Lappa Valley Railway

Lappa Valley is a 15 in gauge miniature railway and family attraction near Newquay in Cornwall, set in 35 acres at the site of the historic East Wheal Rose lead mine. The principal line runs for about a mile from Benny Halt to East Wheal Rose on the trackbed of the former GWR Treamble branch — a mineral line that once served the now-silent Cornish mining landscape through which the miniature trains still run.

The combination of three working gauges — a 15 in main line, a 10¼ in branch line, and a 7¼ in shuttle — on a single site is unusual in British miniature railway practice, and the variety of motive power and rolling stock across the three systems gives railway enthusiasts and families alike more to explore than a single-gauge operation. The East Wheal Rose mine engine house, a listed historic structure of 1838, stands at the railway's far terminus as a reminder of the industrial history that underlies the pastoral landscape.

Lappa Valley opened in 1974, making it one of the earlier Cornish tourist railway developments of the post-Beeching era, and its combination of railway rides, lakeside walks, nature trail, and play areas has established it as one of Cornwall's most enduring family attractions. The site's rural Cornish character — away from the coastal crowds — gives it a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere than many of the county's busier visitor destinations.