
Postman Pat was the undoubted star of the event. He set off accompanied by his loyal companion Barry from Guide Bridge to visit Hattersley where a busy scene awaited. Here Babs had organised a small supervised bouncy castle, various games and a tombola to keep visitors busy. There was between the stations A Hunt the Teddy Bear Trail with some topical names to track down! Thanks to Paul Marsh for organising this and for also creating the eye catching posters.
All the stations had a colouring competition sponsored by Northern with a travel prize available for entrants. FREE TRAIN TRAVEL, kindly offered by Northern to teddies, their owners and accompanying families for the duration of the event, proved very popular.
Many first time travellers used the trains and stations one, observing the buffer stops at Glossop, asked "How exactly does this train now get to Hadfield?"!! A little local railway geography lesson!
Fortunately it stayed dry throughout the event allowing visitors to move freely. Welcome tables were provided at each station: at Glossop a whole array of soft toys made for a colourful scene whilst at Hadfield Joy was busy with the colouring competition. Guide Bridge offered hot drinks and Glossop free orange drinks supplied with the kind support of TWIG station cafe.
Around sixty to seventy families took part and we appreciate their support and enthusiasm! It is fun to be part of this event and also see the waves and smiles from the drivers and guards! Our thanks to them for joining in!
Thanks also to Becky Styles, Community and Sustainability Manager at Northern, for arranging the free travel, the colouring competition and full size promotional posters. After competing in a nearby marathon Becky just managed to catch the last half hour of the event at Glossop. We also appreciated the support and good wishes from our new Northern Line Manager, Pam Williams.