Dr Matt Stroh is K&WVR chairman
Follow the railway at kwvr.co.uk, on Twitter @Worthvalley and

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We are only just able to draw breath after hosting Santa and his Pixies for a magical – and very busy – Santa Special season.

We now turn our attention to the job of running steam trains every weekend, through half term and during our Steam Spectacular on March 7-9, when we run an intensive service using our home fleet of locomotives and two visiting steam engines – visit kwvr.co.uk for further information.

We are also looking ahead to Le Grand Depart of the Tour de France, which will be passing through the valley on July 6.

On day one, the route goes from Leeds to Harrogate on a very circuitous route that will take in some breathtaking scenery, and on day two from York to Sheffield, which is far enough on a direct route. But again it will not go as the crow flies, and will take in some even more fantastic views.

Most importantly for us, day two goes via Keighley and up the valley to Haworth, where the cyclists are expected to travel past our station, up Main Street and on to Oxenhope.

We are told there will be up to nine helicopters filming the race, so the potential for great publicity for the area is massive, and we are working on how we can capitalise on the opportunity.

There is a ‘caravan’ that precedes the cyclists, the scale of which needs you to think back to the advance party for the Olympic Torch – which was made up of three or four vehicles and passed in a matter of a few minutes – and then go much, much bigger!

We are told the caravan of vehicles and entertainers can take up to three hours to pass, resulting in road closures for much of the day, but providing a great opportunity for us all to enjoy a very special event close to home. However, our focus is on the vital transport role the railway is going to play on the day because the road closures will make us the only transport provider able to access Haworth and Oxenhope from Keighley.

Do please check on the website or via Twitter @worthvalley for the latest on our plans for the day, and also for details of our regular services and events.