Seaton Tramway
Seaton Tramway
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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About
Seaton Tramway operates narrow gauge heritage trams between Seaton, Colyford and Colyton in East Devon's glorious Axe Valley, travelling alongside the River Axe estuary through two nature reserves and giving an unrivalled view of the abundant wading bird life.The coastal resort of Seaton is now a gateway town to the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, whilst the historic town of Colyton is described as "Devon's Most Rebellious Town" for its part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685.The company originated at the Lancaster Electrical Company of Barnet, which manufactured battery electric vehicles. In 1949 its owner, Claude Lane, indulged his hobby by building a miniature 15” gauge tram, which he ran at garden fetes. This portable system enjoyed temporary homes at St Leonard’s and Rhyl before evolving onto the 2’ gauge Eastbourne Tramway.Many of the present trams were built at Eastbourne, but by the mid 1960’s the tramway’s success was outgrowing the mile line. Claude therefore began to look for alternative locations. In late 1969, Claude purchased the Seaton to Colyton section after the branchline had been closed by Dr Beeching in 1966 and, after a mammoth relocation from Eastbourne, the first section was opened in 1980. Since then the tramway has developed into one of Devon’s best loved attractions.New trams have been added to the fleet and the buildings have been much improved in order to meet the needs of the thousands of enthusiastic people who visit each year.
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.5
2,467 reviews
Excellent
1,824
Very good
505
Average
92
Poor
29
Terrible
17

minxy
Taunton, UK35 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
We were lucky enough to join the twilight Valentine tram special. Wow! What an amazing night. We had Prosecco on arrival, the trams were decked with hearts and music played throughout our journey to Colyton. Once at Colyton station we enjoyed a 3 course meal and there was a rose for every couple. The food was great, the staff friendly and there was a shared camaraderie with the other guests. At the end of the meal it was back on the tram to Seaton. Other travellers were from as far a field as London.
I would highly recommend looking at the special events on offer as they are exceptionally good value for money.
Written February 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for reviewing the Valentine Tram. So pleased to read that you & your partner enjoyed the evening, I will pass on your feedback to the team. Thank you & we hope you can join us again soon!
Written March 14, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Brizzle1973
Bristol, UK81 contributions
Dec 2022
We booked the polar express experience for 2 adults not sure what to expect but as we were in the area wanted to do something on an evening. It turns out to be the best choice!

The arrival experience, the shop and then in to the tram shed for the start was all well though out. The entertainers certainly got the kids involved and the adults too! The trams were great and you didnt feel cramped, the staff done an amazing job from the start with songs to keeping us entertained on the tram journey.

Arrival at the North pole was magical and well planned out , as two adults we were not sure how we would interact with Father Christmas but he made it all easy - plus the bell was a nice added bonus.

This is definately worth doing and we hope to return to the tramway during the day in the future and experience it in the daytime.

Thank you all for a magical time.
Written December 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for your review. You are never too old to visit the North Pole or Santa!!! Ever so pleased you enjoyed the journey. Please pop in and see us again when you are near. Wishing you a magical 2023!
Written January 2, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Angie A
13 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
We took the tram from Seaton through to Colyton. At Colyton station there is a cafe and gift shop. We walked up into the village which is very pretty and has a couple of pubs. We found a small garden centre which has a cafe serving sandwiches etc and some very delicious homemade cakes! As we'd bought Explorer tickets we stopped off at the Seaton Wetlands, which has a boardwalk so is accessible (we saw a gentleman on his mobility scooter who was able to access the hides). The trams are about every 20minutes so you don't have to wait too long and the staff are knowledgeable, friendly and obviously passionate about the tram line. If you're sitting upstairs on the trams wrap up warm, it can get a bit breezy.
Written September 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you so much for taking the time to review Seaton Tramway. Really pleased that you enjoyed your day out & we hope you can visit us again soon!
Written October 11, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jim B
4 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
We spent a great day the tramway buying a day rover ticket that allows unlimited travel breaking your journey at which ever stop you like. The cafe on the old southern railway station at Caypol the terminus was readonsblelly priced. A word of warning dont use the expensive council run car park in seaton it's very expensive. It's worth driving out to claypol to park in the tramways free car park.
On the journey the drivers gave a talk, each with there own individual amusing twist.
Written August 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for your review Jim B, much appreciated, we are very pleased you had a great day. We look forward to welcoming you again!
Written August 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rachel D
Bourne, UK29 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
We enjoyed our afternoon on the tramway. The children loved spotting the dinosaurs along the track.

The cafe at Colyton was great. Lovely cakes and fast service.

The children enjoyed the gift shop which had a good selection and was reasonably priced.

All the staff were very friendly and helpful.

It is a bit expensive for what it is but I didn’t mind paying because it goes towards the heritage.

The only thing I disliked was the queuing. We queued for about an hour to get on the outbound tram. I appreciate track capacity is limited but I would rather have sat on a tram at one the padding places for longer and learnt more about the area, the tramway etc than stood in the queue, particularly with young children to entertain. If you could book a specific time train in advance or be given a ticket when you joined the queue so you could leave the queue and come back at a set time for your tram that would make it more enjoyable.

I would definitely visit again as we enjoyed our ride.
Written August 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thanks for visiting, we're glad you enjoyed your ride! Unfortunately, our trams are only a certain capacity so at busier times, even with extra trams, we can sometimes experience queues as our lovely visitor like to experience our trams. Trams are every 20 minutes with extra trams in operation at least twice an hour. We currently experience slightly longer periods between tram arrival and reboarding as we have introduced rigorous covid procedures, spraying and wiping down our trams between every journey. We're sorry this slightly spoiled your day, but are happy to hear you'll visit again. Which we very much look forward to doing!
Written October 29, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

William R
Warrington, UK23 contributions
Jun 2022
We had been told about the Seaton Tramway by a neighbour of ours at home; she'd said it was a nice thing to see and do. So seeing it was a nice day on Monday, we decided to give it a go. (Monday 6th of June) Our initial thoughts were 'this looks nice'! The seemingly newly-built tram station in Seaton was very nice, and all seemed well. We were a tad disappointed that pensioner's tickets weren't available, but that was OK......bearing in mind the past two years we'd had and places like this had virtually closed due to lack of footfall.
The trams we went on were physically pretty small, and I'd guess that some 'larger' people, would have trouble getting up and down the very small staircase to get up to the open top deck. So beware!
Once moving, the tram rattled and rolled along at it's 15mph speed; initially at the back of a new housing estate, and then onto the wet-lands area. Plenty of birds could be see foraging about, which was quite nice; but once past there, there was nothing much else special to see. Nothing much more than the average Devon back lanes. The end stop at Colyton was Ok, with a nice cafe and gift shop. The trip back was again nice, but nothing to shout about.
So all in all, for us, it was all a bit underwhelming.
I realise the tramway and it's trams..... and its buildings, take a lot of money to keep going, but for us, we didn't feel that it was money well spent.
If we could have awarded 3 1/2 stars, that might have been a better score. Sorry.
Written June 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for your review and we are sorry you didn’t feel that you enjoyed your trip as much as you could. As we are a Narrow Gauge Tramway our trams are restricted in size but we do offer accessible trams that run everyday if needed which allow more room.
Written August 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Karen T
Bournemouth, UK6 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
Absolutely brilliant. What an amazing, magical and totally Christmassy experience. They don’t get much better than this. It really is an absolute must for any family. We’d definitely recommend watching the film before you go as the attention to detail is just amazing. We’ve done so many Santa experiences over the years and this has to be one of our most favourites. The staff put everything into it and made our experience so amazing. Special mention to the conductors on board this eve and to Chef Bean, Cracker, Candycane and Sugar. You guys were brilliant. We loved the whole experience and will never forget it.x
Written December 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. Over the moon to read that you had such a great time - I will pass on your feedback to all our lovely Conductors, Chefs and Elves - thank you. We hope you can join us again soon! Happy New Year, from all at Seaton Tramway x
Written January 2, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Alistair M
Northampton, UK207 contributions
Jun 2022
We were lucky enough to get a personal recommendation from some locals who suggested parking in Colyton and getting a return to Seaton rather than the other way round.

The trams and the story of their existence here is very interesting. Not all drivers gave the same commentary we noticed, all seemed very friendly, but only one gave us the back story.

We were impressed by the way that another passenger's disability scooter was accommodated onto the tram, they are so compact it seemed it might be a challenge. Getting up to the top deck is an interesting challenge and a squeeze up the stairs for anyone over 5 ft, but perhaps part of the experience all the same.

Trams run through the day until about 5.00pm at 20 minute intervals. There was plenty of space mid-week in June, maybe a bit busier in July/August or weekends.
Written June 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for your review Alistair - we hope to see you again soon!
Written August 15, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Zoe S
1 contribution
Dec 2022 • Friends
By far the best Christmas experience we have done!!! The polar express team were outstanding.
The kids and adults loved it and the kids have already asked to go again next year. Money well spent, thanks to all your team who made it so magical for us all hope you all have a merry Christmas 🎅 🎄
Written December 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you for your lovely review, we really appreciate you taking the time to feedback. It is absolutely wonderful to read that you enjoyed your experience and we look forward to welcoming you again next year. Best wishes for 2023! Seaton Tramway
Written December 27, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Ruth
Crowland, UK6 contributions
May 2022 • Family
I visited Seaton Tramway with my two primary school aged children today. We had a great time riding the trams, seeing the beautiful scenery and spotting the wildlife.
✨ Free parking at Colyton station
✨ Gift shop, tearoom, toilets and plentiful information about the trams and tramway at Colyton station and Seaton station
✨ The drivers were lovely, always smiling and very cheerful - they gave a little commentary about the tramway and stations which was short and sweet
✨ The food from the tearoom was delicious, fairly priced and looked lovely too, I had the BLT club and would recommend it. The menu is available on the website
✨ Seaton beach is a five minute walk from the tram station
Written May 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thank you so much for posting such a helpful review. We hope that you visit us again soon with all the family!
Written July 12, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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Seaton Tramway - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Seaton Tramway

Seaton Tramway is open:
  • Sun - Sat 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

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