Heart of England Community Rail Partnership (CRP) worked with physical theatre company Highly Sprung to deliver ‘A Day Like This’ initiative at the end of 2022.

The initiative involved working with families and individuals that had recently arrived from Syria, developing their rail confidence and highlighting the benefits and opportunities the railway can have for leisure and work.

Following a series of interactive workshops based in the new Community Hub at Coventry Station, the CRP took the group out on a day trip to Mary Arden’s Farm. They were encouraged to get involved with a variety of activities throughout the day and were given cameras to document what they got up to.

Shortly after the trip, the CRP help a mini exhibition at Coventry Station to showcase the group’s photographs of their day out, a chance for those involved to talk about the project and encourage others to explore the local area by train.

Julia Singleton-Tasker, Heart of England CRP Officer said: ‘This was such a lovely project to be involved with and to see the joy on the families’ faces when they travelled by train, many for the first time, was just an absolute privilege. Our thanks go to funders Cross Country and Community Rail Network and our supporters Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre and National Railway Museum, who were all instrumental in making this initiative happen.’

See the full details of the ‘A Day Like This’ initiative here and watch a video of the day trip here.