On Wednesday 16 November our last evening Music Train of the year runs from Chester to Plumley. Music on the train and at the Golden Pheasant is from the Merseybillies.
Renowned for their rousing, raucous energy, foot-stomping bluegrass breakdowns interspersed with high-octane hillbilly moonshine and murder ballads, soulful southern gospel, and blistering instrumental breaks, the Merseybillies have been jamming in pubs, clubs, street corners, woods, hills, hollers and of course trains, since 2003. No quarter asked, no prisoners taken!
The Music Train uses one of the regular hourly services on the Mid Cheshire line. There is no charge for the event – just the price of your ordinary train ticket. Your ‘admission’ is the train fare. Other than drinks and food at the pub, there is nothing else to pay – though there is a collection for the musicians at the end.
How it works
The Music Train is arranged by the Mid-Cheshire Community Rail Partnership. The band plays on the train from Chester – we take over a carriage. At Plumley everyone alights to visit The Golden Pheasant for drinks and good food – and there is a further session from the band.
Chester Station is accessible. Parking on the station car parks costs £5.20. Parking outside the Queen Hotel and on City Road is free after 18:00. Plumley Station is accessible. The walk to the pub is 150m. The footway alongside the road from the station to the pub is narrow and not continuous, with poor visibility over the railway bridge. The pub is fully accessible.
The Pub
The Golden Pheasant is a traditional pub in the heart of rural Cheshire serving fresh, quality food and well-kept J W Lees’s real ales. In 2010 it won the brewery’s ‘Food Pub of the Year’ award. It is close to the station (it was originally the Railway Inn) is a popular dining venue with an attractive beamed interior.
The normal menu is extensive and runs alongside a fantastic selection of regularly changing blackboard specials (which use the best of seasonal local produce) to choose from.
You can see a selection of their dishes in the special Music Train Menu
