davetheguard
Established Member
- Joined
- 10 Apr 2013
- Messages
- 1,812
I had a trip on the Hythe Pier Railway last Saturday; quite a surprise as I'd never heard of it before!
If anyone would like to replicate the trip, and it is shown in Baker's Bible for those with highlighter pens, this is how you do it:
1. Take a SWT, XC, Southern, or FGW train to Southampton Central.
2. Leave the station by the downside (south) exit, you'll see a bus stop just to your left. The Citylink bus to Town Quay runs ever 30 minutes and costs £1. Get off at the last stop - Town Quay Terminal 2.
3. The fast Red Funnel ferry to Cowes Isle of Wight also runs from here, but you want the Hythe Ferry which leaves every 30 minutes. There's a cafe and it is under cover if you have a short wait.
4. The Hythe Ferry arrives at the end of the pier at Hythe, and the connecting train along the pier is waiting for you and included in the price of the ferry.
Hythe is a pleasant small town on the Totton to Fawley freight-only branch. You can return to Southampton by bus, or go back the way you've come. In high summer, there are also buses across the New Forest to Lymington via Beaulieu and Buckler's Hard (The Beach Bus).
If you'd like lunch & a pint in Hythe I'd thoroughly recommend the Good Beer Guide listed "Ebenezers" in Pylewell Road. Slightly difficult to find, but literally only two minutes' walk from the pier railway - walk dead straight ahead, enter Pylewell Road, and its set back on your right. At least one other pub is available....
Here are a few pictures to give a flavour of the trip, and perhaps whet your appetite.
If anyone would like to replicate the trip, and it is shown in Baker's Bible for those with highlighter pens, this is how you do it:
1. Take a SWT, XC, Southern, or FGW train to Southampton Central.
2. Leave the station by the downside (south) exit, you'll see a bus stop just to your left. The Citylink bus to Town Quay runs ever 30 minutes and costs £1. Get off at the last stop - Town Quay Terminal 2.
3. The fast Red Funnel ferry to Cowes Isle of Wight also runs from here, but you want the Hythe Ferry which leaves every 30 minutes. There's a cafe and it is under cover if you have a short wait.
4. The Hythe Ferry arrives at the end of the pier at Hythe, and the connecting train along the pier is waiting for you and included in the price of the ferry.
Hythe is a pleasant small town on the Totton to Fawley freight-only branch. You can return to Southampton by bus, or go back the way you've come. In high summer, there are also buses across the New Forest to Lymington via Beaulieu and Buckler's Hard (The Beach Bus).
If you'd like lunch & a pint in Hythe I'd thoroughly recommend the Good Beer Guide listed "Ebenezers" in Pylewell Road. Slightly difficult to find, but literally only two minutes' walk from the pier railway - walk dead straight ahead, enter Pylewell Road, and its set back on your right. At least one other pub is available....
Here are a few pictures to give a flavour of the trip, and perhaps whet your appetite.