The walk
consisted of three separate sections, each of which could be taken as
individual itineraries, but we planned to make the most of the excellent
early winter weather and attempt all three in one go.
The day dawned with a thick fog, although by the time we had reached Dorset,
blue sky was everywhere to be seen, and hardly a breath of wind either.
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The
overgrown track-bed of the former Quay Branch close to the Network Rail
Boundary. (Note the red signal protecting the former Weymouth Jct).
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Arriving
at Weymouth via the 07:35 from London Waterloo, we easily found the Quay
branch outside the main terminus station. The overgrown trackbed (located
behind the B&Q superstore) is still walkable virtually almost up to the
junction with the Network Rail infrastructure. This part of the line is
heavily overgrown with weeds, but the tracks are there if you stumble
through it enough. A colour light signal still stands today (which remains
lit), although the last train* to operate over the branch was a railtour in
May 1999! |
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Walking
away from the station, the line runs down the centre of the road as it
skirts the modern quayside, which was crammed full of sailing vessels and
fishing boats. It was noticeable that in places the main road has fairly
recently been resurfaced, yet the rails themselves have not been covered
over - thus allowing an easy return to use should the need ever arise in the
future! |
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We
followed the rails as far as Town Bridge, beyond which they continued the
short distance to the end of the line at Weymouth Quay station. |
Looking
towards the Quay station, the tracks of the disused branch pass under Town
Bridge.
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From here
we doubled back to the main station, and headed a short way beyond it to
Abbotsbury Road, and the start of the Rodwell Trail along the former
Weymouth & Portland Railway.
An
information board at the start of the trackbed gives a brief history of the
line - The line was constructed in 1865 to carry passengers and stone
between Weymouth and Portland. It closed to passengers on 2nd March 1952 and
to freight traffic on 5th April 1965. |
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The abandoned platforms of Westham Halt mark
the start of the Rodwell Trail.
L&CI
Members, Martin Hilton & Alan Hughes, prepare themselves for the interesting
walk ahead.
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The platforms at Westham Halt still
survive, and like others on the route, has had a Southern Region green
'totem' style sign erected to identify them. The former track-bed has been
turned into a cycleway and footpath, and apart from the removal of one
bridge over Newstead Road; it is completely intact from here to Ferrybridge.
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The bridge over the Newstead Road has been
removed, although the grassy embankments still remain to mark the course of
the former line.
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The double track Buxton Road Tunnel
remains, as does the incredibly small halt that once served Sandsfoot Castle
- one that we would probably have missed if it were not for the sign erected
by the "Friends of Rodwell Trail", that exist to actively promote the route. |
The double
track Buxton Road tunnel just north of Rodwell station.
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The
platforms at Rodwell station remain today, as does the short Buxton Road
Tunnel.
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A short way further, and we passed the
remains of Wyke Regis Halt and then the site of the former Whiteheads
Torpedo Factory, although very little evidence of the latter exists.
After this, the line leaves the cutting gently rises up to run along the
edge of Portland Harbour, with superb views across to Portland itself. The
second 'gap' is just after Ferrybridge, (where the track once crossed Fleet
Lagoon), which today necessitates a slight inland diversion for a few
hundred metres around a small man-made sandy beach. No obvious sign of the
former bridge exists, although its course is clear from the embankments
either side of the water.
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A man-made beach is now located close to
Fleet Lagoon. The bridge that carried the tracks across the water at this
point has long since been demolished.
The Isle
of Portland is in the distance. |
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The course of the track-bed is clearly
visible as it crosses the causeway close to Chesil Beach. To the right of
the picture is where sidings once diverged down to the waterside.
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Coming now
alongside the main road into Portland, we were walking along the spectacular
Chesil Beach, and past the location of some sidings that went down to the
waters edge.
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A short
way beyond this we entered the Isle of Portland (Victoria Square) and
attempted to follow where the vast array of railway lines had once served
the docks and piers. However, virtually all trace of them has long since
been wiped away by the new modern marina and quayside developments (Osprey
Quay), which have, been built for the expected influx to the area prior to
the 2012 Olympic Games.
Passing Portland Castle (surely one of the smallest castles I've ever seen)
marked the conclusion of the second section of the walk, and for those who
might wish to only walk up to this point, before returning to Weymouth, this
would be an ideal point in which to catch the bus from nearby Fortuneswell.
Up to now, the route had been virtually flat, with little noticeable
undulation. However that was all about to change!
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Hidden
away between two brand new sets of apartment buildings is the former
trackbed of the Portland Railway. Built in 1826 and known as Merchants
Incline, this was used solely to transport stone. Reaching the top (having
stopped for a quick drink halfway up), allowed some totally spectacular
views of Portland Harbour, Chesil Beach and the surrounding parts of Dorset. |
Merchants Incline (far right of picture)
climbs up from the harbour side towards The Verne.
This view depicts Chesil Beach in the
distance, with the Rodwell Trail curving around Portland Harbour.
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Between Merchants Incline and Yates’s Incline
is a brief level section.
A narrow
gauge tunnel still exists along this part of the walk. |
From here we followed the track bed past
some houses at Tillycombe. This section is relatively level and was worked
by teams of horses. The next 'point of interest' was Yates's Incline, and
whilst not as tall as the first one we had encountered, was equally as
steep. Three redundant stone arches tower above the incline, which carried a
roadway up the hillside in a zigzag style, and therefore eliminating the
fierce gradient taken by the railway.
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The three arched bridges that carry the
zigzag roadway remain today.
The double
track section of railway is clearly visible at the top of Yates’s Incline
among the cobbles.
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At the top, we found ourselves staring
down into a large hole. The quarry itself appears to be still in use,
although all the stone is now removed by road, rather than by railway.
Skirting around the edge, we found
ourselves alongside the eastern edge of Portland and high above the sea. The
former trackbed can be followed along the coastline by taking a steep slope
and some steps down from where we were. However, we opted to continue along
the cliff-tops which gave awe inspiring views out to sea, with the sun
glinting off the calm water around the shores. From this level, we also had
good views of the old railway formation, and could clearly see it's winding
course below us.
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One of the former Engine Sheds still stands
today and is being restored by the Portland Gas Trust.
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Very few
signs of buildings or other such railway infrastructure still remain, so the
sight of a totally intact engine shed was a surprise to us. This is being
restored by Portland Gas Trust as part of an interpretation centre.
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The route description we had been
following (as featured on BBC TV’s “Railway Walks” with Julia Bradbury)
mentioned a herd of feral goats along this section, which had been
introduced to help control scrub. We did not see any of these though!
The final part of the journey takes you via Church Ope Cove, past the
remains of Rufus Castle before finally turning inland to the former Easton
station itself. Nothing remains of the station today, with the area it once
stood upon having been totally built over.
From here it is possible to complete a
circular walk back to Weymouth by taking the winding roads down through
Fortuneswell, then back across Chesil Beach, before retracing along the
Rodwell Trail again. However, after taking liquid refreshment in Easton, we
opted to use the regular bus service, which links The Isle of Portland and
Weymouth.
Our route from Weymouth to Easton was
measured at approximately 8miles, but as mentioned at the start, a much
shorter, yet just as fascinating, walk can also be enjoyed.
It is my intention to repeat this walk in
the summer of 2011 for those that might be interested.
*(As quoted on the SEG Website). |
