Railwalks initiative launched (walking routes between railway stations)

[SandsofEss]

I've just stumbled across the nascent Railwalks effort.

These are some of the walks done by Steve Melia, aka the Green Travel Writer, between railway stations around Bristol, where he lives. The purple and blue lines are day walks. The orange ones involved an overnight stay

Railwalks.co.uk was formed when Steve met Daniel Raven-Ellison the founder of Slow Ways and Andy Stevenson, creator of Point2 Guides and whose research area is walking guide materials development at the University of Worcester. Slow Ways launched in 2021 with a similar aim: to create a national network of walks between towns and cities. You can see how far they have got on this progress map.

It's an initiative to map safe walking routes between UK railway stations, in conjunction with the team behind the excellent Slow Ways network.

There's a launch workshop planned for 9th March in Worcester, in case anybody local is interested.

 

[ricoblade]

I've just stumbled across the nascent Railwalks effort.

It's an initiative to map safe walking routes between UK railway stations, in conjunction with the team behind the excellent Slow Ways network.

There's a launch workshop planned for 9th March in Worcester, in case anybody local is interested.

Thanks for this, I've signed up for the emails. This is right up my street as it's what I do a lot of, usually on the Hope Valley line but Yorkshire East Coast and other desitinations too.

 

[yorksrob]

What a good idea !

 

[M&NEJ]

The Bentham line Community Rail Partnership has long been promoting linear walks between stations as "Rail to Trail":-

https://thebenthamline.co.uk/rail_to_trail/

 

[fandroid]

I've been checking out the Slow Way between Basingstoke and Micheldever stations. So such things exist elsewhere. I'm sure there are others locally, but I just happen to live on the route for that one

 

[DelW]

The Heart of Wales line's user group (HoWLTA) has devised and promoted a walking route roughly parallel to the line, with dedicated waymarking along it. The idea is that people can walk it in stages, using the train service for access.

This is a descriptive book about the route:

New Edition: The Heart of Wales Line Trail, Kittiwake Books

A new edition to celebrate the 5th anniversary of this wonderful route.

The Heart of Wales Line Trail describes a wonderful walk which weaves its way between stations on one of Britain’s most scenic railways. The line from Shrewsbury to Swansea is 195 km (121 miles) long, passing through some of the least populated parts of Wales in a little over four hours. By contrast, the trail is over 227 km (141 miles) in length and might well take a walker 10 days to complete. It is eminently suitable for people looking for a long distance challenge and also for those who wish to walk the trail in sections, using the train to access day or weekend walking. Above all else it is spot on for those seeking to discover at first hand the beauty and tranquillity of the Welsh Marches and Mid Wales.

The trail starts off gently enough, but soon rises to remote uplands, dips into wooded valleys, and eventually passes alongside the captivating salt marshes of the Loughor Valley. The last leg takes you to the Millennium Coastal Park and final destination Llanelli, a town rightly proud of its industrial heritage. The appeal, of course, is not just the walking but also the train journey. It is one of the slowest trains in Wales, but do not let this put you off for this is not your everyday sort of train. This is a very rural line which defied closure during the Beeching era of the early 1960s. It ran through so many marginal seats that the line was given a reprieve; no one wanted to be responsible for pinning up that final closure notice.

For those without a car it is a lifeline. For many it is simply irreplaceable. We are fortunate too, for it also happens to offer access to great walking between stations through pockets of landscape which are very different. We think this is a marriage made in heaven.