NEW ROMNEY NEWS

The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway are raising money for the Kent Air Ambulance whilst entertaining a very special guest, Santa!!

For almost 20 years the local tourist attraction has put on a special Santa train every weekend in December, giving hundreds of children the chance to meet the man himself in the run up to Christmas.

The miniature steam train departs from the Hythe station and arrives in New Romney 35 minutes later where children meet Santa, receive a gift and enjoy some seasonal refreshments in the Railway café before taking the train back to Hythe or continuing their journey on to Dungeness for a special Christmas lunch.

Each year the café at New Romney raises money and donates it to a charity of their choice. Since 1995 they have donated a whopping £13387.02 to various charities with £1626.52 being donated to Kent Air Ambulance in 2003 alone. Organiser Suzanne Martin chose to raise funds for Kent’s only Air Ambulance service again this year:

“This is our way of saying thank you to the Kent Air Ambulance for the incredible job that they do each and every day. The service they provide to the people of Kent is amazing and we hope we can raise a few extra pennies to keep them flying.”

The trains depart every Saturday and Sunday in December and also from Monday 22nd to Wednesday 24th December. For more information, or to make a booking (recommended) please call 01797 362353.

The Kent Air Ambulance costs about £ 100,000 each month to keep airborne. Receiving no funds from the government or the National Lottery the charity is entirely dependent upon the generosity of the people of Kent.