The Griffin Report: How a train lover's vision paid the way for Staffordshire tourist park

A train lover’s vision paved the way for the establishment of a unique UK tourist park in the Staffordshire-Warwickshire countryside. STATFOLD COUNTRY PARK has become a major family and corporate attraction out of what started as Graham Lee’s garden hobby. JON GRIFFIN traces how the destination has now grown to attract 200,000 visitors a year.

It began as a garden hobby for train lover Graham Lee - and more than 20 years later it's one of the West Midlands’ fastest growing family visitor attractions…..

Statfold Country Park, set in 1,000 acres of rolling Staffordshire and Warwickshire countryside, originated purely as a destination for railway buffs - and now pulls in around 200,000 visitors a year as a family park.

With long-established near neighbours in the shape of Drayton Manor Park, the Snowdome and Twycross Zoo, the Statfold story has emerged over more than two decades to add another colourful chapter in the annals of West Midlands tourism.

And it all started with one successful businessman’s dream to build his own garden railway - and later inviting like-minded train fanatics to enjoy the sights and sounds of a narrow gauge rail facility founded in 2005 in the heart of the West Midlands shires.

In fact, the roots of the Statfold saga go back as far as 1987, when businessman Graham and wife Carol first bought Statfold Barn Farm near Tamworth, developing and improving the property to include construction of a narrow gauge railway which would eventually fully open to the public in 2017.

By the time of the public launch, Graham, a passionate advocate for preserving the UK's railway heritage, had sold his rail engineering firm LH Group in a multi-million  deal to US engineers Wabtec - and was free to concentrate on developing Statfold.

One man’s vision ultimately paved the way for a unique UK tourist park which has mushroomed into a country destination with an array of family attractions, from steam trains to woodland trails, mini-golf, play park facilities and as an increasingly popular magnet for corporate events.

Head of sales and marketing Lauren Jones told Chamberlink: “It all really stemmed from Graham's love of the railway and has pretty much grown organically, with the need to now look at managing the growth through clear strategy.

“It never had the original intention of becoming what it is now. We have one of the largest, most diverse narrow gauge private collections in the world. The heritage railway is still our USP - but we must diversify in order to generate the revenue to preserve our collection.”

Millions of pounds have been invested over the decades into a family-owned tourism attraction which offers days out for steam fanatics, rides on the dodgems for fun-seekers, mini-golf, play facilities for youngsters, roller-skating and more.

The key to Statfold’s growth from a rail fanatic’s hobby horse to a thriving family destination lies in its diversification in recent years - as Lauren explains.

“Things have kind of morphed over time. We will always continue to be a heritage railway but similar to a lot of businesses you have to diversify. We have the trust side of it, the Statfold Narrow Gauge Museum Trust, and then we have the trading side of the business and that feeds into the trust.

“It's not just a railway, it's far more than that. When you pull off the Ashby Road near Tamworth you are in Statfold country and we can entertain you to a full family day out.

“There's still a long way to go and Graham is fully committed to supporting this journey. With the development of our corporate offering, as well as Asian weddings, we are opening up the site to a much wider audience.

“We are enhancing what is on site and repositioning ourselves as a family attraction with a heritage railway. We have to put on events such as our Magical Statfold Express at Christmas - which sees over 25,000 people visiting - because the money is reinvested into the Trust to maintain and preserve our engines.”

While Lauren admits that Statfold remains to some degree “Tamworth’s hidden gem,” last year's award of the MBE to founder Graham Lee has underlined the growing recognition of the development work undertaken over many years across 1,000 acres of tranquil farmland.

Awarded the MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List for his exceptional commitment to the rail industry and charitable work, Graham remains the beating heart at Statfold.

Nearly 40 years since Graham and wife Carol bought Statfold Barn Farm the country park which grew out of that purchase remains very much a family operation with son-in-law Henry Noon and wife Julie running Statfold Seed Oils aimed at the health and beauty sector and grandson Nick carrying on the family engineering tradition with Statfold Engineering Ltd, including vintage and steam engine restorations.

Lauren adds: “Graham drives down every day, several times a day. He’s often here with his Labrador Sam before any of us have even arrived.”

With rail heritage still its USP, the Statfold site has grown into a significant employer in the Tamworth area as a specialist in repair work.

“We’ve got about 25 permanent staff and we’ve also got zero hours staff. A good proportion of the staff - eight or 10 - are on the engineering side with the maintenance of the railway and the engines.

“A lot of heritage railways tend to contact us for repair work they need doing to their engines. We've just converted one of our engines from coal to oil using 21st century technology, demonstrating the skillset we have here.”

Meanwhile, the site also houses Graham's private collection of historic locomotives gathered from worldwide locations including Indonesia, Fiji and elsewhere - attracting thousands of rail enthusiasts, including international visitors from as far afield as America, Australia and India to the verdant West Midlands countryside.

“It's exciting - no day is ever the same here. We are lucky because this is family-owned. Graham wants to support the development of the site to allow his vision to really come to life and be sustainable for the future.”

This article first appeared in the June 2026 edition of Chamberlink magazine.

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Pictured: Lauren Jones and Graham Lee