Join us for a unique festival experience with craft beers, live music, and vintage steam trains at the Bluebell Railway Beer Festival!
Imagine sipping a special Sussex brew in the industrial splendour of a locomotive running shed, listening to great bands, and watching steam trains puff up and down the line. Hop on that train and journey to other stations to tick another great beer or cider off your list.
The beer
Choose from a variety of different cask beers and enjoy a fine selection of cider and perry too! Beer aficionados will be pleased to hear that priority will be given to Sussex breweries, with an aim of offering each local brewery an opportunity of supplying one of their ales, likewise with cider and perry.
Our largest bar will be situated in the locomotive running shed at Sheffield Park Station alongside the main stage, but there will be ten special cask ales at the Horsted Keynes Station and likewise, ten different ones at East Grinstead Station. That’s a great start to your visit if you are coming from East Grinstead and a reason to steam through the countryside and visit the unique and rural location of Horsted Keynes Station. Regular shuttles will run between Sheffield Park Station and Horsted Keynes Station all day, as well as operating our full line service.
All beers will be individually priced and sold by pint, half pint and third pint – giving the festival goer plenty of flexibility. A simple beer token system will be in operation, with beer tokens available for sale from outlets across the railway.
BLUEBELL RAILWAY BEER FESTIVAL GUIDE AND BEER LIST 2024
It’s here! Click HERE to view the 2024 Bluebell Railway Beer Festival guide and beers, ciders and perries on offer this year!
The food
Our catering outlets will be open and serving a range of hot and cold snacks. In addition, there will be mobile catering vans serving a variety of different options. The majority of these offerings will be situated at Sheffield Park Station, but snacks and light bites will be available at other stations.
The trains
A busy timetable will be running throughout all three days, including Friday and Saturday evening. The bar at Sheffield Park Station will close at 11pm, with the last rail service leaving Sheffield Park at 9:30pm on both Friday & Saturday, a bus service will be in operation to Haywards Heath from Sheffield Park after 11pm.
The music
We delighted to welcome a fantastic selection of bands and artists performing at our 2024 Beer Festival. They will be performing across either Sheffield Park or Horsted Keynes over the three day festival! Please view the full line-up below to see which artists will be performing at each location.
BLUEBELL RAILWAY CATERING LIST
To view the opening hours and menus of what is on offer from the railway for the festival, please click HERE
- Our main bars at Sheffield Park Station will be open 12pm – 11pm Friday, 11am -11pm Saturday and 12pm – 5pm Sunday.
- Horsted Keynes and East Grinstead bars will open at 12noon and close at 6pm on all three days.
Where to stay
Why not make a weekend of it? There are lots of great B&B’s and campsites in our area. Ouse Meadow Campsite is right opposite Sheffield Park Station and Wowo Campsite is just a short walk away. Looking for something a bit statelier? Find links to some classy local accommodation here.
There is an opportunity to purchase a souvenir glass which features our very special Bluebell Railway Beer Festival Logo and will be issued to you at the event upon presenting your itemised ticket. Any glasses not pre-sold will be available to purchase on the day. It is best to pre-order, as we have a limited stock and cannot guarantee on the day availability. You will be offered the chance to buy a glass during the ticket booking process.
