Berwyn Station is one of the latest venues to sign up for Cool Off in Culture, joining a network of almost 400 spaces providing respite from extreme heat to their communities and visitors. Here, volunteer station master Peter talks more about Berwyn Station’s amazing heritage, beautiful historic buildings and ongoing restoration, and how a lack of modern technology doesn’t stop the station providing a cool space for visitors.
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Every Saturday, I make the nearly 200-mile round trip from Worcestershire to Berwyn Station in North Wales where I volunteer as the station master. I didn’t used to live so far away from “the station in the gorge” as we call it, so it’s a complete labour of love.
During very hot weather, the station’s position on a viaduct, surrounded by trees with the river and a canal running alongside us, you can get a lovely breeze through the building even when it’s stifling elsewhere, while inside, it’s an old, naturally cool building, with a tea room for refreshments if you’re in need.
That’s why it made perfect sense for us to sign up for Cool Off in Culture. We’re already a well-known stopping off-place for walkers and people exploring the river by train, but this is a way of bringing a new audience in to enjoy the history and heritage of this wonderful station, and even reconnect with our wonderful railways if they haven’t visited in a while.
Keeping cool and immersed in history
Berwyn Station is now rightly listed as a Grade II building, and once you step inside, you immediately go back in time. The former first-class waiting room is now the tea room, and we still have the general waiting room and booking office. We’re now working to restore these rooms back to their Great Western Railway appearance, effectively taking them back 100 years.
It is all about immersing our visitors in the history, whilst doing our best to keep the stories and skills alive for the next generations to enjoy.
That’s part of the reason we’re not making major adaptations to our station, because historically, it would be remiss of us to fit things like air conditioning and modern cooling units into a Victorian railway station.
It would be remiss of us to fit things like air conditioning and modern cooling units into a Victorian railway station.
It’s also why I try my best to wear the traditional three-piece uniform even when it’s a bit hot out – though I try to avoid the woollen overcoat if I can! That is much better suited to the winter months, when we might be lucky enough to get snow on the ground.
But the lack of modern technology doesn’t stop us being a cooling space in the community, and it shouldn’t stop others either. Every venue has its own story to tell and every venue has something to offer, presenting new opportunities for people to engage with your space.
A story dating back to 1865
Berwyn Station comprises a charming half-timbered Tudor building that dates back to 1865 and that was designed to match the historic Chainbridge Hotel on the opposite bank of the River Dee.
The closure of the railway in the 1960s led to a campaign by volunteers to reopen a 10-mile section between the towns of Llangollen and Corwen, which has taken nearly 50 years of hard work to achieve. Heritage steam and diesel trains returned to Berwyn in the mid-1980s as part of the preserved Llangollen Railway.
The lack of modern technology doesn’t stop us being a cooling space in the community, and it shouldn’t stop others either.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue promoting the station as a gateway to the beautiful Dee Valley and its attractions, which you can discover through our excellent cycling routes, footpaths, walking trails or even by canoe!
And of course, there’s the Llangollen Railway itself, which takes pressure off local car parks and tourist traffic, by giving people the opportunity to explore these beautiful places by train.
Earlier this year, in February 2026, we introduced the Berwyn Explorer service, an immensely popular shuttle between Llangollen and the station. This will be returning next year too! Then, in 2028, we’ll be introducing a dedicated shuttle service using a little four-wheeled German railbus from the 1950s, which really will offer something completely different.
Berwyn Station is for everyone
Although I have the title of station master, it isn’t my station – it’s the community’s. Berwyn Station is for everyone, where anyone can come and enjoy the space. I am lucky enough to have a dedicated team of volunteers working alongside me, some of whom were involved with the original tracklaying at the station over four decades ago.
I’m just the present custodian of this unique railway station and look forward to being there for many years to come! Put simply, I am a humble caretaker of a legacy built by others.
Berwyn truly is a really special place, one of those where you struggle to leave. I certainly do at the end of the day – when the last train has departed around five o’clock, sometimes I find it very difficult to lock the door. We do our best to open the station every weekend when trains are running, but do check the Llangollen Railway’s website for more details!
Photos: Peter Dickinson / Oliver Lang
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