Blackpool's warship-shaped illuminated tram 736 covered in fairground bulbs at night, driver at the wheel under the Illuminations Tour sign
Photo: Henry Brett · CC BY 2.0
13 dated · 5 awaiting dates

UK Tram & Trolleybus Events 2026 & 2027

Next up: Dinosaur Safari Tram, Seaton Tramway — Selected dates, 20 Aug – 27 Aug 2026, Devon.

Electric traction is literal traction, and it is the friendliest corner of this whole directory. At a tramway museum the ride is the exhibit, and you get as many of them as you like. Pay in at Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire, the National Tramway Museum, and the fare covers unlimited journeys on whatever is out of the depot that day, up the line to Glory Mine and back as often as a five-year-old demands. Beamish in County Durham runs trams round the site every day it opens, and puts a trolleybus out alongside them on some days. On gala days both bring out cars that spend most of the year under dust sheets, open the depot and workshops, and sometimes borrow a tram from another museum.

Blackpool is the exception to everything. Its street tramway never closed, so the modern Flexity service and the heritage fleet share the same rails along the promenade. The heritage tours are the ones to book: balloon cars, open-top boat cars in decent weather, and during the Illuminations season the illuminated feature cars, the Western Train and the Frigate among them, running after dark through the lights. The Illuminations switch on in late August or early September and run to early January, which makes this the one tram event that is properly a winter option. Tours are ticketed separately from the ordinary tram fare and the good ones sell out, so book before you book the hotel. Take a coat: several heritage cars are open to the wind, and the sea front in November does not care that you are enjoying yourself.

Trolleybuses deserve their own trip. Sandtoft, near Doncaster, holds the largest trolleybus collection in Europe and runs open days through the summer, with its Trolleybus Gathering, usually around the August bank holiday, as the day everything comes out. The East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville near Lowestoft is the unusual one: trams, trolleybuses and a narrow gauge railway on a single site, running Sundays and bank holidays from spring into autumn. Beyond those, the Heaton Park Tramway in Manchester, the Birkenhead heritage line, Seaton Tramway running three miles up the Axe valley to Colyton in Devon, the Great Orme cable tramway at Llandudno and Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton, working since 1883, all run their own event days. None of it is expensive and almost all of it is under cover of a roof if the weather turns.

August 2026

September 2026

October 2026

November 2026

December 2026

Annual fixtures — dates being confirmed

These events run most years but the organiser has not confirmed the next date yet. We check weekly and date them the moment they are announced. Get the weekly email and you will not miss it.

Tram & Trolleybus Events: your questions answered

What happens at a tramway gala that does not happen on a normal open day?

More trams, and rarer ones. A gala at Crich or Beamish means cars that only run a handful of days a year come out of the depot, workshops open so you can see restoration in progress, visiting trams sometimes arrive from other museums, and running often extends into the evening. Enthusiast days go further still, with cab rides, depot tours and photographic line-ups. Normal days are lovely; galas are the ones worth planning a long drive around.

Can you ride the illuminated trams at Blackpool, and how do you book?

Yes, and they are booked and ticketed separately from the ordinary tramway. Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours run along the promenade through the Illuminations season, which starts in late August or early September and runs to early January, and the illuminated feature cars go out after dark. They sell out well ahead, especially at half term and at weekends. Book direct with the heritage operator, arrive early for the departure point, and dress for a sea front in the dark.

Where can I still ride a trolleybus in Britain?

Sandtoft near Doncaster and the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville near Lowestoft are the two main places. Sandtoft has the biggest collection in Europe and its summer Trolleybus Gathering is the flagship day. Carlton Colville lets you ride a trolleybus, a tram and a narrow gauge train on one admission. Beamish also runs a trolleybus alongside its trams on selected days. All of them are silent, fast off the mark, and unnerving the first time one creeps up behind you.

Do I pay for each ride?

Almost never. Admission at Crich, Beamish, Carlton Colville, Sandtoft and most heritage tramways includes unlimited rides all day, which is why these are such good value with children who want to go round again. Blackpool is the exception: the modern Flexity service charges normal fares and the heritage tours are separate paid tickets.

Are tram museums good with toddlers and pushchairs?

They are among the best days out in this directory for small children. Rides are short and frequent so nobody sits still for long, the sites are compact, and there are cafés and toilets in walking distance of the track. Old trams have steps and narrow platforms, so you will usually be asked to fold a pushchair, and upstairs on an open-top car means a steep staircase. Crich has a period street, a sweet shop and a play area; Beamish is far bigger and involves real walking.

When does the tram season run?

Most heritage tramways run from around Easter to the end of October, with weekends only at either end of that. Blackpool runs all year and gets busiest during the Illuminations from September to early January. Crich and Beamish add Christmas events, and several sites do winter photographic or enthusiast days by advance booking only. TractionAction checks the listings weekly, so search your postcode and the dates showing are the dates currently confirmed.

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