Vale of Rheidol Railway Limited

The principal activity is operation of a narrow guage railway line as a working museum.

In the charity's own words, from the register.

In Wales

• Ceredigion

Area of benefit in its governing document: Ceredigion (old County Cardiganshire)

The places the charity told the Commission it works in.

In the year ending 31 December 2025, it had income of £7,552,789 and spent £2,581,698.

Figures as the charity reported them to the Charity Commission. Staff and volunteer numbers are only asked of charities with income over £10,000. A year with no row was not reported.

Separate measures from the charity's own returns and accounts, each with its year. Read them together: no single measure says how well a charity is run.

Income over time

Up 362%, from £1,634,355 in the year to 31 December 2021 to £7,552,789 in the year to 31 December 2025.

Spending against income

It spent 34% of its income in the year to 31 December 2025. It spent less than its income in each of the 5 years shown.

Largest funder

Phyllis Rampton Narrow Gauge Railway Trust gave £5,354,799 in the year to 31 December 2025, 71% of that year's income.Read by AI from the charity's accounts.

From the annual returns the charity filed with the Charity Commission. The largest funder comes from its accounts, read by AI.

Government grants in the year ending 31 December 2025: Not reported. Government contracts: Not reported.

From the charity's annual return to the Charity Commission, which asks every charity with income over £10,000 how much came from government grants and contracts. It does not say which part of government. These totals are separate from the named funders read from its accounts and the grants published on 360Giving, and are not added to them.

In its accounts for the year ending 31 December 2025, the charity named 1 funder who gave £5,354,799. £0 of that came from public bodies.

These figures were read from the accounts the charity filed with the Charity Commission by Claude, an AI model, in OpenEconomy's accounts reader. AI can misread a table, so check the accounts on the register before relying on a figure.

Only funding the accounts name with an amount is included. Most charities also have income from donations, fees and trading that is not listed by funder, so this is part of its income.

Funders that publish to 360Giving list 1 grant to this charity, worth £5,000, awarded in 2016.

Only funders that publish their grants to 360Giving are included, and many do not. These are amounts funders awarded, which can differ from what the charity received in a given year, so they are shown apart from the accounts figures above.

Public bodies' published spending shows 7 payments to this charity worth £1,431,198 between 11 August 2021 and 11 January 2023.

Councils and Welsh Government publish what they pay suppliers and grant holders above a threshold, usually £500 for councils and £25,000 for Welsh Government, so smaller payments are missing. A payment is shown only when OpenEconomy matched it to this charity with certainty. These figures come from the payer's records. They are a separate measure from the charity's own accounts, 360Giving grants and its annual return, and are never added to them.

Senedd and Welsh Government records that name this charity, gathered by OpenSenedd. Newest first.

• 8 March 2024

  Named in a written question from Gareth Davies

  Addressed to the Minister for Economy.

  …sing campaign, Awydd Antur, which has had TV, digital and social media coverage. The Visit Wales social media team recently filmed at the Vale of Rheidol Railway and published it to channels with over 1.2 million subscribers. We also publish dedicated railway content on the Visit Wales website: Heri…

  Read the record

We count a mention only when the record gives the charity's full registered name or its charity number. A mention shows the charity was named in that record. Follow the link to read it in full.

4 trustees run the charity.

• Dr Clive Richard HiggsAppointed 1 September 2016
• Jonathan Nichol McKieAppointed 6 June 2025
• Patrick KeefAppointed 28 July 2023
• Philip John Neville Ellis

Trustees are responsible in law for the charity. Names are as they appear on the public register.

Of the last 5 annual returns that were due, 5 arrived by the deadline.

Charities with income over £10,000 send an annual return within 10 months of their year end, and those over £25,000 also send their accounts. Smaller charities only update their income and spending on the register. The dates are when the Commission received each document.

Charity number

1076037

Status

Registered

Registered with the Commission

16 June 1999

Governing document

MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED 4 NOVEMBER 1987AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS DATED 10 OCTOBER 1997, 22 JANUARY 1988, 3 JUNE 1988, 28 APRIL 1999 AND 4 APRIL 2005 as amended on 06 Jan 2024 as amended on 06 Jun 2025

Company number

02188631This company on OpenEconomyThis company on Companies House

Website

www.rheidolrailway.co.ukAs the charity gave it on the register.

Council area of its contact address

Ceredigion

• Register details, income, spending, trustees and filing dates: Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Funding from accounts: the charity's filed accounts, read by OpenEconomy's AI accounts reader on 1 November 2026.
• Grants awarded: 360Giving open grants data, from funders that publish there. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Payments from public bodies: each body's own published spending data, matched to the charity by OpenEconomy. 5 public bodies' data is included so far.
• In the Senedd and Welsh Government: records gathered by OpenSenedd and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 5 November 2026.

• This charity on the Charity Commission register
• Its accounts and annual returns on the register
• 360Giving open grants data
• This charity on OpenEconomy

• OpenSenedd: Senedd records that name this charity
• OpenCouncil: Ceredigion Council's meetings and decisions
• OpenEconomy: Ceredigion's economy in figures
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Ceredigion Penfro