May 2026. Rothes to Craigellachie, Morayshire/Banffshire. The Rothes Way is a community-led project which aims to provide a multi-use path linking Rothes and Craigellachie, which will for the most part follow the line of the former Great North of Scotland Railway and provide an off-road alternative to the A95/A941. It also provides a link to […]
News
The latest from Railway Ramblers.
News 2025
December 2025. Hawes, Yorkshire. The nascent Upper Wensleydale Railway (UWR) has produced an impressive map showing the route and structures on the six-mile Hawes branch, which they hope one day to reopen. Including the two extant viaducts and Mossdale Head Tunnel, the UWR has identified 39 officially numbered bridges, at least 19 unnumbered culverts, almost […]
News 2024
November 2024. Every railway rambler’s dream: stations for sale. Station residences at both ends of the spectrum are currently, or were recently, on the market, with something else in between. Member Steve Wall sent in details of St Helens railway station on the former Isle of Wight Railway which has just come onto the market […]
News 2023
December 2023. Maerdy, Glamorgan. The surviving section of this line as far south as Pontygwaith was walked by the Club on 6th April 2013 and a report appears in Railway Ramblings 142 (Summer 2014), p. 35. At that time the surface was variable and some sections were still ballasted. However upgrading is now in progress […]
News 2022
December 2022. Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The humble, yet vital, siding hit the Huddersfield headlines when engineers working on the Transpennine Route Upgrade unearthed a set at Hillhouse, near Alder Street. The sidings are thought to date from 1850, while the wider site also encompassed train sheds and two turntables. It was used to store trains […]
Nov 2022 – Lias Line Greenway: Leamington Spa – Rugby (plus a section of the Weedon – Leamington line)
As reported in RR 175, the Sustrans cycle and footpath opened earlier this year, but only used three short sections of disused railway: the Offchurch section at the southern end, a little piece of trackbed near Long Itchington, and a section between Birdingbury and Draycote. On the outskirts of Rugby, a non-Sustrans path called the […]
Nov 2022 – Bridges.
Two more bridges that have been infilled by National Highways may yet go the way of Great Musgrave, with local councils requiring the infill to be removed so as to open up the trackbeds for leisure routes. The dismantled railway under Congham Road bridge near King’s Lynn was one of several identified in Norfolk County […]
Oct 2022 – Smardale Gill Viaduct, Westmorland (now Cumbria).
‘Following a full professional inspection of the Grade II* Listed Smardale Gill Viaduct, we commenced a series of works in four phases to preserve the integrity and ensure the long-term security of this iconic structure. Phase 1, the installation of stainless steel mesh panels on the existing railings to meet current safety standards, was completed […]
Oct 2022 – Itchen Abbas, Hampshire.
The National Highways infill saga has moved from all-fill to no-fill, as bridges up and down the land learn their reprieve from the depredations of the concrete mixers. One such structure is the bridge which takes Stoke Road, Itchen Abbas, over the disused section of the ex-LSWR Alton to Winchester line. The furore at Great […]
Oct 2022 – Bideford, Devon.
Barnstaple Town Council has unanimously backed calls to reinstate the town’s rail link with Bideford. The council voted to support the Tarka Rail Association (TRA) and the Atlantic Coast – Exeter Railway project, ACE Rail. The project aims to give Bideford a boost by extending the Tarka Line to the growing town’s 30,000 people and […]
Oct 2022 – Pontarddulais – Grovesend, Glamorgan.
The conversion of this 1-mile long section of former Central Wales line trackbed to a foot and cycle way has been completed. Pontarddulais is accessible by rail and future extensions to Swansea Bay are proposed. (Chris Parker)
Oct 2022 – Gelli Tunnel, Cymmer, Glamorgan.
Nation.Cymru has reported that Gelli Houses Tunnel (usually known simply as ‘Gelli’) has been closed off for the forseeable future, following an inspection. The 166-yard horseshoe-shaped tunnel is located on the section of Rhondda & Swansea Bay Railway which closed in 1960 when a new connection opened allowing traffic to be diverted on to the […]
Sep 2022 – Somosierra, Madrid.
The direct line north from Madrid to Burgos may yet re-open to traffic, eleven years on from a tunnel collapse at Somosierra which left a tamping machine half-buried in the rubble. It was the excuse the Spanish railway authorities needed to close a line which they were already running down. The tamping machine, along with […]
Sep 2022 – Bassenthwaite Lake / Cockermouth, Cumbria.
Readers of this magazine will be aware of the restored station-cum-café at this ex-CKPR location. We had not reported a story involving the old Cockermouth Station benches which have been at the local bowling club since the station closed. When the Bassenthwaite Lake station owners were alerted to their departure and subsequent availability, within 48 […]
Sep 2022 – Wick St. Lawrence, Somerset.
The Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway Group report that they are working with North Somerset Council on a reconstruction of Wick St Lawrence station as part of the new shared-use path along the old trackbed. The project is fully funded. They also held a WC&P Railway Anniversary Exhibition in Portishead in early October. Related and […]
Aug 2022 – Pudsey, Lancashire.
An RR walk in May tracing the former line from Laisterdyke to Pudsey Lowtown revealed that for most of its course – from Dick Lane in Laisterdyke to the site of Tyersal Junction (and from there and Cutlers Junction towards Dudley Hill) – is filled-in cuttings with just bridge parapets visible as ground level walls, […]
Aug 2022 – Bowling, Dunbartonshire.
A route which opened last year at Bowling Harbour and uses a section of the ex-Lanarkshire & Dunbartonshire Railway has won the Master Planning/Landscaping: Public Realm/Landscaping Award at the Scottish Design awards. The route is shown on current OS mapping as starting at the east end of Bowling Harbour, but in fact begins at NS […]
Aug 2022 – Isle of Wight.
The Isle of Wight’s railways were decimated by the Beeching cuts (and earlier closures), leaving only the line from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin. Since then, the IoW Steam Railway has reopened the section from Smallbrook Junction on the Ryde line to Wootton, and in May 2020, the Island Council received up to £50,000 from […]
Aug 2022 – Chequerbent Embankment, Lancashire.
In Spring 2022 the above structure was given Ancient Monument Status, which puts it into an exclusive club with Stonehenge etc. This means that the landowner’s plans for the area around the embankment will need to be revised as a hole was going to be punctured through it presumably for road access. The embankment is […]
Aug 2022 – Hundred End to nr. Banks (Gorsey Lane), Lancashire.
Part of the L&YR’s former line from Preston to Southport, this short walk comprises a public footpath at the east end (Hundred End) followed by a short stretch of unclassified road. Examination of aerial photographs suggests that the trackbed may be walkable for another ¼m from SD 403212 to Square House Lane at SD 400210. […]
Aug 2022 – Not so saintly. Cornwall.
Sad news from Cornwall where sections of the proposed Saints Trails keep being dropped in a kind of rail-trail ‘decanonisation’. Despite Cornwall Council being able to claw back £1m from National Highways for over-running, this still leaves £18m which has gone into an ever-shrinking project. The original plan was to open paths between Truro and […]
Aug 2022 – Watford, Hertfordshire.
A proposal to reopen the disused Watford – Croxley Green line ‘in some sustainable travel capacity’ is being pursued by a team of transport consultancies led by Atkins. The 3.5 mile stretch of track has been disused since 1996 and has suffered from a number of false starts as an extension to the Metropolitan Line […]
Aug 2022 – Rugby to Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
Sustrans’ much-heralded ‘Lias Line Greenway’ between these two towns has opened, but it should be pointed out that, so far, it only uses three short sections of disused railway: the long existing Offchurch Greenway at its southern end, a brief trackbed visit near Long Itchington, and a section between Birdingbury and Draycote. (Further sections are […]
July 2022 – Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester.
Technically this qualifies as a (tiny) piece of reopened disused railway. Lovers of plants, flowers and modern ‘art’ may be happy, but the preview video put out by the Manchester Evening News didn’t show much of a nod to the viaduct’s heritage, while the Daily Mail’s hyperbolic ‘stunning new look’ considerably over-eggs things. One also […]
July 2022 – Whitrope Tunnel, Roxburghshire.
The Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) newsletter 65 reported a collapse in Whitrope Tunnel on the former Waverley Line between Hawick and Newcastleton. ‘Following heavy rain in March a large rockfall took place close to the southern end of Whitrope Tunnel in the location where a section of the tunnel lining had previously given way. […]
July 2022 – Hawes, North Yorkshire.
Following on from the news item in the last magazine, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) has conducted a survey which, it claims, shows there is strong public support for developing a multi-user route along the six-mile stretch of former railway in Wensleydale, between Hawes and Garsdale. Nearly four out of five members of […]
July 2022 – Coventry, Warwickshire.
A £200,000 ‘greenway’ is being built in Coventry to link Gosford Park School with the Binley Road cycleway at Gosford Green, part of which will use the southern section of the Coventry Loop Line which was opened in 1914 to enable freight to avoid the main station, but closed in 1981. Much of it, which […]
July 2022 – Holbeck Viaduct, Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Plans continue to convert around a mile of ex-LNWR track into a highline walkway, or – as the flowery rhetoric of the Holbeck Viaduct Project Group’s vision document puts it – ‘a distinguished linear public space.’ Which is more than can be said for the rather depressing industrial landscape through which the 92-arch structure and […]
July 2022 – Waverley Viaduct, Carlisle, Cumbria.
Meanwhile, a group of Northumbria University students, all from India, have launched a survey to boost public awareness of plans to reopen the Waverley Viaduct and offer their support to The Carlisle Waverley Viaduct Trust. The Trust has spent more than a decade campaigning for the Viaduct to be reopened as a footpath and eventually […]
2020 News (March Onwards)
Dec 2020 – Little Mill Jn – Usk, Monmouthshire Monmouthshire County Council’s planning committee has approved plans to convert about 4 miles of the trackbed of the ex-GWR line between Little Mill Junction and Usk. The path will start near a point on the A472 to the west of Coleg Gwent and the Monmouthshire Council […]
News 2021
Dec 2021 – Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland. The main railway walking available in County Donegal is on the former Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway, which operated 99 miles of narrow gauge line from Londonderry to Tooban Junction, where separate branches led off to Carndonagh and Burtonport. A Google search for ‘Dismantled railway Letterkenny to […]
June 2022 – Tyelaw Burn, Northumberland.
Here is a disused railway path not shown as such on OS maps nor is it listed in Railway Rights of Way or Vinter’s Gazetteer and has never been reported in Railway Ramblings. Promoted on the letsgoforawalk.uk website as the ‘Tyelaw Burn Railway’, this is in fact the former standard gauge mineral line which ran […]
June 2022 – Ardingly, East Sussex.
The Bluebell Railway have cleared the disused trackbed west of Lywood Tunnel on the Ardingly branch line towards a missing farm access bridge, with a view to reinstating the bridge. This was done somewhat controversially during nesting season, but it’s nice to see the trackbed clear for the first time in many years. (Chris Bedford)
June 2022. Kettleness to Runswick Bank Top, North Yorkshire.
A new path has come to our attention between these two locations, though the route has not yet been inspected. It is apparently open to cyclists and walkers, and is shown as a permissive bridleway on the latest OS mapping: 2½m, NZ 831155–NZ 803156. Part of the scenic North Eastern Railway line from Whitby to […]
June 2022 – Heathfield, Devon.
The Heath Rail Link is a public interest group formed with the intention of purchasing and reopening the line from Newton Abbot to Heathfield in Devon, initially as a commuter link, and later as a heritage line. Their plans include restoring Platforms 9 and 10 at Newton Abbot and relaying track in the latter, in […]
June 2022 – Bennerley Viaduct, Derbys/Notts.
On Monday 20 June 2022, I signed, as Chairman of Railway Paths Ltd (RPL), the 99-year lease of Bennerley Viaduct to The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct, who will now promote and develop it as a local landmark and tourist attraction. With the generous help of supporters such as the Railway Heritage Trust and the Heritage […]
June 2022 – Torrington, Devon.
The Puffing Billy Café, located in the old station building at Torrington, Devon on what is now the popular Tarka Trail, has new owners who say they are committed to retaining it as a community hub. The building itself is owned by a charity, Tarka Valley Railway, and retains a number of items dating back […]
June 2022 – Brislington, Somerset.
Temporary permission has been granted to extend, in effect, the Sustrans-built Whitchurch to Brislington trail further in towards Bristol city centre. The approval approval permits the old railway to be used as an active travel route for a period of 3 years, at the end of which the Council will have the option to proceed […]
May 2022 – South West England.
Work on the Pier to Pier Way is proceeding which incorporates a section of the former Weston Clevedon & Portishead Railway route between Weston Super Mare and Clevedon known as the Tutshill Greenway and this is due to open in the summer. The complete length of the Pier to Pier Way may well be open […]
May 2022 – Tavistock, Devon
The Tavistock Herald has reported Devon County Council’s plans to re-open the line from Tavistock to Bere Alston, and provide an hourly service from Tavistock to Plymouth. A recent engineering survey found the trackbed almost completely unobstructed, and the structures (bridges, tunnels and viaducts) in sound condition. Devon CC has now submitted a funding bid to […]
May 2022 – The Lias Line, Warwickshire
The Lias Line, Warwickshire (named after the Blue Lias cement works at Long Itchington, which kept the branch open to goods traffic until 1985). In October last year, work began to extend the Offchurch Greenway to Marton Junction, and thence along the Weedon Junction branch to the Grand Union Canal (SP 410645) near Long Itchington. […]
April 2022. Great Musgrave, Cumbria.
Regular readers will be aware that last year National Highways (NH) ‘temporarily infilled’ a bridge in the village which lies between two heritage railways that hope, eventually, to join up. Graeme Bickerdike, a member of The HRE Group which is trying to halt a nationwide infilling and demolition programme of legacy rail structures, said: ‘National […]
April 2022. King’s Cliffe, Northamptonshire.
A newly extended path has been opened on the trackbed of the ex-LNWR Market Harborough to Peterborough line at King’s Cliffe. A local information leaflet says the ‘disused railway’ path was fully opened in 2019, providing a 1.5 mile route across the north of the village, connecting Fineshade Woods to Apethorpe and Old Sulehay. It […]
April 2022. Wye Valley Greenway, Gloucestershire/Monmouthshire.
In April last year, Tidenham Tunnel was opened as the finishing stage of a multi-use trail from Tintern to Sedbury (east of the River Wye from Chepstow), which uses the trackbed of the former Wye Valley Railway (WVR). During the autumn and winter period (1st October to 31st March), when the tunnel is closed to […]
April 2022. Shepton Viaducts Trail, Somerset.
This summer, John Grimshaw’s charity ‘Greenways and Cycleroutes Ltd’ will be running a number of workcamps in order to construct a new railway path from the A37 on the east side of Shepton Mallet (ST 626437) to the north end of Ham Woods Viaduct (ST 609454), where a connection will be made with footpaths that […]
April 2022. Wells to Dulcote, Somerset.
There has been a railway path from Wells to west of Dulcote for some years, although it had become very overgrown before members of the Strawberry Line Society took it in hand a few years back. On 4th March this year, Annie Maw (Lord Lieutenant of Somerset) opened the ‘Dulcote Link’, a new section of […]
March 2022 – ‘Urban explorers’ open Queensbury can of worms
The New Civil Engineer reported that ‘National Highways’ long-running battle with disgruntled campaigners in West Yorkshire has boiled over, with the police called in to investigate an alleged case of trespass.’ Photos taken by three ‘urban explorers’ of the ‘work’ carried out in the tunnel by NH engineers, were released by campaigners who are fighting […]
March 2022 – Leven is next
News arrived this month that the first rails have gone down on the five-mile Levenmouth Link, a branch which will connect Leven with the Fife Circle Line at Thornton North Junction. As well as the terminus at Leven, a station will be opened at Cameron Bridge, where the platforms and four tracks survive, though seriously […]
March 2022 – The magnificent seven?
Is it time for some cautious optimism regarding the Restoring your Railway Fund (RRF) and whether it really can kick-start some serious rail reopenings? The recent Okehampton reopening shows that it can be done, albeit – in that case – involving the upgrade of an existing freight line. So, what next? The New Civil Engineer […]
March 2022 – Fawley reopening scaled back
Network Rail has said it will continue to work on the scheme to reopen the former Fawley branch line, but only as far as Hythe, where a new station would need to be built. The original plan was to open a park-and-ride station at Hardley, just outside Fawley Oil Refinery, but the cost of the […]