March 2010. Malmesbury to Dauntsey, Wiltshire. Towards the end of last month, The Wilts & Gloucester Standard reported that a project to build a cycle track along the 6½ mile former Malmesbury branch has been revived. Recent housing development at Cowbridge has prompted renewed interest in a scheme first mooted in 2003 with a £25,000 contribution by the Minton Group to Sustrans, as part of the legal agreement attached to planning permission for the housing. If agreement is reached with the landowners, a full feasibility study will be carried out, but a huge amount of investment will be needed because all four river bridges along the route have been demolished. Sustrans and Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership are investigating the track, particularly the shorter section between Malmesbury and Cowbridge. Malmesbury Area Pathwatch is also involved. Spokesman Ted Palmer commented: 'It is still only a proposal. It is not yet a plan. Obviously we cannot progress without negotiations with landowners on the way through.' (Ralph Rawlinson)

March 2010. Heathfield, East Sussex. In 2006, following an alleged assault on a walker early in 2005, the local district and parish councils closed Heathfield Tunnel and then failed to agree over its reopening, which depended upon the installation of lockable gates. Subsequently, the gates were fitted and it would appear that they are now permanently locked during the winter. Recently, a member of Ralph Rawlinson's 'Bygone Lines' group who lives locally contacted the ranger, who told him that this year the gates will be open for the summer, which is deemed to start around the end of March, probably the 25th, and will stay open until 1st November this year. (Ralph Rawlinson)

March 2010. Carlisle, Cumbria. Cycle Carlisle (a campaign group for cycling in Carlisle) has drawn up a petition to ask both Carlisle City and Cumbria County Council to purchase and restore the Waverley Viaduct to secure its future as a walking route and open it up to cycling for the first time. The viaduct last saw trains run over it in early 1969, and has been used as an unofficial crossing of the River Eden ever since. The structure is grade 2 listed, and is perhaps worthy of being restored for architectural and heritage value alone, in addition to which the bridge would also provide the most convenient crossing of the Eden to link north and west Carlisle. The petition can be viewed and signed by clicking the link here. (Toby Harling, Cycle Carlisle)

March 2010. Bath to Midford, Somerset. Further to our report last month (see below), work has now begun on clearing the northern entrance into Devonshire tunnel for the Two Tunnels Greenway, which will link Bath with Midford. Sustrans says the cyclepath should be in use by 2011. Click here to read the full report from the BBC News website. (Ralph Rawlinson)

February 2010. Whitstable, Kent. There is good news for anyone wishing to walk or cycle the Crab & Winkle line in Kent, based loosely on the former Canterbury & Whitstable Railway. Kent County Council has granted full planning permission for Sustrans to complete a virtually traffic-free route through Whitstable, which will re-use sections of the C&WR long rendered inaccessible by the removal of former bridges and the construction of new roads. Sustrans in turn will lodge a planning application for new bridges spanning Old Bridge Road, the Network Rail line to Margate, and Teynham Road. Full details are available via the link here. Readers should note that relatively little of the Crab & Winkle currently follows the old railway, although moving more of the route on to the old trackbed remains a long-term objective. Difficulties arise because the line closed to passengers in 1931 and to freight in 1952. Consequently, the trackbed has had over half a century in which to get re-absorbed back into local farmland. (Ralph Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)

February 2010. Bath to Midford, Somerset. The Bath Chronicle of Wednesday 17 February 2010 has just reported that Bath & North East Somerset Council is about to sign the paperwork for the start of the Two Tunnels Greenway route. This will re-use the trackbed of the former Somerset & Dorset Railway between Lower Bristol Road, just west of Bath Green Park station (now restored), and Midford. At Midford, where the village's substantial viaduct has been restored already, an end-on connection will be made with the existing railway path that leads on to just short of Wellow. Between Wellow and Shoscombe Vale, most of the trackbed has been ploughed out and a diversion must be followed via minor lanes, but the tracked can be rejoined at Shocombe Vale and followed right through to Radstock, once a centre for coal mining in Somerset. (Ralph Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)

February 2010. Cheddar to Wells, Somerset. David Mitchell, the Cycling Officer for Somerset, has informed the Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society that all the paperwork for creating an extension of the Yatton-Cheddar trail on to Wells is now prepared and 'ready to go'. On 19th January, he briefed local councillors prior to a meeting when this new multi-use path was due to be submitted so that the consultation period could begin. (Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society)

February 2010. Shillingstone to Stourpaine, Dorset. The North Dorset Trailway has now secured funding (including a grant from Railway Ramblers) to build a further section of the Trailway which will include a new bridge over the River Stour between Gains Cross and Stourpaine. The estimated cost of the bridge is £300,000, so this represents a major investment – but one which makes it much more likely that, in time, the route may be extended by negotiation into Blandford Forum along the old railway alignment. (Graham Stanley, North Dorset Ranger Service)

January 2010. Percy Main to Byker, Tyneside. Virtually all of the NER branch along the north bank of the River Tyne is now a railway path. From Percy Main to Wallsend, the route is fragmentary although what remains has been conveniently linked. However, from Wallsend (NZ 305663) to Byker (NZ 267645), the route offers four miles of continuous trackbed walking or cycling. We realise that this route has probably existed for several years, but it is the first time that it has come to our attention – thanks to the Webmaster investigating Ralph Rawlinson's report below. (Jeff Vinter)

January 2010. South Gosforth to Wallsend, Tyneside. A two mile section of waggonway on North Tyneside was re-opened as a cycle trail in October last year. The waggonway, known variously as the Coxlodge Waggonway, the Kenton & Coxlodge Waggonway and the Gosforth & Kenton Waggonway, was opened in 1808 and connected pits in the South Gosforth area with coal staiths on the River Tyne at Wallsend. The new route is 3 metres wide and has been fully lit, signposted and landscaped; it runs from NZ 256682 to NZ 279673. (Ralph Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)

January 2010. Strathblane to Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. In October 2009, Sustrans and East Dunbartonshire Council finished a £130,000 six year programme to upgrade the 7½ mile Strathkelvin Railway Path, formerly part of the NBR's line from Gartness to Lenzie. The opening of the section from Strathblane to Lennoxtown completed a process of upgrading the path in its entirety from Strathblane to Kirkintilloch, connecting Kirkintilloch to the West Highland Way. (Ralph Rawlinson)

January 2010. Harrogate (Pannal Junction) to Northallerton, North Yorshire. The former NER line from Bilton to Ripley was earmarked in Sustrans' Connect2 proposals for a cycle route, and on 14 December 2009 North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Council agreed to complete a Bridleway Creation Order and construct the route. However, there remains considerable concern about the level of possible compensation payments to landowners. (Ralph Rawlinson)

January 2010. Belmont Junction to Aykley Junction, County Durham. Re-opening Belmont Viaduct to the north of Durham as part of a cycleway was another of Sustrans' Connect2 schemes, but it has been revealed that the cost of restoring this spectacular listed structure has rocketed from £800,000 to £1.785m, leading Durham Council officials to reconsider whether they should back the project. (Ralph Rawlinson)

January 2010. Woodhall to Horncastle, Lincolnshire. Most of the trackbed of this former branch line has been converted into the Spa Trail. In October 2009, it was reported that £226,000 is to be spent on re-surfacing the trail and providing car parks at each end. (Ralph Rawlinson)

January 2010. Maiden Newton to Bridport, Dorset. On Saturday 30 January, a party was held to celebrate the opening of the Toller to Powerstock Common section of the railway path being developed along this former GWR branch line. The project is being led by Sustrans Ltd., the Bristol-based path-building charity. Currently, the path is open for walkers only, with the above photograph making it obvious why. The trail diverts to the north of the trackbed just before Toller to avoid a privately owned section; fortunately, a supportive local farmer and West Dorset District Council own the adjoining land, so the route here parallels the old railway. The party was attended by over 100 supporters with a raffle raising over £4,500 for the project; all the prizes, including a superb £2,000 road bike, were donated by local businesses. (Ralph Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)

January 2010. Cambridge to St. Ives, Cambridgeshire. The guided busway along this 15½ mile former railway line (known locally as the misguided busway) is still not operational, despite having been scheduled to open in April and then November 2009. The parallel cycle trail is not fully complete either, especially at the Cambridge end where the surface is loose chippings – 'quite hard work for a regular commute', in the words of one recent user. The latest news is that the county council is in dispute with the contractors and nothing is resolved, so they may end up in court. (Ralph Rawlinson)

January 2010. Pontllanfraith to Nine Mile Point, Gwent. This line has been converted into a cycle trail, the Sirhowy Valley Railpath, and forms the eastern part of the 353 mile Celtic Trail (NCN47). However, in August 2008 it was blocked by a landslip between Ynysddu and Cwmfelinfach. Now, after 18 months out of commission, Caerphilly Council hope to begin work on clearing the route in the spring. A £315,000 grant from Sustrans will help to finance the work. Full details, as published by the South Wales Argus, can be viewed by clicking the link here. (Ralph Rawlinson)

January 2010. Tavistock to Bere Alston, Devon. John Skinner (a local resident whose grandfather was station master at Bere Alston for 21 years) has contacted us to advise that, contrary to the suggestion in our September 2009 report, there is definitely going to be a cycle trail and footpath along this route, to run parallel with the proposed reinstated railway line which will be single track. In fact, Richard Burningham, who is the Devon and Cornwall rail partnership officer dealing with this issue, has said that the trail will happen regardless of whether the railway is reinstated or not. The net result is that residents of Tavistock will soon have two cycle trails running south from the town – this one, and Drake's Trail on the old GWR route to Yelverton and Plymouth. John adds: 'The line should never have closed at all, of course, but at least it seems as if things are moving to an extent to put right the follies of the past.' The railway could re-open as early as 2013-14, although the big issue will be the political will to see the project through. (John Skinner).

January 2010. Derby to Ilkeston, Derbyshire. New member John Swan has just supplied corrections to our November 2009 entry for this route, which now reads as follows.

Sustrans and Derbyshire County Council via contractors Pugh-Lewis are converting the 13 miles of Great Northern trackbed between Breadsall and Ilkeston into a cycle trail known as The Great Northern Greenway (NCN672). The current status is as follows:

• The trackbed within the Derby conurbation has been re-developed and so the Derby-Breadsall section runs alongside local roads.
• SK 363385–SK 381395, 1½m. The trackbed commences at The Paddock public house and curves around the south of Breadsall, passing the site of Breadsall Station at SK369394 and continuing as far as the A608 bridge (filled in). This section was opened officially on 22 November 2009.
• SK 381395–SK 398400, 1m. An extension from the A608 bridge to Lime Lane is scheduled to be completed this year, the latter point being where the line went under the lane via the 276 yard Morley Tunnel (buried). This section is partly an SSSI – Breadsall Railway Cutting – and the greenway will be created running parallel to this as far as Lime Lane and the tunnel.

At the moment, the route is signed only over the second section above. The Paddock is significant because this is where Breadsall Viaduct commenced until it was demolished in the early 1970s. It has been hinted that the impressive Bennerley Viaduct, to the east of Ilkeston, might one day be included in the scheme. (Ralph Rawlinson and John Swan)

January 2010. Leicester to Whetstone, Leicestershire. Years of campaigning and protests came to nought on 9th November 2009 when work started on dismantling the bowstring bridge over New Park Street and the canalised River Soar at Braunstone Gate in Leicester. Work was delayed for 12 hours when a 39 year old woman chained herself to the top girder, but this famous bridge and local landmark has now gone. (Ralph Rawlinson)