Yarralumla Play Station: Piglets, coffee and a very special train

Posted on 20 March, 2020

Looking for a way to get out with the kids while social-distancing? Yarralumla Play Station has open space in spades.

Looking for something to do with the kids this weekend? How about the weekend after? And the weekend after that?

Don’t worry, Yarralumla Play Station has you covered all year round. They’re now offering discount memberships—a yearly payment that covers unlimited train rides and visits to the farm, as well as 5% off the café, miniature golf and birthday parties.

At just $109 for a single parent with two children, $139 for two adults and two children, and $20 per child after that, a whole year of entertainment doesn’t come any cheaper.

The current owner bought Yarralumla Play Station—then known as the Weston Park Railway—five years ago and things have taken off fast.

What was once a paddock overgrown with weeds is now a miniature golf course, with a whole range of Canberra-themed golf holes—including a to-scale version of the Parliamentary Triangle and one featuring the most Canberran landmark of all: a roundabout.

But the two main drawcards of the park—and those that come free with the yearly membership—are Bluebell, the original miniature railway train, and the Mini Farm Friends.

Bluebell, who bears a close resemblance to Thomas the Tank Engine, has been a Canberra staple since 1973. The owner remembers playing at Weston Park when he was child and being especially well-behaved on those outings with the hopes of scoring a train ride.

These memories are a lot of the reason why he snatched up Yarralumla Play Station when it went up for sale, and why he’s so passionate about creating the perfect family day out for both children and adults alike.

The adventure starts on Bluebell, who takes you on a scenic nine-minute journey around the park, passing four vintage trains (three made in 1910 and one in 1905). Along the way, you can stop off at Farm Station, where you can spend as much time as you like before catching the next train back.

Cheeky the goat.

This gives kids ample opportunity to meet and feed the animals (though it isn’t a petting zoo—the animals decide when and if they will interact with you).

The owner tells me the farm has been fashioned after ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’—there are ponies, goats, sheep, a miniature cow, multiple farmyard birds, alpacas and…miniature piglets enjoying a mud bath!

“By the age of five, most kids have seen a tiger,” he says. “But so many kids who visit the farm have never seen a pig or a cow before in real life.”

Weekdays at Yarralumla Play Station are perfect for parents’ groups and grandparents—it’s a little quieter than the weekends—and the yearly membership offers an affordable way to catch up with relatives or friends over coffee at the Station Stop Cafe while keeping the kids entertained (and well-behaved, with the promise/bribe of a train ride and a visit to the farm afterwards!).

The cost of the membership is less than $3 per week for an entire family, making it not only a fun, educational and adorable outing, but an affordable one too.

If you’re interested in signing up, you can download the form here or, better yet, sign up in person while enjoying one of their delicious coffees or gushing over the piglets (have I mentioned that there are piglets?).

This editorial was created in partnership with the Yarralumla Play Station. For more information on sponsored partnerships, click here.