Trivia: Abandoned railway lines that have been turned into cycle/footpaths

[Acc3lerat1on]

Abandoned railway lines that were converted to a cycle/footpath. Of the top of my head, I can remember the Bristol - Bath cycle path.

 

[DB]

There are loads! Some Sustrans-type, and some which are just muddy footpaths.

Of the former, some which immediately spring to mind are:
York-Riccall (old route of ECML)
Harrogate-Ripley (part old mainline to Ripon, part branch to Ripley)
Camel Trail in Cornwall
Monsal Train in the Peak district
Whitby to Scarborough (apart from a bit at the south end, and a short section round a tunnel in Ravenscar, pretty much all of it is a path).
Hornsea Branch (most of it from the outskirs of Hull is a path). Part of the Withernsea branch too I think, although I've not walked that one.
Part of two of the lines out of Wetherby - to Spofforth going north, and Thorpe Arch going south.

Of the muddy footpath type, most are short bits but there are some longer - e.g. most of the Rishworth branch from Sowerby Bridge can be walked.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Caernarfon-Bryncir, very good, some gentle gradients, goes near the WHR, Penygroes
Bangor-Bethesda, bit of a hill, just enough to stretch me on a 59" fixed

Bahntrassenradeln.de has lots, not only in Germany

 

[mr_jrt]

Finsbury Park-Muswell Hill (Highgate section excepted) is the Parkland Walk (sadly).

 

[John Webb]

'The Alban Way' - the former branch from Hatfield to St Albans - popular with locals and probably carrying rather more people a day than when it was a railway!

 

[TSG]

Peasmarsh (nr Guildford) - Christs Hospital - Shoreham is now the Downs Link

 

[Altfish]

Much of the Trans Pennine Trail is along old railway lines including the Warrington to Broadheath line, lines around Stockport

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Much of the Trans Pennine Trail is along old railway lines including the Warrington to Broadheath line, lines around Stockport

Indeed. The TPT also includes a six miles section from Hadfield station to Woodhead tunnel(s) where the old trackbed also has the alternative name of the "Longdendale Trail".

 

[Polarbear]

The Wirral Way (Hooton - West Kirby), the Middlewood Way, (Rose Hill - Macclesfield), the Whiregate Way (Cuddington - Winsford) are close to me. There's also the old line up to Holywell Town that's a nice (if a little steep) wals in North Wales.

There are also three significant ones in the Peak District, The Tissington Trail. High Peak Trail & Monsall Way

 

[4COR]

Tarka Trail (Barnstaple to Meeth via Torrington).

 

[Calling at...]

Deeside Way - Aberdeen to Ballater
Formartine and Buchan Way - Dyce to Fraserburgh/Peterhead

 

[InOban]

Most of the Callendar and Oban between Callendar and Glenogle summit. And most of the Ballachulish branch North of Connel bridge.

 

[A0wen]

Brampton Valley Way - Northampton to Market Harborough.

Also part of the area around Stanwick Lakes uses the old Northampton to Peterboro alignment.

Fallowfield Loop in Manchester.

Parts of the Welwyn - Dunstable line - alongside the busway and also south from Luton towards Harpenden.

The Nickey Line, Harpenden to Hemel via Redbourn.

 

[30907]

I walked a bit of one at Dalmeny/South Queensferry this afternoon (no interpretative signboards to tell me what it was, but it was pretty obvious.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Spen Valley Greenway: runs from Low Moor station to just beyond Dewsbury.

The old Meltham branch near Huddersfield is mostly a cycleway now, just a couple of gaps due to awkward landowners.

 

[Nean]

...
Hornsea Branch (most of it from the outskirs of Hull is a path). Part of the Withernsea branch too I think, although I've not walked that one.
...

As a slight addendum to this (as it used to be connected to to the Hornsea Branch), the Hull Victoria Dock branch is walkable from near where the old Botanic Station was, past the old Stepney Station building (which has been turned into a private residence) and then across the River Hull before disappearing into the road network. I think the former Hornsea branch and link south to Victoria Dock just on the other side of Mount Pleasant but doesn't quite join as a continuous path without having to walk/cycle down the road.


Also, the line from Penrith to Keswick has parts that are still walkable, however storms in 2015 washed out some bridges near Keswick. https://www.visitcumbria.com/kes/keswick-railway-footpath/

 

[Tunnel Bore]

Three Bridges to East Grinstead (Worth Way) and thence East Grinstead to Groombridge (Forrest Way)

 

[steamybrian]

Here is a list of them taken from Wikipedia

List of rail trails - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Dr Hoo]

The Manifold Way (Hulme End-Waterhouses) was the first ‘railway path’ after closure in 1936. Cycling only permitted quite a few years later.
A delightful tranquil corridor.

 

[PeterC]

The Wikipedia list omits the LNWR Blaenavon branch and the Brecon and Abergavenny. Also in that area, thankfully not accessible to cyclists as they are both historic monuments parts of Hills Tramroad and the Blorenge Tramroad.

 

[jan5468]

Doesn't look like the former Garforth, Kippax, Castleford lines appears

 

[hermit]

Most of Cowes-Newport, Newport-Sandown, Shanklin-Wroxall and Brading- St Helens.

 

[NSB2017]

Parts of the Canterbury & Whitstable:

Route | The Crab and Winkle Line Trust

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Some of Addiscombe to Woodside is now a path, where, pleasingly, I spotted (in fact heard first) some Whitethroats when doing a bird survey in the early noughties.

 

[CyrusWuff]

A fairly short one, but most of the former line linking the West Anglia Main Line near Angel Road with the line through Seven Sisters near Edmonton Green is now a shared use path between Montagu Road and Plevna Road. (Alongside the Western Federation Jewish Cemetery).

The rails for the level crossing at the Montagu Road end were still visible embedded in the road until the early 90s.

 

[apk55]

To add a few more
Middlewood way from Marple to Macclesfied
Much of the Micklehurst loop from Stalybridge to Uppermill
Most of the Holcome brook branch near Bury
Holywell town branch in North Wales
CLC Winsford branch to Cuddington
Hayfield branch
Quite a lot of the Rochdale Bacup line including Healy Dell viaduct

 

[steamybrian]

The Wikipedia list omits the LNWR Blaenavon branch and the Brecon and Abergavenny. Also in that area, thankfully not accessible to cyclists as they are both historic monuments parts of Hills Tramroad and the Blorenge Tramroad.

If you give me details of between which locations and the mileages and I will arrange to add them to the list.

Most of Cowes-Newport, Newport-Sandown, Shanklin-Wroxall and Brading- St Helens.

I will try to add them to the list.

Some of Addiscombe to Woodside is now a path, where, pleasingly, I spotted (in fact heard first) some Whitethroats when doing a bird survey in the early noughties.

The whole length of the former branch is now a path.
It is one of the few locations that having travelled over it by train and then after the trackbed was converted into a footpath I then walked along it.

Doesn't look like the former Garforth, Kippax, Castleford lines appears

Please supply between locations or the name of the path and I will arrange to add them to the list

 

[mlambeuk]

Part of the Derwent Valley Light rail (York), From the Nestle factory to Osbaldwick.

 

[High Dyke]

Part of the GNR Denton branch, built for ironstone traffic is linked to the National Cycle network.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Well over 100 in Britain of varying length. Vinter's Railway Gazetteer (about £3 secondhand) is the best list that exists. The Formartine & Buchan Way is the longest, I believe, probably with the Downslink in second place.

There are countless more in Europe and, particularly, the US, where they have the concept of 'railbanking' - essentially allowing a railway to be converted to a multi-use trail, held in trust by the state government, but with the option of reclaiming it for rail use in the future. Some are incredibly long - the Katy Trail is 240 miles with a 50-mile spur. There's even a project, the Great American Rail Trail, to join up rail trails from west to east coast, though I suspect it'll be decades before it's complete.

A good online cycling map will help you find them (*cough* https://cycle.travel/map *cough*).