Combined Days Out for Groups
of 15 or More Visitors
Daytrip
ideas: visit Milestones Museum
(Basingstoke), or Jane Austen's House, or take
a Canal Cruise, etc., AND take a meal on a steam train travelling
through delightful countryside in Hampshire, UK
The Watercress Line offers special
days out for groups;
combine a steam train
journey with a visit to another attraction. BOOKING
Our restored steam railway runs through ten miles of
delightful Hampshire
Countryside. This includes some of the steepest gradients of any steam
railway
in the south of England requiring us to use large engines to haul our
authentic
coaches 'Over the Alps' as railway men used to call this journey. The
railway
runs between Alton and Alresford, off the A31 Guildford to Winchester
road.
Our Combined
Days Out
are designed to offer groups an interesting
day out combining two completely different attractions with the
convenience
of just one booking made through our office at Alresford. Tea or
coffee,
and biscuits can also be served during the course of your (Monday to
Friday)
train journey by prior arrangement.
Lunch may be taken in one of
Alresford's many inns or cafés, or in
the station buffet. Our 'Enjoy a Walk Around Alresford' leaflet is
available
to add to your day's enjoyment.
Please refer to the Watercress Line's Railway
Timetable for the
train times to
coordinate
with each of these Days Out. For further details, for a Booking Form,
or
to check on availability of dates, please phone,
e-mail
or fax the railway's Reservation Department.
Who's
there dealing with my
stuff?
For all Combined Days Out for Groups (minimum
of 15 people) a 25% deposit is payable with the booking,
the balance
to be paid two weeks before (or on) the day of your visit.
If
your party will need a coach parking
space at Alresford,
please request when booking
Combined Days Out for Groups in 2007
| Milestones Museum
Bring Hampshire to life at the new living
history museum in
Basingstoke.
Wander down cobbled streets, chat with staff in period costume and
explore
the shops and factories to experience everyday life in the period from
1810
to 1950. See how many shop and home items you remember! Milestones may
be
visited any day that the railway is running, other than in December
Click picture for more details
|
"Mrs Cox"  |
|
Museum of Army Flying
Click picture for more details
|
 |
|
Gilbert
White's House and Oates Museum
Click picture for more details
|
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Basingstoke
Canal Boat
Cruise
Sample two traditional forms of
transport from days gone by in this
leisurely
day out combining a canal boat trip and a steam train journey. Take a
morning
cruise on
John
Pinkerton, the Basingstoke Canal 67 ft traditional
style canal narrow
boat. The canal cruise starts at 10.30 a.m. weekdays and 11.00 a.m. at
weekends.
After the cruise drive to Alresford for an afternoon return steam train
journey
to Alton and back on the Watercress Line. The boat starts from Colt Hill, Odiham (April - June) and from
The Barley Mow,
Winchfield (July - September)
Click picture for more details
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The canal is renowned as one of the most
attractive
in the country. It was fully restored over a period of some 25 years
with
much of the work being done by volunteers, finally re-opening
throughout
in 1991. The canal is most attractive and peaceful, with an abundance
of
wildlife.
The boat has all-weather protection. There is a bar on board
and light
refreshments are on sale. Bring your own packed lunch; or have lunch
delivered
to the boat available at extra cost by direct arrangement with a
caterer
(details on request).
Numbers
Maximum of 50
Dates
Weekends from Easter until end of
September and weekdays that the railway operates May to September
except
for Mondays
|
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Jane
Austen's House
Jane
Austen's House is
situated in the delightful village of Chawton, 1
mile SW of Alton.
This museum is a charming red brick 17th century house. It was Jane's
last
home where she lived with her mother, and her sister Cassandra, from
1809
until 1817. Here Jane revised her earlier manuscript novels Sense
and
Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger
Abbey,
and then wrote Mansfield Park, Emma,
and Persuasion.
Although Jane Austen's house is closer to our station at Alton, we
recommend
an itinerary based on a return train trip from Alresford. You can catch
either
the first train from Alresford, returning in time for lunch, and visit
Jane
Austen's house in the afternoon; or visit the house in the morning (it
opens
at 11.00 a.m.) and take the afternoon return train trip from Alresford.
Dates:
Any day that the railway operates
from 1st March to end of October
Chawton is signed off the roundabout at the junction of the A31 and A32
situated
at the western end of the Alton by pass. Coach parking is opposite the
museum
and refreshments are available in the village.
|
Stairs
at Jane Austen's House make this trip less suitable
for those with walking difficulties, etc.
Click picture for more details
|
If
your party will need a coach parking
space at Alresford,
please request when booking
The
Watercress Line, The Railway Station, Alresford, Hampshire, England,
SO24 9JG
Tel
No: 01962 733810
Fax No: 01962 735448
reservations@watercressline.co.uk
|
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