WITH JUST over 100 days to Christmas, Moors Valley Railway have announced that a number of their slots for their popular festive trips are already sold out.

This is the first time the family attractions have been able to host their Christmas events in two years following last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic.

Having announced the return of their Santa Special experiences at the beginning of August, Moors Valley Railways say they now have limited availability on selected days in the lead up to Christmas.

Manager Lisa Flay said: “The Santa Specials have been running since the 1990s and in that time, it has expanded a lot.

“We already have limited availability on December 18 and 19 and we have got places on December 11 and 12 but even most of those slots are limited now.

“The middle of the week has got the most availability.”

The hour-long train trips will start from Lakeside Station and include festive music and a visit to Santa’s Grotto where both adults and children can collect presents from Father Christmas.

Each ticket, priced at £22.50 will also include a selection of festive refreshments such as mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas cake.

The core team of four members of staff at Moors Valley Railways will begin to put up decorations after the October half term in expectation of a busy festive period.

On top of their main Santa Specials, Moors Valley Railway are also offering a morning session on December 16 for children with SEN.

This session is designed to be more relaxed, with fewer numbers and no loud music.

Lisa added: “People are excited to get into the Christmas spirit I think because for a lot of people, they didn’t have much a Christmas last year.

“A lot of events around Christmas weren’t able to go ahead so I think a lot of families have decided to get things sorted early this year.

“We do everything ourselves. We do the whole winter display which will be up for around four to six weeks.

“We will be quite busy this year, but we enjoy it as well.”