Volunteers at Midsomer Norton Station have been working alongside other groups in the area to make Midsomer Norton a better visitor destination. Most recently, they held a Family Fun day in co-ordination with the Wansdyke Play Association and the Midsomer Norton Fayre.

At events at the station, visitors are offered a variety of activities, including bus rides up to the station and rides along the old Somerset and Dorset railway line up to the Chilcompton cutting. The Museum, shop, gardens and restored signal box are open for visitors on a Sunday and Monday when the working volunteers are there. Special events are held at other times.

The train rides are up to the Chilcompton cutting, which was filled in with a variety of hardcore materials when the line closed. The Volunteers’ new challenge is to build a new engine shed and siding. The Somerset and Dorset Heritage Railway at the station is looking for more volunteers to help them with the next exciting stage and ongoing maintenance.

Chair of Trustees, Stephen Lacey, is excited by the next big project. He says: “When I realise how derelict this station and line was when we started more than twenty years ago, I can scarcely believe how far we have come. The station environment is back to looking as it did in the old days, and we have even restored nearly a mile of Somerset and Dorset track.

“It is all down to a dedicated and changing group of volunteers over many years. Anyone who wants to join this lively group can come along to one of our Volunteer Days on the 8th, 9th, or 10th of September at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. and have a guided tour of the station and its projects.

The next visitor events at Midsomer Norton Station are the Volunteer Weekends of 8th and 9th September and the 15th and 16th September, as part of the national Heritage Weekend, but the station will also open when the cycle Tour of Britain passes by the station on 4th September.