it's evolution over the years."
Cons:
"So Disappointing..... When we arrived I could only see Thomas - Then we saw Toby but you could ride him 😔 Percy had broken down so he wasn't even on the tracks and Daisy was the only other character you could ride on!"
"Bored the kids and adults and can’t wait to get out of there."
"That said the site itself is pretty good in terms of history, although the rides are just shunting back and forwards instead of a dedicated line."
"Shame though that the class 306 EMU unit wasn't really in a well preserved state, just seems a bit neglected and rusting away in the sidings."
"Very small, not worth entry price, 6 rooms 2 sheds, took less than 40 mins to walk round it all."
"There seemed to be a lack of direction and route of the experience- lots of different activities in difficult places but little information on them and how to find them."
"Some interesting objects of interest but it just felt empty."
Staff and Volunteers
Pros:
"Staff are enthusiastic, and very helpful volunteers, full of knowledge."
"The staff were fantastic and made the experience even better. Friendly, polite, always waving and big smiles everywhere."
"Just been to the cafe here, the lady was so helpful with our order, especially as I wanted to change my order a bit."
"Very friendly and helpful staff and crew!"
"All the staff were great fun."
"The staff and volunteers are very friendly and helpful."
"Everyone working there was friendly, even the staff doing some building and restoration works who actually apologised to us for the building works."
Cons:
"Felt scammed to be honest."
"The Santa visit is honestly the worst Santa I've seen in 13years of taking my kids to see Santa!"
"A couple of members of staff we dealt with left us feeling unfortunately a bit disappointed."
"The fat controller didn't seem that friendly which again I found strange."
"The lady taking orders came across quite short mannered when taking our order."
"Martin the driver turning round & speaking to him in what felt like a rather rude manner."
"Only negative was Percy wasn't working and the food and drink prices were too high."
Facilities and Amenities
Pros:
"Food was delicious from the station cafe and it was novel sitting on the train to eat."
"Dogs are allowed and are able to ride the trams/trolleys too!"
"The platform 2 cafe serves hot and cold drinks and some lovely looking meals, there are kids meal options too, all reasonable in price."
"There are plenty of picnic tables dotted around and a green space for picnics."
"There is a good little cafe on site and also a small children's playground."
"Free parking is great."
"Toilets were clean and there's baby changing."
Cons:
"Complete waste of time and money."
"I didn't feel it was worth the £7 per ticket £14 total the time I went."
"I don't think it warranted the cost of entry."
"I think it was a bit overpriced and disappointing to be charged £10 for adults and £5 for children for such a small collection of running engines that just go backwards and forwards 4-6 times in a short track and an odd display of disused trains."
"The only downside was the small cafe, so would recommend a picnic."
"Expensive for what is available to see."
"The food options are rather limited and it is sold from a trailer and a small hut/shop."
Overall Experience
Pros:
"We had an absolutely lovely time here enjoying the Thomas experience."
"Wonderful day out with my son, it deserves more visitors."
"A great day out with or without a little one."
"All in all, an excellent day out for the family."
"Went there in a party of 5 today, age range of 23-78. We all had a great time."
"A truly lovely place."
"Fantastic place to visit with an enthusiastic 5yr old. Lots to see, great train rides and variety, very nice staff."
Cons:
"Gone is the '...mish-mash...' mentioned heretofore; replaced with a 'by the numbers', tourist attraction."
"One area in particular was very messy and hadn’t been cleaned or organised from the previous day it seemed."
"Place looked like a scrapyard and in a sorry state."
"Crammed in an old train carriage with loads of other people none of which were wearing face masks not personal and not nice and actually quite upsetting for how bad it was."
"It’s disappointing to go on a pretty rare family day out & come home feeling this way."
"A little disappointing, as the website seemed to sell the place as much larger and more bustling than it is."
"Paid £51 for 2 adults and one baby for Thomas the Tank Engine day. Badly organised, very long waits at every train journey."