Cheddar Valley line

Legend Yatton, GWR (From Taunton to Bristol) Congresbury (Interchange) Wrington Vale Light Railway Sandford and Banwell Winscombe Axbridge Cheddar Draycott Lodge Hill (Serving Westbury-sub-Mendip) Wookey Wells (Tucker Street) (Opened in 1870) Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (To Glastonbury) Wells (Priory Road) (Interchange from 1934, closed 1951, opened in 1862) East Somerset Railway (All stations between Wells and Witham) Witham (Somerset), GWR (Heart of Wessex Line from Weymouth to Bristol)

The Millennium Green at Winscombe, on the site of the former railway station. Yatton railway station serves the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West Taunton is the County town of Somerset, England. The Unparished area (or former Municipal borough) of Taunton has a Population Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Congresbury railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset and the junction for the Wrington Vale Jewellry Quarter railway station train and tram - Birmingham - 2005-10-14 The Wrington Vale Light Railway was a railway from Congresbury on the Cheddar Valley Line to Blagdon and serving villages in the Yeo Valley, North Somerset Sandford and Banwell railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Sandford, Somerset, England Winscombe railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Winscombe, Somerset. Axbridge railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Axbridge, Somerset. Cheddar railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Cheddar, Somerset. Lodge Hill railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset. Westbury-sub-Mendip is a village with a population of about 800 situated on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills four miles from Wells and Cheddar Wookey railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset. Wells (Tucker Street railway station was the second terminus station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset after the The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a Dry point on the Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. Wells (Priory Road was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells in the county of Somerset in England. Jewellry Quarter railway station train and tram - Birmingham - 2005-10-14 The East Somerset Railway is a Heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Wells is a small Cathedral city and Civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Witham Friary is a small village and Civil parish located between the Somerset (England towns of Frome and Bruton. This station in Somerset is closed For the open station in East Anglia see Witham railway station. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth line, is a United Kingdom railway line that runs from Bristol to Westbury Weymouth (ˈweɪməθ is a town in Dorset, England situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London

North entrance of the tunnel under Shute Shelve Hill between Winscombe and Axbridge

An old bridge on the Strawberry Line railway walk, between Sandford and Winscombe

The Cheddar Valley line (also known as the Strawberry Line) was a railway line that ran from Yatton railway station through Cheddar, Wells and Shepton Mallet to Witham in England. Winscombe is a Village in North Somerset, England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Axbridge is a Town in Somerset, England, situated in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip See also Yatton Herefordshire Yatton is a village in North Somerset, England, located south west of Bristol. Yatton railway station serves the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. Cheddar is a large Village and Civil parish in the district of Sedgemoor in the English county of Somerset. Wells is a small Cathedral city and Civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Shepton Mallet is a small rural Town in Somerset, England. It is situated five miles (8 km to the east of Wells, and lies just This station in Somerset is closed For the open station in East Anglia see Witham railway station. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

The Strawberry Line was built as a railway line in 1869 to carry strawberries from Cheddar. The line closed in the 1960s, when it became part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve. ^[1]

History

In the middle of the 19th century there were a large number of railway companies operating and this, in part, led to the line being built in several sections. The first section built was the East Somerset Railway from Witham to Shepton Mallet, opening on 9 November 1858. The East Somerset Railway is a Heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. This station in Somerset is closed For the open station in East Anglia see Witham railway station. Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The line was extended to Wells, opening on 1 March 1862. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday This extended line was bought by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1874. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West

Meanwhile, Yatton was under the control of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, which opened the branch through to Cheddar on 3 August 1869,^[2] although the station had existed since 1841. The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1869 ( MDCCCLXIX) is a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year ^[3] This was extended to Wells on 5 April 1870, with the opening of the Tucker Street station, but the link through to the East Somerset line from Witham was not completed until 1878, and involved passing through a third Wells station, Wells (Priory Road) and using a section of track owned and operated by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Wells (Tucker Street railway station was the second terminus station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway 's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset after the Wells (Priory Road was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells in the county of Somerset in England. The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and The S&DJR was already standard gauge by this time, and the other two railways had moved from broad gauge to standard gauge in 1875. ^[4] The Bristol and Exeter was acquired by the GWR in 1876, and the integrated service ran from Yatton through to Witham, which became the standard service for this line from 1878. The line was single-track for most of the journey between Yatton and Wells, apart from the junction at Congresbury. Congresbury (locally pronounced "Congsbry" is a Village in North Somerset, England. At Wells, trains ran through the Priory Road S&DJR station without stopping until 1934, and that station remained open as the terminus of the short branch line from Glastonbury and Street until the branch closure in 1951 left Tucker Street as the last remaining Wells station^[5]. Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction

The prime motivation for the line to Cheddar and Draycott was to provide transport for strawberries, and Cheddar cheese. Draycott is a small village in Somerset neighbouring the village of Cheddar on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Garden strawberries are a common variety of strawberry cultivated worldwide Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard pale yellow to off-white and sometimes sharp-tasting Cheese from the English village of Cheddar, in Somerset This led to its nickname the Strawberry Line. The pub opposite the station in Draycott is now called The Strawberry Special.

On 4 December 1901, the Wrington Vale Light Railway opened a branch from Congresbury to Blagdon. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Wrington Vale Light Railway was a railway from Congresbury on the Cheddar Valley Line to Blagdon and serving villages in the Yeo Valley, North Somerset Blagdon is a village and Civil parish in the North Somerset Unitary authority in England. This survived until 14 September 1931 for passenger traffic, and 1 November 1950 for goods traffic. Events 81 - Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The Cheddar Valley line survived until the Beeching Axe. The Beeching Axe is an informal name for the British Government 's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system Towards the end of its life, there were so few passengers that diesel railcars were sometimes used. The Cheddar branch closed to passengers on 9 September 1963 and to goods in 1964^[6]. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The Strawberry Line Trail

Today, the line between Yatton and Cheddar exists as the Strawberry Line railway walk and part of the National Cycle Network route 26. See also Yatton Herefordshire Yatton is a village in North Somerset, England, located south west of Bristol. Cheddar is a large Village and Civil parish in the district of Sedgemoor in the English county of Somerset. The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.

The trail starts at Yatton railway station and is in good condition most of the way to Congresbury, although it is necessary to follow a farm track near Congresbury as the railway bridge over the Congresbury Yeo river has been demolished. Yatton railway station serves the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. Congresbury (locally pronounced "Congsbry" is a Village in North Somerset, England. For other rivers called Yeo see River Yeo The River Yeo (often referred to as the Congresbury Yeo, after the village of Congresbury The platforms of the former station here remain, as do houses built for railway workers. Although the platforms are currently covered in vegetation and in need of repair due to root damage, the track bed between platforms is now clear of undergrowth and awaiting further clearing works as of March 2008. (Note: Path can still be prone to mud through and just after station for around 50 metres (164 ft), until meeting with the new fine gravel surface)

The route to Sandford has an upgraded surface and has been widened, although currently lacking in seats with none for over 3 miles (5 km). The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Sandford is a Village between Churchill and Banwell on the A368 in North Somerset, England. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The track bed around Sandford behind the Farm Shop is for the time being closed and under negotiations, work had started on the short stretch to the A368 and it may be open in later 2008 (see map). The A368 is a part Primary status A road in North Somerset, England. The footpath temporarily joins roads for approximately 1. 09 miles (2 km) meeting up again with the old line just after Sandford & Banwell station. Banwell is a village in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. The buildings and platforms here were preserved by the owners of the site Sandford Stone, this business has now closed and the site is under redevelopment as a sheltered housing complex. Sheltered housing is a term covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or Disabled or other vulnerable people The route goes around the perimeter of the site with a view of the station buildings through the fence. The station, platform and goods shed will be refurbished as part of the development with the main station building hopefully open to the public. A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train

The scenery through to Winscombe changes from open moorland to railway cuttings, with the path in condition to match the previous sections. Winscombe is a Village in North Somerset, England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Upon reaching the site of the former station now being the villages Millennium Green the platform is preserved, and a time line of local and world events inserted along its length. 245 Millennium Greens exist in cities towns and villages across England. A timeline is a graphical representation of a Chronological sequence of events also referred to as a Chronology. The small red bricked facade of the demolished station building has been laid flat into is former foundation, and the layout of rooms can still be seen. Seats and lighting have been provided with public toilets also available to the rear of the platform at street level.

After Winscombe the line continues to Shute Shelve Tunnel, the surface through has been tarmaced but unlit except for a central guide line of small solar powered "cat's eyes" automatically switched on by pedestrians or cyclists entering the tunnel. Tarmac (short for tarmacadam, a Portmanteau for Tar -penetration Macadam) is a type of highway surface, pioneered by John Solar energy is the Light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth 's Climate and Weather and sustains Life It passes under the Mendip Way. The Mendip Way is an long-distance footpath across the Mendip Hills from Weston-super-Mare to Frome. The track bed around Axbridge is now the A371 bypass, but the station building, goods shed and station master's house are all in use for various purposes. Axbridge is a Town in Somerset, England, situated in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip The A371 is a primary Road in England running from Wincanton in Somerset, to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset. The Strawberry Line Trail goes through the town itself missing out the station site higher on the hillside behind the church.

The railway track is regained opposite St Michael's Cheshire Home and is in good condition through to Cheddar, with a picnic spot overlooking the reservoir. The route comes to an end at the side of the former station now in use as a stone masons surrounded by a small industrial estate, just 1 mile (2 km) from the Cheddar Gorge and Caves.

The nature reserve which is based around the old railway line has been reclaimed by nature. Habitats include dense scrub, which encourages birds and bats. Areas of rough grass are occupied by amphibians and reptiles, and grass snakes or slow worms can be seen basking in the sun. Prehistoric amphibian Amphibians (class Amphibia such as Frogs Toads Salamanders Newts Gymnophiona, Sirens and Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers ^[7] It also includes parts of the Biddle Street Site of Special Scientific Interest. Biddle Street Yatton ( is a 448 Hectare Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI near the village of Yatton in North Somerset A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a Conservation designation denoting a Protected area in the United Kingdom.

Future plans

There are plans by the local councils and the Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society to extend the footpath along the line from Cheddar all the way to Wells. In places the old railway has been built on, but the plan is to follow the line as close as possible. ^[8]

At the other end of the walk, a feasibility study has been mooted which would see the walk extended from Yatton to Clevedon along the former Clevedon branch line. Clevedon is a town in North Somerset, England.The name derives from the Saxon, 'Cleve' meaning Cleave or Cleft and 'don' meaning hill the town being The Clevedon branch line was a railway line that ran from Yatton railway station to Clevedon in North Somerset, England It was Again parts of the line have been built on and station buildings no longer exist.

A footbridge over the Congresbury Yeo in place of the long demolished rail bridge is also planned. ^[9]

References

External links

• Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society
• Cheddar Valley Railway from North Somerset Council
• Strawberry Line updated page from North Somerset Council
• Strawberry Line pdf Cycle Map (Note: Section behind the Farm Shop at Sandford not complete, use road.)