All aboard Le Petit Train for Butterflies pre-schoolers

GP Ted made a guest appearance, cheered on and cuddled by the 20 students and five staff.

Tilly Eyre, 3, said she had been on the train before for a party with “Ruby and my friends”, and was excited to go again.

The pre-school’s owner and manager Elaine Allen said the trip was organised as part of their transport theme.

‘Last week we did things that fly for the Red Arrows.

‘We try to learn about themes in different ways.

‘On the train they’ll learn about transport, Guernsey, and the importance of transportation.

‘When we come out we wear our waistcoats to be seen, and children learn to listen to instructions.

‘There is a humongous amount to learn by taking lessons out of the classroom.’

Parents are updated by a weekly blog.

‘I don’t know who’s been more excited – the students or the parents. Loads of them have offered to come along to help out.’

Further trips are planned this year.

‘We usually have 10 or 11 outings each year.

‘Le Petit Train was a good call because it is enclosed, reasonably safe, fun and something different.

‘We’ve been planning this for ages so it’s brilliant to finally be here.’

Another reason for the trip was to support local businesses.

‘It has been very quiet over the summer and still is, with very little in the way of visitors.

‘So we also wanted to support local businesses.’

Owner and operator of Petit Train Ltd Andrew Furniss said: ‘This year we’ve been down 80% on turnover, although we have seen around 200 Isle of Man visitors.

‘But with no cruise ships I had to think outside the box, and offered trips free to children, which has helped.

‘Last year I put on six evening events, and this year already I’ve done 25.

‘Rather than park up and take the co-funding, I thought I should do what I can to keep moving forward.’