Cheshire Best Kept Stations

News Item

North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership take on new CRO ….

The North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership have taken on a new CRO and are campaigning for new volunteers ….

Cheshire Best Kept Stations welcomes Chris Kinsella who has taken up the role as the new Community Rail Development Officer for the North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership.  Chris is looking forward forward to liaising with other Cheshire station groups, rail partnerships and community groups on joint ambitions.

Click here to find our more about the North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership.

Click here to visit their new website.  If you have any comments on the website please use their Contact Page to let them know.

 

St Benedict’s School children take their first ever train journey ….

2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway. In September 1825, the first public railway to use steam locomotives was opened, between Stockton and Darlington. See the web-site https://railway200.co.uk/ for information about how this anniversary is being commemorated nationwide.

The Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) and Northern Trains have helped the Reception Class of St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School, Handforth, to understand some history of this 200th anniversary and make what was, for some of the children, their first ever train journey.

Rosemary Thomason, the Chair of the volunteer group FoHS, visited the 4- and 5-year-old children at their school, and told them a little about railways and trains. She included the history behind Railway 200 and Handforth’s role in railways over the two centuries – and then gave the children some information about being safe at the station.

The next day, Mrs Ogden, Reception teacher at St Benedict’s, and her helpers walked the 25 children from the school to Handforth station, where they took the train to Alderley Edge. After some time playing in the park, they visited St Philip and St James Church for a quick singalong with Reverend Pye … and then took the return train back to Handforth and their school.

Jo Everett, Assistant Teacher, said “Many thanks to Northern Trains for providing our train tickets, and to Rosemary of the Friends. It was very much appreciated. Some of our children hadn’t been to a station before, let alone on a train, so it was a valuable opportunity for them to experience something new.“

Rosemary Thomason added “It was wonderful to see such excitement and joy from the children as I prepared them for their visit to Handforth Station. Our Friends group loves inspiring children – and others – to use our railways. We look forward to welcoming the next group, in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Exciting News for our Cheshire Best Kept Stations ….

We have some exciting news to share!

If you’re heading to your local supermarket, be sure to pick up the July edition of Cheshire Life.

The front cover says it all:

“Action stations – Our railway series departs at Delamere.”

This is the first in a bi-monthly series of articles celebrating Community Rail at our Cheshire stations — our very own Cheshire Best Kept Stations!

Written by our Founder and President, John Hulme BEM, the series shines a light on the people and stories behind our stations.
John says:

“It’s been a great privilege to write for Cheshire Life, but none of this would be possible without the hard work of the station groups and the dedication of our rail staff to the stations.
Without your care, I wouldn’t have stories to tell.
We begin with Delamere on the Mid Cheshire Line – winners of the Cheshire West and Chester Award 2024.
It may be a small village station, but it has a remarkable story.
Thanks to the support of the Cheshire Life photographer, Kirsty Thompson, we’ve captured some fantastic images to bring it to life.”

👉 Click here to take a sneak peek at the six-page spread.

Coming up in the series:

  • September edition: Nantwich Railway Station – our 2024 Overall Winner
  • November edition: Altrincham Interchange– marking Remembrance and stories from the Great War

We’d love you to pick up a copy, have a read, and let us know what you think.

And if you have a story to share about your Cheshire station — we’d love to hear from you!

The magazine is available at supermarkets and newsagents across Cheshire, North Wales, and what many still call “Old Cheshire” – Warrington, Wirral, and Stockport.

If you’re outside the area, why not grab a copy when passing through a Cheshire station with a newsstand?

Or better still — subscribe!

Subscriber benefits:

  • Just over £3 per copy with a 12-month plan
  • Use code LOVE25 at checkout to get a £10 voucher (redeemable at Amazon, M&S, John Lewis, Waitrose and more)
  • Home delivery, plus exclusive invites to Cheshire Life events and newsletters
  • Access to the digital edition on smartphone, tablet and desktop
  • Explore 100’s of previous issues to browse and share
  • Subscriptions starting now will receive the September edition (and possibly August, depending on timing)

👉 Click here for full subscription details.

We’re very grateful to Joanne Goodwin, the editor of Cheshire Life, for inviting us to contribute to Cheshire’s top monthly magazine.

And finally — please help spread the word by sharing this exciting news on your own social media channels.

Cheshire Best Kept Stations announce their 2025 Photographic Competition Award ….

Cheshire Best Kept Stations are pleased to announce details of our 2025 Photo Competition in collaboration with Cheshire Life Magazine.

We invite Station Friends groups and other Community Groups to showcase your stations and the work that you are all doing on them.

The theme is Making a Difference.

Show us what makes your station Special:

Is it the people, the gardens, the buildings, even the view from the platforms?

Colour, Composition and Lighting all help to make a great photo.

Time of day and even the season can make a difference.

So plan your photos carefully and take your time.

Modern phones can take excellent quality photos so don’t worry if you don’t have a high spec digital camera.

Essential requirements:

  • Photos must be high resolution and in JPEG format
  • Photographs should have been taken this year
  • The filename of each image should include the name of your station, a title, and the name of the photographer
  • A maximum of three photos per station
  • Any photos that show health and safety contraventions on the railway or station will be disqualified
  • This competition is not open to professional photographers

In submitting photos, you confirm that:

  • All people within the photos have provided consent for them to be used in publicity including print, online and all social media channels
  • If the photos contain images of children under the age of 18 written consent must be secured from the parent or guardian, either directly or via their school/college
  • You are the owner of the image(s) and agree to it/them being used in publicity. Or, the image(s) is/are not your own but you have the relevant permissions/consent to submit on behalf of the owner, and they agree to them being used in publicity. In this case, you must state who you are submitting on behalf of

Your entries should be emailed to nominations@bestkeptstations.org.uk and we should receive them by 17.00 on Saturday 13th September.

We are delighted to be working with Cheshire Life magazine on the competition.

Shortlisted entries will be featured in a subsequent edition of the magazine and there will then be a public online vote via our website.

The winner will be announced at the 2025 Awards Evening when the Cheshire Life Photographic Award will be presented.

Click here for further details of our 2025 Awards including nominations for our Art Project, Community Engagement, Sustainability and Railway 200 Awards which should also be submitted by 3rd October.

Cheshire Best Kept Station Nominated Awards 2025 are announced …..

Cheshire Best Kept Stations are pleased to announce the launch of our 2025 Awards.

Nominations are invited for the following 2025 Nominated Categories by Friday 3rd October 2025 …..

Please note, you do not have to nominate your station in our regular station award categories.
Our team of judges will be out judging Cheshire’s Best Kept Stations for these awards between 9th June and 9th August 2025.

Community Engagement Award
How are you engaging with your members, the travelling public, the local community (including other local community groups of all types including local schools)?

How do you publicise what you do? How do you encourage others to get involved with the station? Does what you do encourage more people to take an interest in the station as well as rail travel generally? How does what you do promote mental wellbeing?

What use do you make of emails, phone calls, websites, blogs, face to face meetings and activities, zoom meetings etc? What sort of activities do you engage in? Do you get involved/work with other groups locally away from your station? How do you hope to expand your community engagement in the future?

This nomination covers anything that you have undertaken between 1st September 2024 and 30th September 2025 inclusive as well as your plans for the future as mentioned above. 

Art Projects Award
Tell us about any art project(s) that you have delivered in the last year

How was the project chosen and what consultation within the community took place? Who was involved in the delivery of the project and how was the project funded? What was the impact of the art-work and how has it improved the station?

Art projects are not simply confined to pictures but can include anything of an artistic nature as well as the written word (such as sculptures, carvings, poetry displays, posters promoting the station or community, inclusivity, booklets etc.).

This nomination includes anything that you have undertaken between 1st September 2024 and 30th September 2025

Sustainability Award
This is a wide-ranging category that covers anything which improves or promotes any type of sustainability at the station. What are you doing to improve the sustainability of your station activities? How are you resourcing your work?  How does your work benefit all types of wildlife in and around the station?  Do you have managed wild flower areas? Possible features could include rainwater harvesting, solar power, composting, use of recycled materials, planting to encourage pollinators, choice of drought resistant and low maintenance plants, the provision of bird and bat boxes, bug hotels, research into wildlife etc. plus working with specialist and other groups that promote sustainability.

Have you undertaken projects and activities to promote walking and cycling to and from the station or in and around your station? Do you provide walks booklets/leaflets?  Do you offer any practical help to others?  Have you organised and led walks that involve the use of rail (or other forms of public transport) in part?

This nomination is for any activities undertaken between 1st September 2024 and 30th  September 2025. 

Railway 200 Award
This year we are celebrating 200 years of modern railways in the world with the coming of the Stockton & Darlington railway. Celebrations are planned across the country with some national events taking place and a special website, www.railway200.co.uk giving news, information and materials to plan an event,

What are you doing to celebrate Railway200? It could be a community event, a commemorative historical display at your station, or simply branding an existing feature to let passengers know. This is a great opportunity to draw attention to the railway and the benefits of travelling by train.

This nomination is for any activities taking place between 1st January and 30th September 2025

Nominations in all of the above categories should consist of up to two sides of A4 plus up to six images, videos, links to YouTube etc or other documents (eg press cuttings) which should be submitted as separate files.

Nominations should be submitted no later than 17.00 on Friday 3rd October 2025 by email to nominations@bestkeptstations.org.uk. Any queries how to compile a nomination may also be made to this email address

Nominations can be submitted by Friends Groups, other Community Groups, Community Rail Partnerships, Train Operating Companies, Local Authorities (including Town and Parish councils) or any other interested stakeholder. 

Click here for details of our 2025 Photographic Competition  which we are partnering with Cheshire Life magazine.