swaffham railway walk

Eight up trains left for Lynn, including that off the Thetford branch. All passenger services to Watton and Thetford ended on 15 June 1964 although the final trains had run on 12 June. Opposite them was a two-road engine shed, opened with the line and entered by way of a locomotive turntable. I really enjoyed this next section of the walk. Freight services commenced in January 1869, with passenger services in October 1869. Opened in 1875, the Watton and Swaffham Railway - also known as the Crab and Winkle line - connected the towns with Thetford in one direction and King's Lynn in the other. . WhifflersWalks - Swaffham - Google Sites People gathered in Swaffham for 'the season', and so many clergymen ranked among their numbers that the Bishop of Norwich was reported as being concerned that they were neglecting their parishioners. These two busy routes provide Swaffham with a large volume of passing trade and travellers, especially at weekends and during the summer months. It was given to the town by Lord Orford in 1783. 'Inspired by the BBC series, Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury, this section aims to document the surviving remnants of Britain's many disused railways (unfortunately without the assistance of Julia Bradbury). The 56-lever Tyers 4" frame controlled extensive goods facilities on both sides of the line with the crossing gates being operated by a wheel. Most send out two newsletters per year. Takes 50 minutes from Airport (Train and walk). Length 3.2 kmElevation gain 24 mRoute type Out & back Child Friendly Walking Running In the past, our civil liability cover has been an important factor in persuading some official bodies, such as the Army, to let us walk old trackbeds which they now own. A short way beyond that a steel girder carrying the line over Low Road survives. which plays at Shoemakers Lane. Using photos and text, the course of each lost railway line is described in detail, enhanced where possible by photos taken . In 1897 it was fully absorbed into the Great Eastern Railway and became part of the London & North Eastern Railway at grouping of the nations railways on 1 January 1923. Legend has it that the fabulous Tudor windows of the north aisle of the Church of St Peter and St Paul were paid for by Chapman. Swaffham Station signal box was at the east end of the Up platform, alongside the footbridge, controlling the station area with the crossing gates being hand-worked. The timetable for 1866, nine years before the line through Watton opened, shows that Swaffham saw four up and four down trains each weekday and one each way on Sundays. The church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is one of only a few churches that have angels carved in wood instead of stone around the top of the walls. The turbines were originally associated with the EcoTech Centre, a visitor centre which was opened in 1999. The railways nine-mile route from the main line at Roudham Junction across an agricultural and partly wooded landscape was easy terrain, required no significant earthworks or gradients and the railway was opened through to Watton on 18 October 1869. Future plans drafted for Watton and Swaffham - The Wayland News ", "Eco Tech Centre (United-Kingdom) - Wind farms - Online access - The Wind Power", "Businesses and schools left in the lurch as Swaffham's Green Britain Centre closes suddenly", "Swap deal could breathe new life into vacant visitor attraction", "What does the future hold for Swaffham's Green Britain Centre? The last passenger service, the 9.21 pm from Thetford to Swaffham, ran on 12th June 1964 and was formed of a two-car diesel multiple unit with driver David Grant of Dereham in charge, carrying, it was reported locally, seventy passengers. Apr 2023 - Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. Biddle (Victorian Stations, 1973) notes the plain ogee gables and lozenge-latticed windows which betokened a delightfully cosy simplicity entirely fitting in north Norfolk. Closure notices were served for the Lynn & Dereham line in 1968 and it closed to passengers with effect from 9 September 1968, with the last trains running on Saturday 7 September. [9] These locomotives were maintained at a shed at Watton. Not shown in the tables, a train for Norwich and its market left on Saturdays only at about 8.40am. (Jeff Vinter). Of the intermediate stations only Dunham and Narborough had definite stops. To a passer-by on the A1065 north of the town centre there is no indication that a railway once crossed the busy main road. [17] A wood carving of the Pedlar of Swaffham is also in the church. However, our leaders ability to do this depends on the location of the walk, which in turn governs the level of available public transport. Just after Swaffham, the line split into two, one branch heading south to Thetford, and the other east towards Dereham. The cheapest way to get from Kent to Swaffham costs only 44, and the quickest way takes just 2 hours. By 1960 no steam locomotives plied the line on passenger trains and the Sunday service had disappeared. The Swaffham Pedlar also appears in the hand-carved Swaffham town sign. Holme Hale station remains as a private residence, complete with signal box and signal post - although heavily extended. The railway was taken over by the Great Eastern Railway in 1880, with the locomotives joining the GER stock list. This was established by Lord Orford, a nephew of the writer Horace Walpole, in 1786. The line north of Watton closed finally on 19 April 1965. It would be quite fun to take a little boat and row your way around here! Rose (NAU), 21 July 1982.Watton station gone, but at Church Road crossing cottage and gates remain.Rest of track as far as Saham Toney removed, bridges all gone.E. Passing through Thetford Forest between Stow Bedon and Hockham Heath the trackbed is a Permitted Public Path before once more being obliterated by agricultural activity towards the site of Roudham Junction. The section of line between Stow Bedon and Wretham was intended to be used for a new road, and Stow Bedon station was demolished as part of this plan. Swaffham owes much of its present-day elegance to late 18th-century and Regency times, when it was a centre for well-connected people to attend balls, soires and concerts. Freight services commenced in January 1869, with passenger services in October 1869. About 8km to the north of Swaffham can be found the ruins of the formerly important Castle Acre Priory and Castle Acre Castle. It was vested into the GER in 1897, becoming part of the London and North Eastern Railway on 1 January 1923. This was the old site of the Stow Bedon railway line (part of which youll walk on towards the end). ", "Environmental centre was 'too difficult' to convert into leisure facility, says council", "International firm to move global HQ to Norfolk town", "History of Greyhounds: 18th and 19th Centuries", Information from Genuki Norfolk on Swaffham, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swaffham&oldid=1144919603, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 March 2023, at 08:46. Swaffham - Travel guide at Wikivoyage There is a Pingo Trail sign at the top of the hill so it's quite easy to see! The railway also secured a rebuilt 3 ft 6 in saddle tank. Swaffham Walking routes starting in Turbine Way, Swaffham. The underbridge at the Lynn Road, also of black bricks, is in good condition and carries a barely readable bridge number dating from BR times. The Thetford branch saw a more moderate increase. I skirted the pond and quickly found a well-trodden track which I followed. Roudham Junction, Wretham & Hockham, Stow Bedon, Watton & Holme Hale, Click here for Swaffham Gallery 2: 1963 - 1967, The Great Eastern Commemorative Steam Tour, Off Station Street A1065 north of the Market Place and town centre. Turn left to continue along this road, past a few cottages until it turns into a track straight ahead. The new walkand cyclepathwould include a connection to the Peddars Way, which would enable walkers to branch off towards the north Norfolk coast. Turn right here and head back in the direction of Swaffham. Experience a V shaped wood, an ancient ice house, an extraordinary church interior and a beautiful lake. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can On 21 July 1879 agreement was reached to lease the line to the Great Eastern Railway for 999 years, commencing on 1st March 1880. Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link Probably the last steam train to be seen at Swaffham was on 31 March 1962 when the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society ran a final steam excursion along several East Anglian lines. [29] The highest and lowest temperatures reported in the past decade are 34.6C (94.3F) during August 2003,[30] and 10.3C (13.5F) during January 2010.[31]. A Brief History of the Watton and Swaffham Railway - also known as the Bury and Thetford (Swaffham Branch) Railway On 16 July 1866 the Thetford and Watton Railway was incorporated to construct a new railway that would leave the Norwich & Brandon Railway line at Roudham Junction, four and a half miles east of Thetford. Steam-worked passenger trains ceased running through Swaffham at the end of the 1955 summer timetable after which all services was operated by DMUs based at Dereham. Record Card: NAU Staff. 1869 - Image ID: D96P36", "Important Improvement In Steam Carriages", "Route of Thetford, Watton and Swaffham Railway (later Great Eastern)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bury_and_Thetford_(Swaffham_Branch)&oldid=1013832911, This page was last edited on 23 March 2021, at 18:08. This route ran from the Roudham Junction of the Norfolk Line (NHER 13571), and had stations at Wretham and Hockham, Stow Bedon, Watton, and Holme Hale, as well as sidings at Stow Bedon, Watton and Holme Hale. violets. Common. The cheapest way to get from Swaffham to Sheringham costs only 11, and the quickest way takes just 46 mins. The A1065 Mildenhall to Fakenham road still passes through the centre of the town on its northsouth route, intersecting with the A47 at a grade separated junction north of the town.[18]. The current building, dating from 1454, is built on the foundation of the original church. Turn right and stay on this road as it passes through a residential area, before keeping straight ahead at a crossroads and passing through a cutting in a disused railway. The view over the lake is beautiful and youll probably catch sight of the resident swan just beneath the hide. Turn right along the lane to head back into town. You can park here if you wish, but the actual car park is just behind here, so take the track in the middle of the lay-by and turn immediately right.Most of the walk is very well sign posted. The Hamond's Grammar School building latterly came to serve as the sixth form for the Hamond's High School, but that use has since ceased. Time for a picnic lunch at Killamarsh station, Derbyshire, on the former Great Central Railway during one of the clubs 40th anniversary walks in September 2018. This abutted the station building constructed of knapped flint with brick quoins and stone window surrounds. [28] Shortly after the sale, Swaffham Town Council gave BCD a parcel of land next to the centre on which BDC intends to build a leisure centre. Our area groups publish periodic local newsletters, usually by email, which set out what is happening in each area. Sometimes, our own walk leaders were there to take some archive photographs. Just after Swaffham, the line split into two, one branch heading south to Thetford, and the other east towards Dereham. Temperature extremes in the Swaffham-Marham area range from 34.8C (94.6F) in August 1990, down to 16.7C (1.9F) during February 1956. Turn left here for yet more glorious views and wetlands! All of the other services called at all stations if required to do so. For Swaffham Bulbeck in Cambridgeshire, see. The park remains today, bordered on one side by the abandoned railway embankment.[13]. The up platform was linked to the down side platform by a footbridge at the east end of the station. The Bury and Thetford (Swaffham Branch), also known as the Crab and Winkle Line,[1] was a railway line in England. Shortly after its arrival a light engine set off from Dereham back to Swaffham! Swaffham Walks - Open Paths and Trails The village lies 6.9 miles northwest of the nearby town of Fakenham. Swaffham railway station - Wikipedia Here you need to go through the gate and follow the path through more woodland. Along with the very picturesque Thompson Water, a man-made lake,this is a very picturesque walkin amongst marshy woodland and wetland, walking on part of an old Roman Road called thePeddars Wayand across Thompson Common and finally finishing up along a disused railway line where you pass some incredible beautiful swamps. 58 - 92. These two turbines have since been joined by an independent development of a further eight turbines at the village of North Pickenham, three miles from Swaffham. The line was lifted after closure. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. P.S. [10], Two more Manning Wardle tanks, and two Sharp, Stewart and Company 0-4-2 tender locomotives were added by September 1876. About Our Walks - RailwayRamblers [11], The Swaffham Museum is a small, independent social history museum for Swaffham and the surrounding villages in Norfolk from the Stone Age to the modern. On Mondays and Fridays Swaffham sent out a light engine to Dereham at 6.00am. See full article, Click below for an interesting article on New Civil Engineer website titled "Abandoned rail links can boost transport connectivity" See full article, Our Southern Area Coordinators, Keith Lawrie and Kevin Arnold are giving a talk about RR at the Slough & Windsor Railway Society on Friday evening 10th March. Steam-hauled passenger services ceased in 1955 when newly arrived diesel multiple units began work out of Dereham, where the steam engine shed closed at the same time. Swaffham (/swfm/) is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. The clue is in the name! Manning Wardle of Leeds supplied the companys first locomotives after an offer from Robert Fairlie to test his Fairlie Steam Carriage was rejected. Parking is normally possible at various places in Turbine Way but near the junction with Brocks Road may be preferable. Timetables from Alan Young . Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Watton station has also been demolished and the site redeveloped, although a level crossing gate survived on Church Road as late as 1983. Turn right here and head back in the direction of Swaffham. [2] References [ edit] ^ a b Butt, R. V. J. Before I get on to this Great Eastern Pingo Trail walk, let me just quickly explain about Pingos because youll be walking amongst a bit of history here. Latterly Class 03 diesel shunters were to be found working goods turns on the branch. These were 0-6-0 tank locomotives with 3-foot driving wheels and 11-inch cylinders. Also known as kettle ponds, these pingos date back to the ice age, and Pingo is the Eskimo word for hill. This is probably the one place where you need to be alert as I did slightly wonder which way I should go (this is why its always advisable to have an OS map with you!). However, for some distance north of Watton, the line can be seen as a wooded interruption to extensive fields of arable crops. [20] Together they generate more than three megawatts. The stationmasters house was an unassuming, two-storey structure of pale cream brick under a hipped roof with a tall central chimneystack. The market cross here was built by George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford and presented to the town in 1783. A former Norfolk railway line could become a new walking and cycling route between two of the county's towns, according to newly-published documents. The line to Kings Lynn became single track immediately after leaving the station area. Further east, a high arched bridge over a road remains.E. Two giant wind turbines dominate the views to your right, and the eight turbines of the wind farm at North Pickenham are visible across the fields to your left. The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) - also known as the "Poppy Line" - is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the coastal towns of Sheringham and Holt. Indeed, on weekdays, a traveller might reach Swaffham only as late as 9.44 pm, whilst on Sunday evening it was midnight exactly when the second train reached the town! The engines were housed in a shed at Watton. Immediately south of Watton little remains of the line in Thompson Parish except at Griston where the railway crossed a minor road. A Swaffham circuit | AA RatedTrips.com quite exciting because you come across the first Pingo pond fairly Theoretically, a group of 20 or so walkers passing over an old railway bridge might, just conceivably, weaken the structure, e.g. Walking routes starting in Turbine Way, Swaffham. Pretty much everywhere you walk, theres water! Turn left and walk for 0.25 mile (400m) to a crossroads by Reepham town centre. There was a smaller building, little more than a shelter, on this platform facing the south platform; the pent roof of this structure sloped upwards towards the platform face and its angle was continued by the timber awning. . The Category Disused Railways is a subset of Heritage and History. The Market Place and twin churches lie to the right, while the car park is just a short distance ahead along Station Road. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Breckland.[3]. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 39 min to complete. One of the places they met was the handsome Assembly Rooms built between 1776 and 1778. Swaffham is near the crossroads of the west-east ( Kings Lynn (15 miles) to Norwich (30 miles)) A47 and the south-north A1065 ( London, Cambridge and Newmarket to Fakenham and North Norfolk). Quickest way to get there Cheapest option Distance between. He took up office around the turn of the 20th Century and stayed in post until after Grouping in 1923. In the summer of 2006, location filming was done in the town for the ITV1 series Kingdom, starring Stephen Fry. Stow Bedon station retains only a few buildings which may not have been connected with railway.E. Other great bird watching walks can be found here on our coastal and inland walks page. contact the editor here. [5] On the top is the statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest. All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go - Tripadvisor It took me about 2 hours, with a slightly niggly back, but it is definitely a walk I would do again. . Once called the Butter Cross, this Palladian-styled structure is topped by a little figure of the goddess Ceres, holding a sheaf. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Its construction was delayed and complicated due to difficult land at Neaton, just north of Watton. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. As I came out of the first wood and faced a very open Pingo, I wondered which way I should go until I saw a sign to my right. ', 'The UK's specialist club for exploring old railways: it organises walks throughout the country for varying ages and abilities, usually on disused railways but occasionally on an old canal or even Roman road. It was a further six years before completion of the nine and a half-mile extension northwards to Swaffham: it is said that the extension cost 72,000 to build. Using photos and text, the course of each lost railway line is described in detail, enhanced where possible by photos taken during the line's heyday.'. Send us photos or a comment about this route. Former railway line could be turned into new walking route between The main line saw a big increase in services: eleven up trains bound for Lynn stopped at Dunham, one more ran only to Swaffham where a change for Lynn was offered. In addition there was an 8.00 am Watton to Swaffham service. . Route-of-Thetford-Watton-and-Swaffham-Railway-(later-Great - Norfolk Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link Eventually you reach a very quiet tarmac lane. The cheapest way to get from Swaffham to Wells-next-the-Sea costs only 8, and the quickest way takes just 32 mins. Swaffham has a Non-League football club Swaffham Town F.C. On Wednesday only market-goers bound for Watton were catered for by a 1.20 pm departure from Swaffham: it set out on its twenty-minute return journey at 3.15 pm. From Watton went poultry, butter, milk and eggs, principally to Cambridge and London markets. East of the A1065 another unsightly business park lies over the running lines and northern sidings. Drive. To the east of the level crossing there were two sidings shunted from the station direction; these lay on the north side of the running lines. The route either side of Stow Bedon station has been removed, and the station site levelled. Notes: Swaffham station had two passenger platforms. 35 - 55. Parking is normally possible at various places in Turbine Way but near the junction with Brocks Road may be preferable. It was the junction for lines to King's Lynn, Dereham, and Thetford. SWAEFAS WAY AND AROUND SWAFFHAM - 6.1 miles / 9.8 km, SWAFFHAM TOWN & COUNTRY - 5.1 miles / 8.2 km, SWAFFHAM TOWN & COUNTRY - 6.4 miles / 10.3 km. The idea has been suggested as part of Breckland Council's 'Future Breckland' project .

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