Come to a beer festival with a difference at the Bluebell Railway!

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

Once again, the Bluebell Railway’s Beer festival will be proudly supported by the Sussex Branches of CAMRA.

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.

View the beer list from our 2023 event

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.

“But I don’t drink beer and I want to come with my friends and enjoy great music, food and steam trains!”

Don’t worry – there’s nothing stopping you! Other refreshments will be available through our licensed outlets including wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.

  • 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.

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.

Details of these will be announced very soon!

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!

Band & artist timings

Friday 20th

(SHEFFIELD PARK) QUIET TIME: 12:00-5:00 / RED: 5:00-7:00 / NOBLE JACKS: 8:00-10:30

Saturday 21st

(SHEFFIELD PARK) THE ROSELLEYS: 12:00-2:00 / XPERIMENT!: 3:00-5:00 / THE MAGPIES: 6:00-8:00 / INTO THE BLUE: 9:00-11:00

(HORSTED KEYNES) ONE JUMP AHEAD

Sunday 22nd

(SHEFFIELD PARK) DONKEY RIDERS: 12:00-2:00 / THE REMNANTS: 2:30-5:00

(HORSTED KEYNES) SHARON LAMLEY: 2:00-5:00

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.