Here at Railway Retreats we take pride in conserving old carriages to become welcoming, unique spaces for you and your family to stay.
We are located in the beautiful Rother Valley on the Kent and East Sussex border in Northiam.
Located near Bodiam, Tenterden, Rye and Hastings, the carriages provide a fantastic base for you to explore the local countryside and coast with attractions and activities to suit everyone.
The carriages are situated within Northiam Steam Railway Station, a working station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway line. You don’t even need to leave the carriages to get the full railway experience as the steam trains will pull up at the station just over 20ft away.
We have painstakingly given some wonderful, care-worn rolling stock an exciting new life as modern, clean, inviting bases for you to relax in. We carry out as much of the work ourselves as we can, transforming the interiors into unique quirky spaces. The exteriors are painted in period colours and we retain as many original features as possible.
The gallery below will show you just a fraction of the hard work that has gone in to rejuvenating not just the carriages, but the area which they now call their forever home.
Sophie & Ben
bookings@railwayretreats.co.uk
Restoration gallery
The arrival of the MK1 RBR was a bit of a squeeze but Reid Frieght managed it.
Two rotators were used to lift the carriages on to the track. The overhead power lines made the lift challenging.
After 8 hours the carriage was in place!
The bar area after the refit.
After being stripped, the carriage revealed how detailed the craftsmanship was when the carriages were built back in the 1960's.
The cold store that is now the master bedroom.
Our little helper!
9 months after delivery.
The delivery of the 'TOAD' was a little easier than the MK1.
The 'TOAD' being moved to its final position.
The 'TOAD' is stripped, blasted and ready to be restored to its former glory!
Overlooking the Northiam platform is the perfect place for our 'TOAD'.
The Ammunition wagon before its full restoration.
The original ceiling is one of our favourite features of this War Department wagon.
When the carriages were complete it was time to start on the gardens.