The Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells has teamed up with family owned picture-perfect Birchden Vineyards in Groombridge. The combination of a nostalgic steam train ride through the Wealden countryside with a vineyard tour and wine tasting experience will be a day out to remember.
Birchden Vineyards’ delectable English wines are made with love by a small family and community-run team. The limited-edition wines are sold via the cellar door, known as ‘The Tasting Den’, and each bottle is a time capsule, carrying you straight back to that particular season. Birchden Vineyards also make hand-jarred unfiltered honey and home-grown apple juice that must be tasted to be believed. The experience starts when you travel by steam or heritage diesel train from Tunbridge Wells West or Eridge to Groombridge.
Passengers will alight at Groombridge Station and take the 30 - 40 minute scenic walk to the Vineyard to enjoy a vineyard tour and wine tasting flight before returning to Groombridge Station to make the journey home.
The wine tasting includes 3 x 75ml glasses:
• The Gregarious Goose - Still Bacchus white
• The Foxy Vixen - Still Pinot Noir rosé
• The Charmed Finch - Sparkling Pinot Noir rosé
Birchden Vineyards also have a coffee truck ‘The Blackbird’ open every weekend serving coffee and hot drinks, along with delicious crêpes and savoury galettes to enjoy with a chilled glass of wine. Itinerary and booking details Tours are now available to book and are running from Saturday 1 March 2025. The vineyard tour will last approximately 90 minutes and will involve a walk in the vineyard on uneven ground, so please come with suitable footwear and clothing for potential wet and cold weather.
Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead. Transportation to and from the station is possible but needs to be booked prior to your visit, contact the team at Birchden Vineyards to arrange. Please allow 30-40 minutes if you intend to walk through the countryside from Groombridge station to Birchden Vineyards.
Bookings from 1 – 29 March 2025
12:00 Vineyard tour - Board the Spa Valley Railway 11:00 train at Tunbridge Wells West Station and travel to Groombridge arriving at 11:16.
Bookings from 3 to 19 April
12:00 Vineyard Tour - Board the Spa Valley Railway 11:15 train at Tunbridge Wells West Station and travel to Groombridge, arriving at 11:31.
14:00 Vineyard Tour - Board the Spa Valley Railway 12:45 train at Tunbridge Wells West Station and travel to Groombridge, arriving at 13:01.
Returning to Tunbridge Wells West Trains depart Groombridge in the Tunbridge Wells bound direction at 14:46 and 16:16, please ensure you allow plenty of time to get back to Groombridge station, we recommend arriving at 14:40 or 16:10 to ensure you don't miss the train, the last service bound for Tunbridge Wells is at 16:16! The experience will require a booking to be made separately for the train journey and the vineyard experience.
• Train travel is £10 per adult, and £5 per child.
• The wine tour and tasting experience is £30 per adult and £15 per child (to include a glass of apple juice).
To book visit www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk or https://birchdenvineyards.co.uk/
Media enquiries to Caroline Edmunds at Pennington PR 07775 943305 or 01892 616647.
Notes to Editors
About the Spa Valley Railway
The Spa Valley Railway is a 5-mile heritage railway operating steam and diesel trains using vintage rolling stock between Tunbridge Wells West in Kent and Eridge in East Sussex, 4-miles of the railway is the responsibility of the Spa Valley Railway to manage, and 1-mile is undertaken by a mainline railway contractor/Network Rail.
Founded in 1985 by the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society (a registered charity), the railway is owned by the Wealden Railway Company with the supporting charitable organisation being the majority shareholder.
Over 85,000 visitors travel on the Spa Valley Railway each year and the heritage railway is the biggest tourist attraction in Tunbridge Wells. 50% of the railway’s passengers travel on the Polar Express Train Ride each November & December with the other 50% travelling on standard train rides or dining experiences between January & October.
About Birchden Vineyards
Just outside Groombridge, East Sussex, you’ll find Birchden Vineyards. It’s a little slice of heaven; a family-run, 23-acre working farm where the owners work with nature and the community to lovingly produce mouth-watering wines, honey and apple juice.
Co-owned by – Tom & Andrea Lindeyer and Ralph & Jane Lindeyer – Birchden Vineyards became home to their families in 2019 when they began working tirelessly to revive the unruly vines and surrounding farmland to reveal all the magic that their beautiful farm now offers. The farm now boasts a flourishing orchard, beehives, a wildflower field, a lake teeming with wildfowl, and a diverse wildlife habitat all reflecting the owners ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship.
From March to September, ‘The Tasting Den’ is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 12:00 - 4:00 for guided wine tasting experiences and wines to drink by the glass.
The coffee truck ‘The Blackbird’ is operating on weekends serving coffees, a range of hot drinks, sweet crêpes, savoury galettes and snacks from 10:00 – 2:00.
Please note the opening hours are seasonal, so please check the website for the latest opening times.
Train Travel plus Wine Tasting must be book separately
Address
New Wine Tasting & Steam Train Experience at the Spa Valley Railway
Neville Terrace
TN2 5QY
Contact
Links
