| Opening during COVID-19 restrictions These are the arrangements we expect to apply once we are able to reopen safely. We will reopen the signalbox site for our scheduled open days (first Sunday and third Saturday of most months) but with additional control measures in place to help us protect both our visitors and the volunteers who staff the exhibit. .jpg) 1. We will limit the number of visitors on site by having pre-booked admission in half-hour slots. To pre-book for dates in 2021, please ring 07743 942576 or email info@romseysignalbox.org.uk once bookings have been opened. Note, it may be possible to admit people “on the day” by first ringing the contact number but priority will always be given to those who have pre-booked.2. We will ask all people on arrival to book in, providing details of their group and contact details, and to sign out again on leaving. These records will be retained in line with ICO guidance for up to 21 days to support the “Track & Trace” system and then destroyed. They will not be used for marketing. The full policy will be available on site should you wish to read it. 3. Contactless payment for admission fees is preferred. 4. We will ask all persons over 10 (unless a medical exemption applies) to wear a face-mask throughout the site (except at the tables within the cafe area). 5. All groups must make use of hand sanitisers on entry and around the site, and must observe social distancing principles. Adults need to be responsible for helping children to conform. 6. A one-way system will be in operation around the site. One family group at a time will be allowed up into the signalbox operating floor because of limited space for social distancing. 7. The cafe will be available but with a limited range of products for takeaway / consumption at the outdoor benches. .jpg) .jpg)
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The Signal Box is open to the public during the afternoons of the first Sunday of every month, excluding January, and the third Saturday of every month, excluding December. The site is also open to the public on special dates which will be put on this site. Scroll to the bottom of this page for opening dates. It is open between 11am and 4pm, and the admission charge is £2.50 per adult (accompanied children under 16 are free) – cash or card payments are available. Upgrade your payment to a £3 donation by gift-aid and receive a refreshments voucher as well! Members of the Friends of Romsey Signal Box, and special pass-holders, gain free admission. Note that the site can also be opened on special days for private groups, please get in touch for more information.
Facilities
At the site, there is the signalbox and two pavilions containing various exhibits relating to railway signalling equipment, with a third pavilion being fitted out to become an education facility, which is due to open sometime in 2021. We have a small cafe serving hot and cold drinks and cakes/biscuits, and a disabled-accessible toilet. The main signalbox has regular demonstrations of the work of a signalman. Elsewhere on the site there is a miniature lever frame with full size instruments which is based on the signal box at Cowley Bridge Junction, just outside Exeter. On Open Days this can often be seen being operated by a trained signalman (subject to available volunteers).
Coming by car/bike/on foot
If you have a SatNav, the post code for the housing in Brick Lane is SO51 8LG; the site is adjacent to house no. 28. We have very limited car parking adjacent to the site. Visitors with disabilities or very limited mobility may wish to reserve parking in advance by phone (01794 500523/07743 942576) or email. Alternative car parks and the route from them to the site are shown on the map in our publicity leaflet – see below.
Public transport
The signal box is only a 5-minute walk from Romsey railway station: exit the station, and after just a few yards walk down Station Approach take the steps down to the left, then follow the footpath forwards between the fence and the railway embankment, and cross the footbridge over the canal (see the map on our information leaflet below).
The bus stop nearest to the site is on Winchester Road and is served by Bluestar line 4 to Southampton and Stagecoach route 66 to Winchester. Both services are half hourly on Saturdays and hourly on Sundays (as at January 2020). There are 2-hourly Bluestar line 5 buses to Eastleigh on Saturdays only. Alternatively Romsey’s main bus station is a 10-15 minute walk away. Walking routes from the stops are shown on the map in our publicity leaflet – see below.
More information
This publicity leaflet (which shows the original planned opening dates for 2021 before Covid restrictions forced changes to be made) gives more information about the site, including what you can see. It also shows directions to the box from various car parks, bus and train stations around Romsey. Click the image to open it as an Acrobat (pdf) document.
Planned Open Days
| January 2021 | Saturday 16th CANCELLED |
| February | Sunday 7th; Saturday 20th CANCELLED |
| March | Sunday 7th; Saturday 20th. Covid-19 restrictions permitting. We will confirm this by the end of February 2021. NOTE: The Romsey Model Railway Club show normally held the first weekend of March is not being held in 2021. |
| April | Sunday 4th (Easter Sunday); Saturday 17th |
| May | Sunday 2nd; Saturday 15th |
| June | Sunday 6th; Saturday 19th |
| July | Saturday 3rd; Sunday 4th; Sunday 11th; Saturday 17th – all in connection with the Romsey Festival 2020 |
| August | Sunday 1st; Saturday 21st |
| September | Sunday 5th; Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th (Heritage Open Days weekend – free admission both days) |
| October | Sunday 3rd; Saturday 16th |
| November | Sunday 7th; Saturday 20th |
| December 2021 | Sunday 5th |