Walks Following Steam Railways in the Southern Counties of England

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Walk - 3.5 miles

Taking the train from Toddington to Winchcombe and walking back

Useful maps: Ordnance Survey Explorer OL45 or Landranger 150

Railway operating days: trains run every weekend from March to October inclusive and in December. That's in addition to bank holidays and on certain weekdays in from April to October. The peak of activity is from June to August, not surprisingly.

Getting there:
By road: Toddington is 5 miles south-west of Broadway along the B4632 and 10 miles eastward along the A46 and B4077 from junction 9 of the M5. It is close to the junction of the B4077 and the B4632. Cars can be parked at Toddington station. Its grid reference is 050324. There is also a small parking area at Winchcombe station. That station is actually at Greet, one mile north of Winchcombe's town centre. Its grid reference is 025298.
By public transport: Marchant Coaches provide a mostly hourly bus service (route 606) from Monday to Saturday (only) between Cheltenham bus station and Winchcombe (alight at the Harvest Home, Greet), extending to Toddington infrequently. Telephone 01242 257714. Note that the bus station is more than a mile from the Cheltenham main line railway station!

Eating out: The Flag and Whistle is Toddington station's own tea room, ideal for snacks but closing at 5pm. Winchcombe station has a cafe offering 'scenic railway views' in addition to food and drink! Refreshments are also available on the trains. The Harvest Home Country Pub is near Winchcombe station and has been highly recommended. In Winchcombe village there are numerous eating places, including pubs and a fish and chip takeaway. At Hailes, 1/2 way along the walk, there is the welcoming Hayes Tea Room and Restaurant.

Visitor attractions: As headquarters of the railway, Toddington station has much of interest, even to those who simply enjoy watching the arrival and departure of steam locomotives. A deeper appreciation is afforded at the station's museum, which is housed in a static coach. A good point from which to view the railway's fleet of steam and heritage diesel locomotives is from the public footpath adjacent to the railway. As good fortune has it, this path is the one that terminates our walk from Winchcombe.
Families would enjoy the play area at Toddington station, and perhaps also the 2-foot narrow gauge railway which operates on most Sundays from April to September.
Winchcombe station, where the walk starts, is a twenty minute walk to the town itself, where you can take delight in the narrow streets and the stone-built hoses.

Summary of the walk: It is only minutes into the walk before the magnificent Cotswold Hills come into view, and not long before we meet the popular Cotswold Way. The lovely Hailes Church and the fascinating ruins of Hailes Abbey (National Trust) mark the mid-point of the walk, as does the welcoming sign 'Hayes (yes Hayes!) farm shop, tea room and restaurant.
Views of the railway are enjoyed along much of the walk, but especially so from the field-edge paths along the final mile.

The walk:
1. On leaving Winchcombe station, turn right out of Station Approach, cross the railway and turn right again - into Beckett's Lane (Stratford direction). Make your way to the far end of the road where it meets the B4632, using the parallel footpath for part of the way and enjoying fine views of the Cotswold Hills as you go.
Turn right into the B4632, pass under the railway and join a footpath on the left after 30 yards. This soon meets a rough farm drive serving seemingly defunct agricultural buildings. The drive continues from a farm gate and takes you forward between a hedge and a field. Where the hedge terminates a large open barn comes into view over to the left; and an electricity pylon stands nearby. Now take care: the next field takes your path straight on uphill (120 degrees), so don't be tempted into routes that follow the right-hand field edge.

2. Assuming you are on course, you will meet a footbridge at the top possibly well hidden in the hedge. From here you should cross the next field more or less straight on, taking your cue from the left-most of two waymark arrows. At the far end of the field you will meet a kissing gate followed by a stile placed within a knot of trees. You have now joined forces with the Cotswold Way.
Turn left with the Cotswold Way (40 degrees) and cross the next field diagonally, turning right to follow to follow a hedge on the far side. On meeting a bridleway (and if your timing is right) you may see a steam train passing down to your left. Turn left into the bridleway and right into the road at the end.

3. Leave the road along a rough drive on the left immediately prior to the first house. The drive serves other houses, including Pilgrims' Cottage. From a gate at the end, cross a meadow straight on to another gate in the far corner. Hailes Church, noted for its medieval wall paintings, is here; and to the right are the ruins of Hailes Abbey. Founded in AD1246, this Cistercian abbey is now owned by the National Trust. Surprisingly perhaps, it is financed and managed by English Heritage, who support an excellent museum close-by. But what may attract your attention more than these (initially at least) is the presence of Hayes Tea Room!

4. On the move again, go left in the road (if facing the church) and right at the road junction ahead. Follow the road round to the left and look for a footpath sign on the right just before a railway bridge. Walking parallel to the railway, go over a stile in the far (curving) left-hand corner of the second field. Turn right in the road there and enter a field on the left after 50 yards. Cross to the far side, with the railway still on the left, and join a path under trees. An attractive cruck-framed cottage stands at the far end, and a right turn in the road there takes you briefly to a kissing-gate. This is directly opposite the front of the cottage.

5. Following the left-hand edge of a pasture, aim for a footbridge and gate in the far corner; and while aiming for the next corner, notice the very distinct 'ridge and furrow', a reminder of medieval ploughing methods.
As you continue forward, the GWR's collection of locomotives and other stock come into view, along with Toddington's signal box; and kissing-gate leads you alongside houses to a road. Turn left there for the station and its car park.

The GWR story:
Dating back to the early 1900's, this lively cross-country route linked the town of Bristol to Birmingham. It served the racecourse at Cheltenham and the now popular tourist villages of Broadway and Stratford-on-Avon. It sported such famous named trains as 'The Cornishman' and survived a little longer than those that fell victim to Dr Beeching's Axe. - until 1977.
Conservationists were there before the event - in 1976 - but not soon enough to prevent the tearing up of all the track between Cheltenham and Broadway. However, they were able to purchase the track-bed in 1981 and were proud possessors of their first operational steam locomotive in 1983. The railway, now the New GWR, was formally opened at Toddington the following year. Winchcombe station opened in 1987, Gotherington Halt in 1997. Cheltenham Racecourse station was opened by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal in 2003, the same year that the railway received the first of two prestigious awards. And work is in place to extend the railway to Broadway, a distance of around three miles. Beyond that is the possibility of returning to Honeybourne, with is connection to the National Rail main line.
The railway is run entirely by volunteers. Perhaps the best example of their dedication - and that of their helpful friends from the Watercress Line - is the relaying of track in the 693-yard Greet tunnel in the space of two days in 1988!