Santa Specials

SANTA SPECIALS/COVID UPDATE - THURSDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2020

As expected, it has been confirmed that our local area, West Yorkshire, is under Tier 3 restrictions.

We've reviewed the new Government guidance, spoken to Kirklees Council and taken expert advice, and we are thrilled to announce that - as a predominantly outdoor attraction & point-to-point transport provider - we CAN run our Santa Specials this December!

We've worked extremely hard to make our attraction COVID-secure, and we received high praise for our efforts after reopening this summer. We don't rest on our laurels and we've been working tirelessly to ensure our half-capacity Santa Specials have socially distanced seating for all visitor bubbles on the trains and around the outdoor areas.

We've had to make a few extra tweaks to the Santa plans this past week to ensure that we comply with current rules and regulations. We know you'll appreciate these tweaks are made with everyone's safety in mind and we hope you understand that this year's Santa experience will be slightly different to what you (and we!) expected.  However, it is our Christmas wish that your experience will be as magical as ever 🌟

Here are the necessary tweaks:

☆ The cafe at Clayton West Station will operate as a takeaway only, there will be NO option to dine inside nor the option to shelter inside the cafe in the event of inclement weather

☆ The public toilets in the station and the gift shop will be OPEN but there will no option to shelter in these areas in the event of inclement weather

☆ The two large marquees at Shelley Station will be opened up so that they are not enclosed spaces.  Heaters will be in the marquees but, with open sides, they will obviously be less effective. As per usual, we advise wrapping up warm!

☆ The Wishing Tree will be outside this year

☆ The reindeer food stations will be outside & socially distanced. Please respect this & wait patiently for your turn

☆ Shelley Tea Room and the BBQ will operate as takeaways only, with no option to dine/sit inside nor shelter from inclement weather

☆ Children will receive their individual activity packs (North Pole passport, crayons, reindeer food bag & Wishing Tree tag) upon arrival/check-in at Clayton West Station so there is no need for shared items

☆ The mulled wine/mince pie/biscuit/juice collection area will be in a covered walk-through area with a one-way system

☆ Perhaps the most important tweak that has been made is to your Grotto visit: we cannot operate the Grotto as an indoor attraction this year, even if visitors are just indoors for a couple of minutes. We have re-worked the experience so visitors will still meet/chat to Santa in their individual bubbles, have a sneaky peek into the Grotto, get a Santa selfie and receive that all-important gift.  However, it will all be done in a socially distanced way without visitors having to step foot over the Grotto threshold. We will also require adult visitors to wear face masks when having their meet & greet with Santa (subject to medical exemptions of course)

We'd like to thank you again for your support and patience, and believe us when we say we're REALLY excited to see everyone very soon for a bit of festive cheer!

If you do have any questions or queries, please send us an email at info@kirkleeslightrailway.com & we'll respond just as soon as we're able.

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This festive season, step aboard the steam-heated carriages of our Santa Specials & be transported to the North Pole.

Whilst at the North Pole, you can spend time saying hello to Santa & his jolly helpers at their cosy grotto which will be filled with sacks of presents for the good girls & boys.

Your return ticket will be valid for your journey from Clayton West Station to Shelley North Pole on reserved services to allow for socially distanced seat allocations.

The 2020 Santa Specials have been meticulously planned to allow for social distancing and other stringent COVID-secure measures.

TIMETABLE

FARES

Concessions, family tickets, discounts, vouchers, promotions, passes & offers are NOT available/valid on Santa Specials.

All bookings incur a £1.80 booking fee per transaction (not per ticket).

Advance booking is necessary - the Santa Specials WILL sell out! 

AGE CATEGORIES FOR GIFTS

PLEASE NOTE: the age on the ticket dictates the age-appropriate gift given by Santa. If your child's age is towards the end of a category, we advise moving up the the next age category.

Under 12 months
1 year old
2 years old
3 - 5 years
6 - 9 years
10 - 13 years
14 - 17 years

HOW TO BOOK

Tickets will be on sale ONLINE ONLY from 9.30am on Saturday 1 August 2020 from www.kirkleeslightrailway.com

This year, we are unable to accept bookings over the phone or in person as a result of reduced staffing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Please cooperate with us on this.

PLEASE NOTE

• Due to the reductions in staff/volunteers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, tickets for Santa in 2020 will NOT be available over the phone or in person unless specifically stated on the website booking page
• Seats aboard all Santa Specials are allocated. Any tickets booked together on one order will be seated together with no social distancing. We therefore require that bookings are made for one social bubble ONLY. Separate social bubbles should make separate bookings. For the avoidance of doubt, a social bubble is defined as ONE household + one SINGLE adult who lives alone OR one SINGLE parent + their children under the age of 18. A childcare bubble is NOT a social/support bubble
• Any bookings made for more than six people or with more than three adults will be automatically put on hold pending questioning by KLR staff
• These services feature illuminations and flashing lights at the stations, on the train and in the grotto. Please consider this when making bookings for those with sensitivities to flashing lights
• The last service on Christmas Eve (24 December) features a small fireworks display. Please consider this when making bookings for those with sensitivities to flashing lights and/or loud noises
• Concessions, family tickets, discounts, vouchers, passes & offers are NOT available/valid on Santa Specials
• Face coverings WILL need to be worn on the Santa trains (unless you are under 11 or have an exemption), in the station facilities, in the marquees & inside the Grotto. We will, of course, be led by Government & Public Health England guidance.

Please do not book onto these services if you are not happy to adhere to the above measures. Thank you.

CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY

Once purchased, tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable unless the service is cancelled by the railway.  If a service operates as scheduled but a ticket holder is unable to attend/use their tickets, no refund will be given.

The Kirklees Light Railway will do its best to operate the advertised train services. Should the KLR cancel an advertised train, tickets may be transferred to an alternative train (subject to availability) or a full refund may be given.

VOUCHERS, OFFERS, PROMOTIONS, DISCOUNTS & GROUPONS ARE NOT VALID FOR THIS EVENT.