The Swanage Railway Trust

Analysis

The Swanage Railway Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Swanage. It was registered in July 2001, 25 years ago. Its declared purposes cover environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under environment and conservation. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 04115126). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space.

In the financial year ending January 2026, The Swanage Railway Trust reported income of £4.8m and spending of £3.8m, leaving 21% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from January 2022 to January 2026, income grew from £3.4m to £4.8m (+43%), an average of +9.3% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to January 2026, when income rose by 18%. Over the whole period it spent 87% of the income it received.

Among 4,574 England and Wales charities whose main cause is environment and conservation and that reported income, The Swanage Railway Trust sits at the 98th percentile: it is larger than about 98% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 98th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (£4.7m), World Energy Council (£5.0m) and The Veolia Environmental Trust (£4.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from trading 71%, donations and legacies 26% and charitable activities 1.6%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £898k. Charitable activities took 13% of spending and raising funds 0.4%. Reserves of £1.8m would cover about 6 months of spending at that rate. It employed 36 people.