Disused Stations and Railways - Visited / Walked

[John Luxton]

We have threads on Preserved Lines still to be visited and ones which we have visited - perhaps the next logical one is for disused railways and station sites visted or routes walked either in their derelict state or as converted to public foot / cycle paths.

Presume it would be okay to put it in this section?

I have probably got quite a list but perhaps not as long as others
Here is my list:

Here is my list of sites:

Disused Stations:

• Fleetwood (L&Y original terminal) – I was only about 6 at the time when on arrival at Fleetwood with my parents in the car we discovered the station had closed – but it was easy to get in as the big door was slightly open – had a good mooch around with my father I recall there being lots of old tickets scattered around.
• Lydiate Station Cheshire Lines – again a visitor as a youngster. There was a farm track crossing, and I recall using some tools my father had in the boot of the car to successfully remove the cast iron level crossing gate stop cover which I took home. Must only have been about 8 at the time! Unfortunately, my great uncle threw this prized treasure out when my father had asked him to tidy up the yard!
• Ainsdale (CLC), Birkdale Palace (CLC), good yard area of Southport Lord Street which was used as a public car park in the 1960s. All done on family day trips to Southport when I was under 10.
• Birkenhead Morpeth Dock GWR Goods Station had a few mooches round here with my great uncle in the early 1970s most of it was still intact and I recall copies of working timetables left lying around in an old yard office. I did recover a few but they became lost. Wish I had photographed it – but never thought to photograph local things!
• Ashburton various dates
• Ballaugh Station 2024
• Baltimore (Ireland) 2001
• Barnstaple Town 1982
• Bideford Station 2019
• Bovey Tracey 1979 and 2013
• Camelford 1985
• Ffestiniog Railway (Stesion Fein) late 1970s.
• Foxdale Station 2024
• Glen Wyllyn Station 2024
• Halwill Junction 1982
• Instow Station and Signal Box 2019
• Kirk Michael Station 2024
• Lydford 1983
• Meeth Halt 2016 and 2019
• Mortehoe and Woolacombe 1983
• Neyland Station and Wharfs 2013 and 2019
• Padstow 1985
• Petrockstowe 1982, 1984 and 1985 before and during track recovery and again in 2017.
• Sampford Courtenay 1983
• Seaton Junction 1978
• Severn Railway Bridge Lydney – various dates.
• Shrewsbury Abbey Station 2022
• St John’s Station 2024
• Sulby Glen Station 2024
• Torrington 1979, 1982 and 1985 and later as Tarak Valley Line.
• Union Mills Station 2024
• Youghal (Ireland) 2001

Sections of Railway Walked:

• Conglog Quarry Tramway, Tanygrisiau 2020
• Croesor Tramway around Croesor
• Cromford and High Peak Railway around High Peak Junction 2021
• Gorseddau Railway around Ynys y Pandy Slate Mill
• Hayle Wharves Branch – 2013 and 2023.
• Haytor Granite Tramway – Manaton Road to Quarries and Ventford Canal Basin 2022 and 2021
• Helsby Hill Quarry Tramway and Tunnel 2022
• Isle of Man Railway Curragh Road to St John’s Station 2024
• Liskeard and Caradon Railway most of the route around Minions and Caradon Hill Areas
• Llanymynech Quarry Railway 2020
• Minera Lead Mines Branch – 2020
• New Fancy Colliery Branch Line – Forest of Dean 2019
• Penzance Albert Pier Branch 2021
• Porthgain Quarry Railway 2021
• Prewley Moor to Meldon (and on to Okehampton) 2021
• Princetown Branch – Burrator to Peek Hill 2015
• Princetown Branch – Princetown to Swell Tor Quarries and sidings (1990s and 2020/21)
• Snailbeach District Railways – Around Snailbeach Mine 2016 and 2020
• Tavistock Viaduct 2016
• Torrington to Beam Bridge 2021
• Torrington to Watergate Halt 2020
• Welsh Highland Railway Nantmor to Bryn y Felin 1990
• West Kirby to Hooton 2020
• Wye Valley Railway and Tintern Wireworks Branch between Tintern and mainline 2021
• Wye Valley Railway Brockweir to Tintern Station (multiple visits)
• Wye Valley Railway Penallt Viaduct and Walkway 2021

You might notice that quite a few of these walks took place in 2020/21 – I can’t think why!!

 

[RyanMD]

There is the South Staffordshire/Wolverhampton Railway Walk which has some good architecture still in-tact, as well as some great urban art work along the route:

Google Search

It is quite a popular route with lots of dog walkers etc. well worth a visit if you're in the area.

 

[Lemmy282]

Stayed in a holiday cottage in the converted Hornsea Town station and cycled the rail trail from there to Hull.
Cycled the Cromford and High Peak trail from Middleton Top to Parsley Hay
Cycled part of the Great Central from Woodhouse to Chesterfield through Renishaw and Staveley

 

[thejuggler]

I was at the former Askrigg station earlier. The station building is used by a local vet, I was visiting the Dales brewery in the old station yard.

We had a discussion about how it would have made sense when it was closed for the route to have been protected as a public footpath.

 

[steamybrian]

Here is a variation in walking over disused railways which you have travelled over by rail then walked the trackbed after the track was removed or walked the trackbed before the track was reinstated. Here are ones which fit the category-
Horsted Keynes to Ardingly (travelled over as a youngster before it closed)
Welsh Highland line Porthmadog- Caernarvon- walked it before reconstuction started.
Three Bridges- Groombridge (travelled over on last day 1st January 1967)
Heathfield- Polegate
Christs Hospital to Guildford

 

[swt_passenger]

I’ve walked from Alnwick up the Cornhill branch as far as Edlingham viaduct, but that was way back in the 60s so no idea how possible or practical it is today. Parts of the route were fairly badly waterlogged but it was easy enough to get into. I remember my dad saying there was a tunnel just a bit further on, but we never reached it! He’d travelled on the line in the guards van as a child with his grandfather, when it was goods only and passenger services had finished.

 

[aliceh]

I've done the S&D between Wimborne and Ringwood, with Ashley Heath's platform still present. The Hamble branch as far as the oil terminal is also an excellent one to walk as it's all still there, plus when you're done you can head toward Netley and what remains of the Netley Hospital branch.

 

[Richard S]

Whitegate Way in Cheshire. 6 mile former salt branch from Cuddington to Winsford converted into a multi use bridleway. The former station at Whitegate has a cafe run by volunteers open part of the week.

 

[duffield]

Sandy to Bedford along the old "varsity line" (not on the new route of EWR). A pleasant gentle walk from Sandy station to Bedford station, around 10 miles.

 

[spyinthesky]

Walked the Spratt & Winkle line yesterday between Stockbridge and Mottisfont. Horsebridge station part of a hotel type venue. Great Pub at Horsebridge too around the halfway point(John O’Gaunt)

 

[Engineer]

Many of us have walked multiple parts the Somerset and Dorset Railway, some best parts are from Bath over the Midford Viaduct to Radstock, after walking through two opened tunnels. My Avatar is graffite on Combe Down Tunnel closed entrance last Century, before it was re-opened. Favourite was discovering station platforms at Charlton Marshall and Spetisbury, memories of our hero Peter Smith driving a 9F on the last Pines Express..

 

[Barnsley]

As I live in Worsbrough, I have walked the section of the old Woodhead line from Wombwell to Silkstone on many occasions, even up to the old West silkstone Junction before one of the tunnels collapsed, meaning is inaccessible now

 

[Ziggy3legs]

Bodmin North - Boscarne Jnc - Padstow
Boscarne Jnc - Wenford Bridge
Okehampton - Lydford
Exmouth - Budleigh Salterton
Limited sections between Evercreech Jnc - Highbridge
Highbridge - Burnham on Sea
Yatton - Congresbury
Barnstaple Jnc - Braunton
Barnstaple Jnc - Meeth
Cheltenham Spa - Hunting Butts
Rolleston Jnc - Southwell
Sections of the Monsall Trail
Ashbourne - Hurdlow - Parsley Hay (Tissington Trail), Parsley Hay - Cromford Wharf (Cromford & High Peak Railway) - 35 miles on a blisteringly hot day and the only time I've ever fallen asleep in a pub, the Homesford Cottage at Whatstandwell afterwards!
Waterhouses - Hulme End (Leek and Manifold Light Railway)
Bristol - Bath (MR route via Mangotsfield)
Bath - Midford

Folkestone Harbour
Coleford
Barnstaple Town
Cadeleigh
Morthoe

 

[Rover]

Walked along the Portland branch from Weymouth in 1986.

 

[steamybrian]

In addition to those mentioned in item 5 above-
Canterbury West- Whitstable (as much as possible as some parts private)
Rye and Camber tramway
Chichester- Selsey ( before route built over at Selsey)
Havant- Hayling Island
Nunhead- Crystal Palace High Level- as much as possible
Finsbury Park- Highgate- Alexandra Palace
Seven Sisters- Palace Gates (in late 1960s before route was partly built over)
Margate- Ramsgate (original S.E.R. route closed 1926) (before route built over at Westwood)

Three partly built routes but never opened
Edgware- Elstree
Ouse Valley Railway- Balcombe- Uckfield
Chessington South- Leatherhead

 

[blue87]

Disused lines I've either walked or cycled along.
Berkswell-Kenilworth (No longer possible as HS2 is being built along it)
Hemel Hempstead-Harpenden.
Market Harborough-Northampton.
Walsall-Brownhills. (I believe some of the Lichfield end of that line is now open as a path too)
Harborne branch Birmingham.
Tame-Princes Risborough.
Hooton-West Kirby.
Ashbourne-Buxton.
Derby Friargate-Etwall.
Cheltenham Spa-the tunnel near racecourse.
Tettenhall-Pensnett.
Stratford-Long Marston.
A short section of Stafford-Newport line.

 

[spyinthesky]

2 more from me
Bulford Camp to Ratfyn
Larkhill to Countess Road

 

[Rover]

One of the most scenic walks there is over a disused railway line, the Monsal Trail in the Peak District from Bakewell to Blackwell Mill over the old Midland route. I did it many years ago on a weekday with few people about, do it today and it's a motorway of people and cyclists.

 

[blue87]

Did a little bit of the disused line around Gosport today the old station Is interesting.

 

[vlad]

I seem to end up on disused railway paths more often than I expect. Here's a few I've done that I don't think have been mentioned in this thread yet:

Lancaster Green Ayre to Morecambe
Rushton Spencer to Leek
Hadfield to Woodhead
Much of the Cromford & High Peak Railway around Whaley Bridge and Buxton
Rose Hill to Macclesfield

 

[Kite159]

Walsall-Brownhills. (I believe some of the Lichfield end of that line is now open as a path too

You are correct, it's now open to Lichfield

 

[Tracked]

Off the top of my head (I feel there's a few I've missed here);

All the various bits of old lines around Doncaster and Chesterfield (often)
Rother Valley-Staveley (2016-2018)
Monsal Trail (2015)
Tissington Trail (2021)
High Peak Trail (2020)
Manifold Way (2021)
All the Wath-Woodhead-Hadfield/Stocksbridge lines (2015)
Parkland Walk (Finsbury Park-Highgate) (2026)
North end of Hull (not sure what it's called, it goes past Stepney station) (2021?)
Foss Way, York (2023)
Tadcaster-Wetherby/Spofforth (2021)
Ravensthorpe-Low Moor (2025)
Farnsfield-Southwell (2020)
Newark-Cotham (2024)
A few miles of the Marriott Way, Norwich end (2024)
Otley (2024)
Ladybower reservoir (South end, down to just outside Bamford) (2020)
Derby, north end (2022)
Ossett-Dewsbury (2023)

 

[Dave S 56F]

Has anybody walked the Coalville Tonge and Breedon Melbourne line chellaston and swarkstone that used to cross the castle Donington join the sinfin line I've once cycled on the Melbourne branch line from Tonge as I don't think it's possible to start from Ashby de la zouch cos of a unsafe tunnel after the line deviates from the ivanhoe line. I had visited a great central railway day out in January 2024 to see Lanky A class 52322 and there were no trains running between Derby and Loughborough and decided to make a day of it cycling back on the A6 loughborough Rd and follow the old Melbourne line as I dident have to be in derby until after 8pm for a train back home and cycled the trackbed as far as where the line crossed the castle Donington line and cycled into derby on swarkstone and chellaston Road the remainder of the way back to Derby railway station it was quite enjoyable as I passed the site of Melbourne station and alot of nice stone 3 arch brick lined overbridges in good condition and the iron viaduct trestle Bridge over the river trent. Not sure what remained of Tonge or Worthington stations as I started north of Tonge.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

I've visited over the years the sites of Dunford Bridge, Hazlehead, platforms 3 and 4 at Penistone, Hawes, Southwater, Folkestone Harbour, Cleckheaton Central, Calne, Black Dog Halt, Halifax North Bridge, Ripponden, Rishworth, Robin Hoods Bay, Otley, Wetherby, Barnstaple Town, Thornton-Cleveleys, Bailliff Bridge, Hayfield and Birch Vale.

---

However an urbexer (urban explorer) called The Secret Vault has urbexed two railway tunnels, one is Merthyr which has a few cars dumped inside and the other I presume is West Meon which had one portal converted to an indoor skate park - the latter is sealed at one end.

Merthyr Rail Tunnel cars arson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Pd8L8OugU​

Abandoned BMX PARK in RAIL TUNNEL:​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBVUbMM_1lw

 

[Markdvdman]

I have walked the old Mynydd Mawr railway Cross Hands to Llanelli a few times. Going via Tumble it is 15 miles, or 32k steps at my height to the Llanelli Railway Station. Currently cannot be done as there is a landslide it is route 47. What is interesting is the bridges the first two from Tumble end are still walkable. Go behind the first bridge and the gradient must be 40% brutal - coming back down walking you are almost running! Also, the second bridge is evil but not quite so brutal.

It is a nice walk as once they clear the landslide, you pass the new railway set up too!

 

[Dave S 56F]

Anyone done the pickle Bridge line from Anchor pit juction Brighouse to wyke junction Wyke Bradford it can be walked from Norwood green cricket club from Wyke jct as far as pickle Bridge viaduct the one that was half demolished cos of one half on the bradford side was demolished and the calderdale side was left standing due to the viaduct crossing bradford caldrdale boundary on the A58 Road.
Then After the half demolished viaduct the line can be traced walking up Mayfield Grove over a footpath that crossed the line that comes out onto lower Wyke lane where new houses are built over a little of the trackbed for about 100 yards aside lower wyke lane before the road bridge then where the line crossed lower Wyke lane the trackbed can be walked past bailiff Bridge Station which burnt down while the line was open you then walk onto brighouse over birkhouse lane through a deep cutting under a single arch bridge and come out onto thornhills beck lane viaduct about 5 arches but very lofty.
Then you have to walk round this as its now fenced off cos of suicides and yobs throwing objects from it and continue down a footpath that runs down to thornhills beck lane at the side of the railway embankment and viaduct then another path that goes back up to the other side of the thornhills beck viaduct picking up the trackbed again through the top welholme Park in a wood and deepish cutting for another mile or so as far as clifton common.
Where then you have to go down some steps to the left of the trackbed and cross clifton common rd where another 3 arch viaduct was demolished and onto the site of clifton Station (other side of clifton common road) platforms still visible some steps up from wakefield Rd through the side of some terrace houses leading on to the old clifton station and part of the curtain walls of clifton Common Bridge remain on the clifton station side and the rest of the trackbed about half a mile can be walked where the old wakefield Road bridge where a embankment that continued to the river calder where there was a girder bridge and also a arched bridge over river street has all been demolished as Armitage Rd industrial estate units in brighouse is in place of where the embankent as the line was closed in 1952 there is still traces of the bridge abutments on the river calder banks if you know where to look.
the last bit of the junction at anchor pit jct is traceable if you go across Armitage Road and river street and go off a footpath at the end of river St that goes off to the right.

I think reading lost railways of South West Yorkshire the pickle Bridge viaduct and entire line was closed by B.R. due to mining subsidence under the pickle Bridge viaduct the lancashire and Yorkshire railway company were forced to build pickle Bridge viaduct as the Taylor family who owned the land wouldn't allow the railway company to build a high embankment and the local colliery owners undermined the viaduct purposely to close the line as pictures of pickle Bridge viaduct can be seen as one of the arches on the demolished side been cracked and leaning I think.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 May 2026 ==

Another good railway walk is the old east coast mainline from chaloners Whin jct to selby via Naburn Station and escrick station sites and old excavating machinery from Riccall coal mining have been made into sculptures along the line and it also been called the solar system trail by desinged york university the 9 planets including the sun at york end pluto at riccall end are made in miniture only the trackbed as far as Riccall station site about a mile after the new A19 is built over the old Riccall station site although the former trackbed wire fencing can still be seen while walking on the new A19 as it's built over the former railway as far as barlby jct, barlby jct is still visible selby is walkable about 10 miles from Askham Brian York near the tesco the remainder of the trackbed into selby is the entire length of the walk I've done it on a bike within just over a hour.