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| Sandford Station Railway Heritage Centre |
What better way to spend a sunny
summer Sunday than with a long walk in the countryside. Those of us lucky enough to live in North
Somerset are blessed with a multitude of glorious local walks. Today was to be my first visit to the
Strawberry Line which runs from Yatton to Cheddar, however, I was not foolhardy
enough to attempt the entire walk in one go.
A nice gentle meander from Sandford to Congresbury would suit me just
fine.
The Cheddar Valley and Yatton
Railway was completed in 1869. It became
an important line for passengers and freight carrying stone, dairy produce, and
the famous Cheddar strawberries. Strawberry
growers and pickers supplied the capital with this wonderful early
season fruit for nearly a century but the line finally closed in 1965 as a result
of The Beeching Cuts.
Work began converting the line
from Yatton to Cheddar to a walking and cycling route in 1983 by volunteers
from the Cheddar Valley Walk Society. Improvements
are still being made to the route 25 years later and more projects are planned
for the future including extending the route from Clevedon to Cranmore.
The Sandford Station Railway
Heritage Centre, managed by St. Monica Trust, is located right next to the walking/cycle
route. The Ticket Office and Waiting
Room have been restored and it is an absolute delight to wander around and soak
up the atmosphere of days gone by. It
certainly brought back happy memories from my childhood. There is a small café on the platform plus toilets
for those needing to “Spend a Penny”. The
Centre is open at weekends from April to October and is run by a band of
volunteers.
Station Master Sam arrived in
January 2012 – what a lovely character.
I was told by one of the residents that he is silent during the day but
that he becomes a real chatterbox after midnight !!
The route is extremely clearly
marked so there was little chance of getting lost as I headed off through Thatcher’s
Orchards into the countryside.
In
Myrtles Orchard the apples were ripening nicely and it looks to be a bumper crop
this year.
After crossing Nye Road the
path wends its way through fields and over rhynes full of duckweed.
Milk Thistles had flowered and were past
their best but there was still enough nectar to attract the bees.
Nettles did their damndest to touch my arms and leave their
sting. I managed to avoid them most of
the time but did get a bit too close on one occasion whilst stepping back to
let a group of cyclists pass. Being a
Sunday the route was heavily used by families out for bike rides – but there is
room for all. Perhaps the nicest moment of all
was catching a glimpse of a lone swan on the water.
As I approached Congresbury I
noticed a wooden bench inscribed with the name of the Wrington Light
Railway.
This was apparently a small line which had
opened in 1901 between Blagdon and Yatton.
Way back then there was an annual blackberry run when local schools
closed for a week and women and children travelled out to gather the
fruit.
On my walk today the brambles
offered up a feast of plump juicy blackberries and I filled a bag to carry home
– far better than paying £2 for a tiny punnet in the supermarkets.
And so, after a 5 mile walk I
ended up on the A370 on the edge of Congresbury to wait for the bus back to
Weston. I must have just missed one bus because
it was a 20 minute wait but I was in no hurry.
However, I was a little perturbed when the bus did eventually turn up
because although I stood up and stuck my arm out in good time the bus did NOT
slow down. Then the driver caught sight
of me and screeched to a halt – “Don’t often find anyone getting on at this
stop” was his comment!!!!
