If you are after a half-term plan that works for both the little ones and the grown-ups, the Watercress Line has split its Halloween weekend into two very different experiences. The heritage railway, which runs ten miles between New Alresford and Alton in Hampshire, is turning spooky from 29 to 31 October, and the two main events are aimed at opposite ends of the age scale.
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The family-friendly one is the Halloween Witches of Watercress Woods, with trains leaving Alresford at 12.30pm and 3pm and heading out towards Alton before coming back. It runs about an hour and forty minutes, so it is worth allowing two hours for the whole thing. It starts at Alresford, where the Sweet Sellers greet you, and on board you meet Hansel and Gretel and help protect the train from the witches. Every child gets a goodie bag with a colouring activity and something to eat, there are photo opportunities with the characters, and the story carries through the journey. Tickets are £35 for a seat, with a £2.50 booking fee, and under-twos go free on advanced booking, though you will need a 2 plus ticket if you want them to have a goodie bag. Groups of fifteen or more can arrange a discount through emma.morris@watercressline.co.uk.
At the other end is the Halloween Horror Train, which is strictly 18 plus. It also runs from 29 to 31 October, but the train leaves Alresford at 7pm and does not stop at Alton, turning back instead. The story centres on the mysterious Professor of the World of Spirits and his Séance Train, and the experience lasts about an hour and forty minutes, again with two hours to allow for it. It comes with allocated seating, a complimentary alcoholic punch on arrival, an interactive story with various characters, and an exit through a special cleansing carriage. Tickets start at £35, and there are spooky edible add-ons you can pick when booking. Like the daytime run, seating for one, two or three people may be shared with others, as standard coach seating is in tables of four.
Both events leave you with the same practicalities. Food and drink are available at the Alton Kiosk and the West Country Buffet at Alresford, and there is a buffet car on board for hot and cold drinks and snacks. If you are bringing the family, the buffet at Alresford also does homemade cookies, cream teas, bacon baps, hot food and children's picnic boxes with a set of markers, and there are outdoor picnic areas at Alresford and Ropley stations. For the kids, there is a play park with a locomotive, a walk over the King's Cross footbridge that stood in for a Harry Potter film, the Young Engineer's Trail, free activity sheets and a nearly one kilometre ride on miniature locomotives on selected days, plus a gift shop at Alresford.
A bit of background helps set the scene. The line opened on 2 October 1865 as the Mid-Hants Railway and was built by the Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway Company. It was closed by British Rail in February 1973 and bought by the Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society in November 1975, with the section between Alresford and Ropley reopening in 1977 and the full line to Alton completed by 1985. It is now run by Mid-Hants Railway Ltd, a non-profit with a staffed workforce and more than 550 volunteers, and it pulls in around 125,000 visitors a year. It is known as The Alps because of its steep gradients, with a one in sixty climb up to Medstead and Four Marks, the highest station in Hampshire.
Published Date
4 October 2026
