Anson Engine Museum
Go on a steam day. The rest of the time this volunteer run collection of gas and oil engines, one of the largest in the country, sits still on the site of the old Anson Colliery in Poynton.
Brookside Miniature Railway
- Cost
- £2.50 a ride, under-2s free
- Ages
- 1 to 8
- Where
- Poynton, Cheshire
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Just turn up
Brookside Miniature Railway runs round the edge of Brookside Garden Centre on London Road North in Poynton, and the ride is over half a mile long. Along the way you pass the West Bridge signal box, a 1 in 36 incline, a fairy wood, the loco and carriage sheds and the motive power depot, which is a lot of railway for a garden centre. Toddlers who like trains will want to go round again. Let them.
A ride is £2.50 for anyone over 2, with under-2s free, and you buy tickets at the station shop by cash or card. There is no booking. Regulars can buy ten rides for £25 and get two free. Trains run 10:30 to 4pm, Thursday to Sunday and bank holidays, and dogs are not allowed on board. Under-16s have to ride with an adult.
The themed runs are the best value in the calendar because the fare stays the same. Spookside is on from 22 October to 1 November 2026, with the line decorated and staff in fancy dress at weekends, and a vintage funfair on 31 October and 1 November. Christmas trains follow from 26 November to 24 December. Brookside Pottery, a paint-a-pot studio, has reopened on the same site at weekends and in school holidays.
What it costs: £2.50 a ride for everyone, under-2s free. A 10+2 ticket is £25 for 12 rides with no expiry. No booking, pay at the station shop by cash or card. Special event trains cost the normal fare.
Know before you go
- Trains run 10:30 to 4pm Thursday to Sunday and bank holidays only, so Monday to Wednesday is a wasted trip outside special events.
- Spookside runs 22 October to 1 November 2026, decorated but not too scary for small ones, with the vintage funfair on 31 October and 1 November. Christmas trains run 26 November to 24 December, same £2.50 fare.
- No dogs on the train, and under-16s must ride with an adult.
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