How many stations are there called "Witton"?

[pokemonsuper9]

A few years ago I bought a ticket from Manchester Victoria to Castleton - the man at the ticket counter made sure it was Castleton (Manchester) I was after. Castleton (Derbyshire) doesn't have a station of course and Castleton Moor on the Whitby branch is a bit far for a day trip.

But Castleford is just across the Pennines.

 

[BeijingDave]

But Castleford is just across the Pennines.

And Deansgate-Castlefield is on the Metrolink.

 

[Henffordd]

Business folk in Hereford have stories of waiting at the station for a (needless to say important) client, only to receive an angry phone call from that client demanding to know why they haven't been met, and finding out that client is at Hertford.

Don't think it would help to add the county name to either station, though....

 

[Haywain]

Business folk in Hereford have stories of waiting at the station for a (needless to say important) client, only to receive an angry phone call from that client demanding to know why they haven't been met, and finding out that client is at Hertford.

Don't think it would help to add the county name to either station, though....

Except that one of the places has North and East stations.

 

[Henffordd]

Except that one of the places has North and East stations.

That doesn't seem to stop them telling the story....

 

[NER1621]

If my memory is correct, this is the station on the Weardale Railway. A few years ago there was a plan to run regular services on the line for locals, with through tickets from/to National Rail stations. Frosterley, Stanhope and Walsingham were allocated TIPLOCs, NLC, and CRS Codes for the same reason.

See post #3 in the thread. The station on the Weardale Railway is at Witton-le-Wear, not Witton Park, whose station was called Etherley. And also note that the other station on the Weardale Railway is WOlsingham not WAlsingham - more potential confusion…

 

[Gwr12345]

See post #3 in the thread. The station on the Weardale Railway is at Witton-le-Wear, not Witton Park, whose station was called Etherley. And also note that the other station on the Weardale Railway is WOlsingham not WAlsingham - more potential confusion…

Witton Park was the official name of the station when it was operated by BR.

 

[35B]

That makes Wyton relatively unusual as it was usual practice to name RAF stations after the nearest rail station, to make movement orders easier.

As Wyton and Alconbury are similar distances from Huntingdon, and lack namesake stations, I suspect that was prudent.

 

[satisnek]

Oh dear, this has reminded me of that old and possibly apocryphal tale of the passenger turning up at Kidderminster wanting to go to 'Northwood'. There's no Northwood station on the national network but if a booking clerk comes across the Severn Valley halt before the Metropolitan Line station then the result can be rather inconvenient and expensive for the customer!

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Chester & Chester Road, then you have Chesterfield, Chester - Le - Street, & Colchester.

Favourite one is Hope Flintshire, & Hope Derbyshire.

I have actually made a genuine VFR journey from Chester to Chester Road

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2026 ==

The Underground offers lots of opportunities for visiting football fans to alight at the wrong station, e.g. Tottenham Court Rd, Queens Park, Fulham Broadway (for Craven Cottage), High Barnet, West Ham, …

 

[NER1621]

Witton Park was the official name of the station when it was operated by BR.

<sigh>
“Etherley” passenger station served the village of Witton Park under the Wear Valley, NER, LNER and early BR periods. It closed in 1965. It was temporarily re-opened in the early 1990s for a couple of years for a BR summer Sunday excursion service, but then closed again. During this latter opening it was re-named “Witton Park”. The Civil Engineer’s tip opposite was still called “Etherley Tip” throughout.

“Witton-le-Wear” passenger station (both original and relocated sites) served the village of the same name under the Wear Valley, NER, LNER and early BR periods, closing in 1953. It was not reopened for the late 1980s/early 1990s BR Sunday excursions, but was re-opened by the Weardale Railway, after several false starts, in 2016.