Mainline stations without road access

[Drsatan]

from memory this station is only used by troops - train only stops to pick up or set down army personell

There's a sign at the station stating that the only people who can use it are those who need to go to the Royal Marines base.

However, a cycle path runs behind the station so you could get off there and cycle along it assuming you weren't spotted

 

[northwichcat]

from memory this station is only used by troops - train only stops to pick up or set down army personell

ATTENTION The name station is Lympstone Commando. All privates must march to the door on command and alight here and then march to the barracks. All civilians must remain on board the vehicle.

 

[bluebottle]

Beaulieu rd has only a private car park and caters for walkers and cyclists. It's in the middle of nowhere so who would drive to it

Someone with a car who lives in Bealieu and is meeting a visitor travelling there by train?

 

[A60K]

Stratford International?? Certainly no public road access!

Yep! And at least for the next few months it's quite possibly unique in having no public pedestrian access either, with the only way to access it being by bus from platform 11 of the main station.

 

[robert2000]

stanlow and thornton, no1 is allowed to get there, unless its by foot

the only road access is by shell refinery users only

 

[Oracle]

Anyone with a car who lived in Beaulieu would probably drive to Brockenhurst. However, Beaulieu Road is signposted from Beaulieu village and also the Applemore roundabout on the A326 (adjacent to Tescos) for the benefit of Hythe, Dibden and other waterside residents. For them, Brockenhurst is a heck of a way away, and Totton more so. On Sundays it appears that any passengers are walkers, so would not drive there. For Lyndhurst residents, and others in the surrounding area, the best bet is to drive to Ashurst and park in the free car park. Which is getting very pot-holed! Access to the station car park can be tortuous, depending on vehicles parked outside the pub.

 

[tighcorrie]

Many, many thanks to everyone who contributed to answering my question - which was about Network Rail stations to which you could not normally drive your granny to see her off on the train home.

I started knowing about 4 such stations and the list has grown to 13, which seems an extraordinary survival from the days of Dr B.

I decided to exclude Ryde Pier Head and Coombe Junction as both appear accessible by road (Ryde PH) or driveable public track (Coombe Jn). Stratford International deserves an honourable mention but I assume it will have road access by 2012?!?

All the rest appear inaccessible by public road or can only be accessed by some kind of privately owned track or road, if at all. Some just serve large industrial or military complexes.

The final list is as follows if anyone is interested, but if anyone has any more additions I'd be delighted to hear of them. And thanks once again to all who took the trouble to respond.

Altnabreac
Achnashellach
Berney Arms
British Steel Redcar
Corrour
Dovey Junction
IBM
Lympstone Commando
Longcross
Middlewood
Manchester United FC Halt
Smallbrook Junction
Stanlow & Thornton

 

[wintonian]

Anyone with a car who lived in Beaulieu would probably drive to Brockenhurst. However, Beaulieu Road is signposted from Beaulieu village and also the Applemore roundabout on the A326 (adjacent to Tescos) for the benefit of Hythe, Dibden and other waterside residents. For them, Brockenhurst is a heck of a way away, and Totton more so. On Sundays it appears that any passengers are walkers, so would not drive there. For Lyndhurst residents, and others in the surrounding area, the best bet is to drive to Ashurst and park in the free car park. Which is getting very pot-holed! Access to the station car park can be tortuous, depending on vehicles parked outside the pub.

Or even Lord Montagu, as was the stations original intention – his own personal station in return for allowing the railway to cross his land.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Commondale on the Middlesbrough to Whitby line is a good candidate for the not very accessible list. You get to the station by using a footpath across a field. That in turn is reached by crossing over what looks like the entrance to someones driveway of their house. That in turn is reached via a bumpy unmade road which leads a short distance up from the main road - which isn't really main - it is a single track country lane! You can nearly get there by road, it is the walk across the field which adds fun to it!

Although I believe the path may actually now be surfaced rather than just mud when I last visited a few years ago.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
And another one I have thought of. Does Butlins Penychain have public road access? I am not sure.

 

[thefab444]

For Lyndhurst residents, and others in the surrounding area, the best bet is to drive to Ashurst and park in the free car park.

Interestingly, the SWT website insists that ANF's carpark is pay and display!

What's slightly more worrying is that the "Ashurst" entry on their list of served stations links to Ashurst (Kent)!

 

[googolplex]

What about Duncraig on the Kyle line?
I see from Google Maps that there is a road of some sorts running to the station, but it looks more like a private driveway than a public road.

 

[bluebottle]

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sjp/DCG/plan.html

It would appear to have road access.

 

[richw]

google maps have in many places failed to locate stations in the right place, so probably not to take it literally! unless you use satellite or street view!

 

[tighcorrie]

More suggestions. I think Commondale and Duncraig are worthy of inclusion. I don't think you can drive up to either. Commondale has no direct road access and Duncraig does but only by driving past the castle on what is sure to be a private estate road. Penychain clearly does now have road access, checkable on Google Earth.

 

[Goldfish62]

Sorry if this has been asked before but I'm interested in compiling a list of UK NR-maintained (ie not private railways) stations which don't have road access. ie you can only walk (or cycle or boat....) to them if you don't go by train.

I already know about:

Altnabreac
Berney Arms
Corrour
Dovey Junction

Any others people know about?

Longcross.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Longcross.

Sorry - just noticed you've got that already.

 

[bluebottle]

Interestingly, the SWT website insists that ANF's carpark is pay and display!

Had a look this morning, no machines and no notices.

 

[northwichcat]

Overall I think for almost any station you can't stop a car or a bus at the exact entrance so they'll be a certain amount of walking, so where does the limit get drawn is it at 500yds from the road or just a rural station where you have to walk through woods or fields?

 

[swt_passenger]

The ferry from Ryde Pier is passenger only to Portsmouth

Correct - the car park is for ferry foot passengers - the car ferry to Portsmouth goes from another separate terminal, at Fishbourne IOW.

 

[thefab444]

Had a look this morning, no machines and no notices.

Indeed, I walk through that carpark every day. There was talk of pay & display a year or two ago but nothing came of it.

Are you local then?

 

[bluebottle]

Are you local then?

I am when I'm home!

Live in Bournemouth, work in Southampton. I would use the train to commute but at 5 in the morning there's a distinct lack of buses at each end to make it work.

 

[westcoaster]

Just a few from me
Lake I.o.w
West sutton
Fenny sratford
Gatwick airport?
Salfords

 

[asylumxl]

Fenny stratford has a level crossing, i'd define that as road access.

 

[westcoaster]

But its not part off the station though.

 

[bluebottle]

It has a car park http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sjp/FEN/plan.html so I'd say it has road access.

 

[tivoli]

Not in UK, but Manulla Junction in Ireland

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Does anyone know about Hawarden Bridge? Having just gone past it on the train it appeared a) fairly derelict, overgrown and unused and b) in the middle of a works complex of some sort. Not having access to Google Maps for a few days, can anyone confirm whether this can be added to the list of stations without public road access or not?

 

[welshdragon]

Sugar Loaf - on the Heart of Wales line - surely one of the best journeys in the world (apart from the rolling stock in use on most days!).

The only access there is a path - no road for some miles.

 

[bluebottle]

Just looked it up on Google Maps, it appears to be about 150 feet down a path off the A483

 

[robertclark125]

Sunderland? It's in a pedestrianised area of the city centre.

 

[quarella]

Sugar loaf is just down a flight of steps however on the same line Cynghordy, when I last visited by road about 5 years ago was up an unmade track that I would have preferred not to have taken my car up.