page_title: Ballasalla railway station
section_title: Silverdale
hierarchical_section_title: Ballasalla railway station / Silverdale
caption_attribution_description: English: Silverdale Glen. A water-powered roundabout and a watermill are features here, as well as this boating lake and craft centre.
context_page_description: Ballasalla railway station is located in the village of Ballasalla in the south of the Isle of Man, close to the airport, and is served on a seasonal basis by the Isle of Man Railway. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the once extensive network that operated across the island. Ballasalla was the usual crossing point for trains, making it popular with photographers, until the introduction of the 2015 timetable which saw all trains passing at Castletown and the effective closure of Ballasalla as a manned station, save for special events.
context_section_description: This railway station serves the local attraction of Silverdale Glen, a small pleasure park with its own boating pool and water-powered merry-go-round with refreshment rooms. This is a 15-minute walk from the railway station and was once very popular, making the railway station busy. The attraction is open throughout the year and is a popular destination for model boat enthusiasts who use the shallow boating lake out of season. In season there are both rowing boats and hand-operated pedal boats, popular for many years. In the past there was also a large indoor model railway layout here, with coin-operated trains. There was also a grotto-type walk-through feature with illuminated gnomes in a forest environment. Today the cafe and restaurant are a popular stopping off point. The tree-lined glen that joins the village and the pleasure park has a wishing well and leads directly to the other nearby attraction, part of the Story of Mann located at Rushen Abbey. Some paths in this area form part of the Millennium Way, a long public right of way created in 1979 to celebrate 1000 years of the island's parliament. It climbs beyond this point towards the centre of the island.
caption: Silverdale Boating Lake
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