Winter Works Open Days 2024/5
A chance for visitors to see behind the scenes during our closed winter period. Future dates to be announced.
Please see our What’s On page for more information.
2024/5 Winter Works Open Days
Entry is free to the site on Winter Maintenance days. However a suggested donation of £5 per head would be welcome. There is a charge for car parking.
Opening Times
| Car Park | Site | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30 – 15:00 | 10:30 – 14:00 (last entry at 13:30) | 10:30 – 14:00 |
Winter Work Open Days
| October October | Saturday 12th Saturday 26th |
| November November | Saturday 9th Saturday 23rd |
| December December | Saturday 7th Saturday 21st -TBC |
| January 2025 January 2025 | Saturday – 11th Saturday – 25th |
| February 2025 February 2025 | Saturday – 8th Saturday – 22nd |
| March 2025 March 2025 | Saturday – TBC Saturday -TBC |
2025 Steaming Days
There is a charge to enter the site on steaming days. We operate an on-line booking system with Art Tickets (from Art Fund, supporting museums and art galleries across the UK). Booking recommended but not essential. However you can also pay on entry.
Opening Times
| Car Park | Site | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 17:00 | 10:00 – 16:30 | 10:30 – 16:30 (last entry at 15:30) |
2025 Steaming Dates
| Month | Saturday | Sunday | Monday |
| April | 20 | 21 | |
| May | 4 | 5 | |
| May | 25 | 26 | |
| June | 28 | 29 | |
| July | 26 | 27 | |
| August | 24 | 25 | |
| September | 27 | 28 |
Admissions
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
| Adult (over 16) | £12.50 | £11.00 |
| Child (under 16) | FREE | FREE |
| Carer | FREE | FREE |
| Kennet and Avon Canal Trust Member *with a valid membership card | £5.50 | £5.00 |
| National Art Pass Member *with valid membership card | £6.00 | £5.37 |
Pop-Up Refreshments (Steaming Days Only)
While you are at Crofton don’t forget to visit the pop-up refreshment tent.
We will be serving tea, coffee and a variety of soft drinks as well as cakes, biscuits and other delights to keep you sustained while visiting the engines and meeting our wonderful volunteers.
Open 10:30 to 16:00
All proceeds from the pop-up will be donated to Crofton, helping ensure its future.
2025 Non-Steaming Days
There is no charge to enter the site on non-steaming days except for Special Events. There is a charge for car parking and to visit the station itself to view the boiler and engines (see below). Advance booking is not required on non-steaming days.
Opening Times
| Car Park | Site | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30 – 16:30 | 10:30 – 16:00 (last entry at 15:30) | 10:30 – 15:00 |
Non Steaming Dates
| Month | Sunday |
| April | 27 |
| May | 11 18 |
| June | 1 8 15 22 |
| July | 6 13 20 |
| August | 3 10 17 31 |
| September | 7 14 21 |
Admissions
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
| Adult (over 16) | £5.80 | £5.25 |
| Concession (over 60) | £5.25 | £4.75 |
| Child (under 16) | FREE | FREE |
| Carer | FREE | FREE |
| Kennet and Avon Canal Trust Member *with a valid membership card | FREE | FREE |
Private Group Tours 2024
Throughout the year we offer private group tours via prior arrangement on selected days of the week. A group is a minimum of 8 people.
£8.50 per person, includes tea, coffee and biscuits on arrival.
For more information or to book a visit, please contact us.
Car Parking
There is a charge for parking on all open days.
There is a tarmacked and bay-marked chargeable Pay and Display car park at Crofton Beam Engines with 32 spaces for cars, 2 accessible spaces and a bay for motorcycles.
| Up to 2 hours | £1.50 |
| All Day (until 17:00) | £3.00 |
On large steaming and other event days ample additional parking is available in the adjacent field, accessible via the short track to opposite the main gate. The grass surface of this parking area may not be suitable for all vehicles and use is at the driver’s discretion and risk.
Steam Experience
Have you ever wanted to stoke a huge coal fired boiler or operate the oldest fully working beam engine in the world?
Now is your chance!
Accompanied by an experienced and knowledgeable volunteer, you can light and stoke the boiler, work with the Duty Engineer, enter areas not normally seen by the public, prepare the engines for steaming, and finally take control of the oldest, working beam engine in the world.
Gift Aid
We invite visitors to support Crofton and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust as a registered charity by Gift Aiding their admission.
If you pay the Gift Aid admission including the extra 10% donation for the purposes of HMRC’s Gift Aid scheme. This then allows the Trust to reclaim 25% of the total price paid from the Government at no cost to the visitor or the organisation.
For full information about Gift Aid, please see our page about Gift Aid.
If you have any enquires, please do ask when you visit.
