Rowden Mill Transformation: 1974 GWR Toad Brake Van Becomes Two-Person Getaway
A 1974 Great Western Rail Toad brake van has been transformed into a two-person getaway at Rowden Mill Station near Bromyard, complete with a compact kitchen and dining area, a bedroom, and an ensuite bathroom. The project began with restoration work on the van, which would have served as a safety brake on goods trains, and has gradually progressed toward its current use as accommodation.
Initial restoration took around two years, focusing on structural repairs and the restoration of the steel body before the van could be converted into lodging. The vehicle was described by its owners, Cecilia Chavez-Brandon and Paul Kirwan, as “bashed, bent and with rusty steel,” with progress said to be slow as work unfolded. By spring 2024, however, the project moved forward, and the van was relocated closer to the main platform to begin the next phase of repairs in earnest.
Converting the aging van into comfortable accommodation has proved especially challenging due to its veranda and the van’s history as a railway vehicle, which meant “nothing was at a right angle” during redevelopment. Despite the difficulties, the brake van now sits on platform two at Rowden, where visitors can also choose to stay in a two-bedroom guest house in the former station building or in a saloon coach, offering a hint of the 1960s.
Although the brake van has yet to welcome its first guests in this new role, future visitors will be provided with binoculars to help them spot nearby wildlife and enjoy the countryside views that are described as ever-changing. Chavez-Brandon and Kirwan, who became the site’s custodians in 2017 after it had been put on the market a couple of years earlier, say the project is a labour of love.
Rowden Mill’s history stretches back further: the last train passed through Rowden in 1952, and although restoration began only decades later, the site has since become one of the few remaining examples of work by William Clarke, who designed Rowden Mill in the 1800s. The station’s features were carefully restored by predecessors, the Wilkinson family, who bought the property in the 1980s, preserving a heritage that Chavez-Brandon and Kirwan are proud to steward as caretakers.
