HUNDREDS of people flocked to the Swindon and Cricklade Railway for a weekend of pints, live music and trips along the historic tracks.

The heritage railway organised one of its first big events since pandemic safety rules relaxed and brought a welcome boost in income after struggling to get by for months.

The car park quickly filled up as revellers stopped by to have a pint in the sunshine, listen to bands perform, or hop onto the trains.

Organiser Bill Daly said: "It was really busy on both days, with around 200 people coming each day just for the festival, along with the railway visitors.

"Like everyone else, we were desperate to host events like this again and bring in much-needed income to help maintain the railway.

"The weather was good, people said how nice the beer is, we had a lot of regulars and a few first-time visitors as well, which is good because people come back to the railway many times.

"We've had a few setbacks with vandalism and having the time and volunteers to fix the damage is more of a problem than paying for it.

"It is frustrating when we're struggling to do what we do anyway with restoring carriages without setbacks like that."

Rock'n'roll covers band Retro played a mix of 50s and 60s hits inside the bar tent on Sunday.

Chris Evans said: "We've been going for eight years and played this event three times. It's wonderful to play gigs again and see lots of happy people.

"Our main objective is to get people dancing, we're a party band. The Beatles songs are always popular, as is We Like To Boogie, and The Twist, those dance-y songs from our youth."

Clive Carter brought his family along for the day and sipped a pint while a few loved ones took a trip along the railway line.

He said: "I've been here several times. I've been a fan of trains since I was a kid - I used to go 'loco-spotting' in the 60s - and one of my grandfathers was in the carriageworks, so I was brought up with the railways.

"Being back here with an event like this has been a bit of a release after lockdown - this is our third time visiting this year.

"The festival's a good idea and a nice earner for the railway, we definitely need to keep it going. It's been nice and busy - I hear they almost ran out of beer on Saturday!"