On the 27th of September 2025 at 7.30pm Blystra Arts is leading a celebration event with a host of other partners to celebrate 200 years of the first train carrying passengers which happened on the 27th of Sept 1825, which left Shildon heading to Stockton on the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) line. It was an historic moment watched by thousands of onlookers, the excitement in the air was clear and it was arguably one of the most significant moments in the history of our nation, opening the way for passengers to travel across the UK and the world with an ease never experienced or comprehended before. 2025 is the 200-year anniversary of this historic moment, and communities up and down the country will celebrate this significant anniversary, celebrations which will peak on the 27th of Sept, marking the actual day of this historic moment in time. Blystra Arts will be marking the day in Newquay too, with a celebration event which brings together some of the most significant moments in Newquay’s rail history.

Join Blystra at the Headland Hotel in Newquay for an evening of curated performance, poems, extracts and film to celebrate this amazing milestone moment. In 2025 Blystra Arts were awarded funding from Great Western Railway’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund to deliver a project called Stories from the Station in 2025 which explores Newquay’s railway, its branch line, and the huge impact the railway had on the development of the town, its tourism and its people. During 2025 and into 2026 Blystra is working with a number of groups in the community to create films, performance, creative writing and art which explores the railway and its huge impact on the town. The celebration event on the 27th of September will involve Blystra Arts, Groundswell CIC, Tretherras School, Bounce Dance Academy, Cornwall Youth Theatre Company, and films made by Rooted Media made alongside the community. It will be an evening celebrating Newquay’s station, its branch line and people. Newquay Museum will also attend this event, and special thanks must be given to them as a main partner of the project, supporting us to pull out stories and information about Newquay Railway Station and the people whose lives have been changed by it.

Join us for this evening of celebration of the railway.

Tickets can be purchased from: The Headland – Stories of the Station