Make it a Party We welcome group bookings and are happy to reserve seats and make any special arrangements whenever possible. Ideal for club, society, school outings or birthday parties and special celebrations. Special trains for larger parties. Steam or the Heritage diesel railcar.   1. As a general rule, for groups of 20 or more, we will happily reserve seats on our scheduled services free of charge and we can normally offer a generous discount of 15% off our normal fares for advance bookings. (For school groups, please see next column).   2. For larger groups, special trains can be arranged, either using a steam locomotive or our Heritage Diesel Railcar. This Railcar can often prove cheaper than steam, and a variety of on- train catering plus commentary on the route can be provided.   3. For something rather special, we have our First Class Officers' Saloon, which seats up to 22 people in first class comfort with panoramic views as you travel through the delightful Royal Forest. A service of tea, coffee and biscuits can be provided at seat, with the option of a finger buffet served in the Saloon if required. "First Class Officers' Saloon" 4. For the ultimate in civilised heritage rail travel, our acclaimed Royal Forester Dining Car service offers a full meal service for up to 44 people, with a fully licensed bar on board. "Royal Forester Dining" Please telephone the Dean Forest Railway on (01594) 845840 between 11am and 4pm or contact us by sending a message via the ‘contact us’ web page selecting the ‘Groups / Corporate / Parties’ button. Alternatively you can write to us at Dean Forest Railway, Forest Road, Lydney, Gloucestershire GL15 4ET. Please mark your envelope 'Group Travel Enquiry' for a speedier response.

Special facilities for School Educational Trips DEAN FOREST RAILWAY GETS TOP MARKS FOR EDUCATIONAL VISITS The Dean Forest Railway has shown itself to be at the top of the class for educational visits by being awarded a Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.   Awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, the Quality Badge combines for the first time learning and safety into one easily recognisable badge for all organisations providing learning outside the classroom experiences.   The DFR spokesperson Stuart Bearne said “Being awarded the Quality Badge is a real coup for all the staff here as it shows that we offer young people the type of high quality learning experiences they really benefit from. We're thrilled to get official recognition for our efforts and we look forward to welcoming even more children and young people from the local area to our Heritage Railway.   The Quality Badge was developed as part of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, a national initiative to ensure young people are given more opportunities to have these experiences as part of the curriculum. The badge is designed to make it easier for teachers to identify providers of quality educational visits. Organisations will display the badge as a signal to schools that their venue has met required standards, so teachers do not need to carry out their own risk or quality assessments.   Quality Badges offer teachers a guarantee that not only is a venue providing the sort of educational value that they can build on in class long after the visit but they also have the appropriate risk management structures in place."   We have some specially tailored packages for school parties, including educational fact sheets and briefing notes suitable For KS1, KS2 and KS3 levels relating to Railway Operation, the history of the Dean Forest Railway and the Victorian and Industrial Revolution eras.   For more details, please download our Teachers' Handbook by clicking here. Timeportals is a free creative learning resource supporting historical investigation in the classroom.  It consists of three creative learning interactives;  Amazing Artefacts, Museum Mystery and Talking Pictures, which help Key Stage 2 children to access the collections of the DFR & other museums in a fun way. All the activities are in line with the National Curriculum.  The resource can also be used by home users, via the internet, by going to www.timeportals.co.uk.   Download 'More Information for Group Organisers'   We recommend Group Organisers download our information sheet which provides more details and can be printed.   This file is available as a PDF: More Information for Group Organisers