Friends of Hadlow Road Station

30/09/2026

Next Pop Up Cafe

This will take place 11th October and we will have the Heswall Strummers entertaining our customers.

29/09/2026

160th Anniversary Pop Up Cafe

On Sunday 27th September FHRS held their 160th Anniversary Pop Up Cafe and what a great turn out we had.

Firstly a big thank you to all our customers and visitors for coming along on what was a breezy day with the forecast of rain which in the main stayed away for the majority of the cafe. It was wonderful to see you all.

Great entertainment as always by Simon Le Barber who entertained the crowds with a wide range of music and songs. For me was one of the highlights was seeing folks "jigging" along to Led Zeppelin!!

Being a special cafe we would not be FHRS if we did not do something extra - so we did!

We had our Friends from The Thomas Brassey Society in attendance to unveil a new poster celebrating the man who was responsible for the track that led to Hadlow Road Station being created and 160 years later we as the FHRS can celebrate the wonderful station and its environment. The poster will eventually be hung inside the Waiting Room

If that was not enough we also had the Chester & District Radio Society set up in the Signal Box to transmit as part of the national celebration of Railways on the Air (ROTA). It was great to see them performing their magic and connecting Willaston with the rest of the world (I was told they had even connected with the Vatican!). It was great to have them on board and I know they attracted a lot of attention.

We also had our friends from Willaston in the Past join us on our sales table to promote their new book - lovely to see them and we hope their sales goes well.

FHRS now have our 2027 Calendar on sale plus a small selection of Christmas Cards

All this and more cannot happen without the wonderful team of volunteers that turn out to provide a first class service to all our customers - thank you for being such a great bunch to work with. Thanks to Martin for taking the official photos.

If anyone wishes to know more about FHRS and/or wants to join us a volunteer then please contact Paul T Cox - Chair at [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you at our next Cafe on Sunday 11th October when we will be entertained by the Heswall Strummers.

26/09/2026

Pop Up Cafe 27th September.

We have a wide range of activities taking place at the pop up cafe this Sunday:

* Our normal excellent cafe with the wonderful volunteers serving our customers
* It is our 160th Anniversary and we will have a display in the waiting room on the south platform highlighting the history of the station and the work of FHRS
* We are joined by The Thomas Brassey Society who will also have a stand in the waiting room on the south platform.
* We will be unveiling a new poster celebrating Thomas Brassey that will be hung in the main waiting room in due course
* Our friends from Willaston in the Past will also be joining us to sell their new book about the Wirral Way.
* We have entertainment from Simon Le Barber - one familiar half of Familiar Ground as Steve is unwell and unable to join us.
* We will also be selling our new 2027 Calendars and our Christmas Cards plus we have some key rings and fridge magnets.

If that is not enough we have something new to Hadlow Road which we are very excited about.

Railways on the Air (ROTA) will be broadcasting from our Signal Box from 10am.

We as Hadlow Road Station form part of a wide network of railways taking part in 2026 - see list attached.

https://rota.barac.org.uk/stations/year/2026

They form part of the Chester and District Radio Society.

https://www.chesterdars.org.uk/

So come down - see what they do and have a chat with them.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday - please bring fine weather.

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22/09/2026

Next Pop Up Cafe

FHRS will have its next Pop Up Cafe this weekend from 10 - 1 and it is a special one because:

It is our 160th Anniversary
We have friends from The Thomas Brassey Society attending to unveil a new poster for the station.
We have a new duo to entertain us - with one familiar face!!
Willaston in the Past will also be selling their new book
PLUS we have our 2027 Calendars on sale.
PLUS you never know the Chairman might make an appearance LOL

So come along and enjoy the event - we look forward to seeing you.

19/09/2026

2027 Calendar

FHRS asked our wider communities if they had any photos that they would like to submit for inclusion in our new 2027 calendar and we received many great photos - so thank you to all that sent them in.

After long discussions photos were selected and we have had our new calendar produced.

These calendars will go on sale at our next Pop Up Cafe on Sunday 27th September which will also be our 160th Anniversary. They will cost £5.

So come along and buy your new 2027 calendar - they really really make excellent Christmas presents.

If you are unable to attend on the 27th then please just text me on 07711326947 or drop me an email on [email protected] and let me know how many you would like and I will make arrangements for you to collect.

18/09/2026

Ticket Office Open Event

FHRS opened its Ticket Office on Tuesday 15th September in support of Willaston in the Past Heritage Week event.

As well as the ticket office being open we also had our information stands on display and our prestigious Kings Award.

Many thanks to Ruth, Teresa and Chris for manning the event.

We had around 50 view the Ticket Office, numerous popping in to look at the displays and walkers taking part in the organised walk/talk by Willaston in the Past.

15/09/2026

Charity Pop Up Cafe Sunday 13th September

FHRS held its 2nd Charity Cafe on Sunday in aid of Wirral St John's Hospice and what a great event it was.

Many thanks to all our wonderful generous customers who turned out in their numbers to support the event.

Westerner Approaches you were just fantastic and the crowds loved the music and song.

Mersey Morris it was great to see you out in numbers - even the Little Morris's took part and engaging with our customers was so appreciated.

Dom - thank you for being in the Signal Box as part of our Heritage Week contribution - your talks always attract the numbers.

To the team of volunteers what can I say that matches your efforts and service given to our customers with a smile and a chat! Special mention to Chris and Carol in the kitchen working away like beavers to keep the food coming and they get little chance to engage with the event - you are so much appreciated.

Last but not least to Sophie from Wirral St John's Hospice who organised the raffle and looked after their table - you are a credit to the Hospice.

So thank you one and all for making the day a real success

OH!!! I had forgotten something - between the Hospice Raffle, Charity Buckets and SMH they raised over £346 and FHRS will add to this to make a grand total of £1100.00 - what a fantastic number and all down to the generosity of our customers, hard work by the volunteers and the support from the charity.

From a very proud Chair - FHRS

06/09/2026

Charity Cafe 13th September

FHRS are having its 2nd Charity Cafe of the season in aid of Wirral St John's Hospice.

The Charity will be holding a raffle on the day and if you have any suitable prizes that they can include you can donate them by:

1. Dropping them off on the day before 10am
2. Dropping them off at the Hospice prior to the event
3. Dropping them off at Station Masters House who will collect them for us.

Many thanks in advance

06/09/2026

Special Open Event

On Tuesday 15th September, we have the ticket office open; please note access is limited to 2 persons at one time as space is limited.

The ticket office will be open 10am-3pm.

Along with the opening of the office we will have a range of displays about FHRS and our Kings Award plus Certificate will be on display. So come along and have a chat with our volunteers and you never know you might want to join our merry band of volunteers in the future.

This is a special event as normally the ticket office is only open by special arrangement.

We look forward to seeing you on the 15th

04/09/2026

Charity Cafe and Heritage Open Event

Sunday 13th September as part of the Wirral History & Heritage Association Week, as well as our usual pop-up café, we have the signal box open (accessed via steps), music by Western Approaches and Mersey Morris will also be performing. It is also our second charity day for this year, with funds going to Wirral St John’s Hospice.

We hope that you will be able to join for this wonderful event and support the charity - who will be on hand to answer any questions or inform you about the wonderful work that they undertake.