Volunteers who care for a scenic coastal railway station are planning for their biggest event of the year as part of Community Rail Week 2026 (Monday 1 – Sunday 7 June).
The Friends of Kents Bank Station & Foreshore will be co-hosting the summer community fete at Kents Bank station - just along the Furness Line from Grange-over-Sands – on Sunday 7 June from 1pm.
The 58-strong group of volunteers is supported by Community Rail Cumbria, which is hosted by Westmorland and Furness Council and offers help with a variety of projects from spring bulb planting to funding bids, community events and rail safety education for local Year 6 pupils moving up to secondary school.
The Friends’ dedication to looking after the Victorian railway station overlooking Morecambe Bay was rewarded at this year’s Community Rail Awards. They picked up a gold It’s Your Station accolade and judges praised their work in “establishing the station as a thriving hub at the heart of community life” with bee-friendly garden plots, carefully maintained paintwork, historical information and photo boards, and modern benches replaced by replicas of the Furness Railway’s squirrel benches to reflect the station’s heritage.
Mary Rossall, Group Coordinator for the Friends, said: “We were delighted to win this national award in recognition of the efforts of all our volunteers who have helped to maintain and enhance the station environment over the last ten years.
“We currently have 58 members aged from 20s to 80s. The majority of active members live locally but we also have some long-distance supporters who have had a connection with Kents Bank in the past. We send copies of our newsletter to Oxfordshire, the Channel Islands, Wales and even Sweden!”
Peter Butterfield, Community Rail Partnership Officer at Community Rail Cumbria, said: “The Friends are an absolutely thriving group of volunteers who want to give back to the community and make the station a fabulous place to travel through or go and visit, and that shines through in their award.
“The amount of work they put in is absolutely fantastic and they are also looking to branch out to help other stations on the Furness Line.”
Community rail is a growing, grassroots movement that helps communities get the most from their local railway. The Friends hope Sunday’s fete at Kents Bank station will help celebrate and raise the profile of the 28-mile Furness Line from Barrow to Carnforth. They are co-hosting the event with the Station Library and Beach Hut Gallery, and everyone is welcome from 1pm to 4pm to enjoy cake and plant stalls, a miniature steam engine, refreshments and music from The Sands Band.
Train operator Northern has thanked the Friends for their “ongoing hard work, passion and dedication”, describing them as “an inspiring example of the positive impact that dedicated community volunteers can have”.
Jane Murray, Area Station Manager for Northern, said: “We are incredibly proud to have such strong community support at Kents Bank, which plays an important role in enhancing the overall customer experience across our Cumbria locations.”