Here at the Watercress Line, we offer a wide range of private hire options for corporations ranging from meeting room space to steam hauled dining trains to management team building sessions as Driver and Fireman on the footplate.
A UNIQUE MEETING VENUE - THE GOODS SHED
Our meeting room is situated in the Old Goods Shed at Alresford Station and can be organized in a variety of ways from presentation seating accommodating 60 to a meeting room style with tables allowing 40 to work comfortably.
The Goods Shed is equipped with hi-speed WIFI which is available for a small fee as part of your booking. An overhead projector and screen is also available on request as is a flip chart.
Coffee, Tea and a range of refreshments are available. These range from morning/afternoon tea to cooked luncheon. Please discuss with our Reservations staff your requirements at time of booking.
You may wish to help break the day with dinner served on a steam train? We can accommodate parties of 60+ on such trains and these offer a unique and memorable part of any corporate function.
A ROOM WITH A VIEW
We also offer a unique meeting room on wheels in the form of our observation saloon. This special coach allows panoramic views of the passing landscape as well as a private venue to hold meetings. Catering can be provided and these options vary from tea/coffee through to more formal dinners.
Depending on the length of time required, whether you wish to have the coach hauled by a steam engine or stationary in the platform, will depend on the hire price. Please note that this coach will accomodate a more intimate number of passengers in a board room style - 14 passengers maximum.
MANAGEMENT TEAM BUILDING
Driving a steam engine requires team work and none more so than the interaction between Driver and Fireman on the footplate. We offer footplate experience courses that will really help build relationships and interaction, helping breakdown boundaries and foster better relationships. Failure to communicate will result in an engine going nowhere!
Due to the nature of the environment on the footplate, space is limited to 2 participants at a time and the duration of the experience can vary depending on the number of participants wishing to take part.
Footplate experiences range in price from £250.00 per person for 3 hours to £400 for 7 hours approx. For the ultimate teambuilding experience, we offer a ‘Day in the life’ where 2 participants spend the full day, starting at 6.30am preparing the locomotive, lighting the fire and oiling up, through working together throughout the day, taking it in turns as driver and fireman, through to disposal at the end of the day, dropping the fire and cleaning the smoke box. After a 12 hour day, participants will have forged strong relationships with each other which they can take forward into business life, offering competitive advantage as well as unique personal achievement. This course is priced at £1200.00 per person.
TRANSPORT CONNECTION
We are situated in the heart of Hampshire in close proximity to a number of major towns and cities – Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Basingstoke, Guildford and London. With good road links using the M3 and A31, we also can offer a unique rail link using our railway connection at Alton station – a mainline link into London Waterloo. Delegates can travel by South West Trains to Alton, cross the platform and join our steam trains, taking them to Alresford and The Old Goods Shed for meetings, or to join the Observation Saloon waiting in the platform ready to depart.
CAR PARKING
There is a pay and display car park at Alresford Station with very reasonable rates of £1.80 all day. The car park is situated outside the Goods Shed and Station, so delegates do not have far to walk.
FLEXIBILITY
With such a range of options to choose from, it’s not possible to list every combination and possibility here. Why not contact our Reservations Department with your requirements and allow us to quote a meeting to remember for all the right reasons!
Call Reservations on 01962 733810 or send us an email using RAILMAIL, select Reservations from the drop down menu.