Last walked on 16 May 2015, A circular walk from Turbine Way, Swaffham; heading west from Swaffham along Shouldham Lane, turning south then east from Town Farm along Shoemakers Lane to reach the centre of Swaffham, heading east by the churchyard and continuing north-east on streets, paths and Sporle Road until the route of an old railway line is reached, turning west on this route and continuing on paths and roads back to the start. Occasionally, our area groups organise long weekends or even entire weeks of walks, so that members can enjoy a railway walking holiday in different parts of the country. People who join our taster events must intend to join the club. The line was lifted after closure. I had the joy of watching a kite scanning the area and seeing the sun glistening on the water. I walk you around the trail in 10 minutes! Swaffham railway station - Trainstation | RouteYou Manning Wardle of Leeds supplied the companys first locomotives after an offer from Robert Fairlie to test his Fairlie Steam Carriage was rejected. The railway was taken over by the Great Eastern Railway in 1880, with the locomotives joining the GER stock list. They were joined by a second-hand rebuilt 3ft 6in gauge locomotive whose. The shopkeeper laughed, and replied that he often dreamed that if he went to a certain orchard in Swaffham and started digging, he would find buried treasure. I skirted the pond and quickly found a well-trodden track which I followed. Turn right here and head back in the direction of Swaffham. 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. Swaffham railway station - Wikipedia Theres a small bird watching hide overlooking Thompson Water surrounded by lots of bird feeders hanging from the trees, and its definitely worth stopping at, not least to rest your legs! It would cost somewhere between 3.3 and4.75m to be built and it would take between five and eight years to finish the project. is very dog friendly, as I wanted to discover walks that didn't require much road walking or time on leads. See article Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link | Eastern Daily Press (edp24.co.uk) (Jeff Vinter) Carry on along the track, passing more Pingos, and more open common land. The authors of the Watton and Swaffham town plans say however that the new link could generate some300,000 trips per year, increasing footfall into local businesses and boosting the area's economy. Freight services commenced in January 1869, with passenger services in October 1869. Apr 2023 - Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link 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. It would . On the main line there were six passenger trains in each direction plus one more on each of Tuesday and Saturday, these being market days in Lynn and Norwich respectively. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. Latterly Class 03 diesel shunters were to be found working goods turns on the branch. A large wooden door from the rear yard may be original and is intact. From this distance in time we can only speculate about why this was scheduled. [9] Carter was a distant cousin of the archaeologist and egyptologist Howard Carter[10] who spent much of his childhood in the town. Find the travel option that best suits you. The 15km trail would create a new link between . by dislodging some masonry or mortar from the arch below. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Its a fantastic sight full of water violets and trees in swamps. They are all around the Norfolk Coast. 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. The delightful village of Castle Acre boasts an extraordinary wealth of history and is a very rare and complete survival of a Norman planned settlement. The new walk and cycle path would include a connection to the Peddars Way, which would enable walkers to branch off towards the north Norfolk coast. Coal and other produce not locally available arrived by train. Steam locomotives worked out of Swaffham engine shed, a sub-shed of Norwich Thorpe (shed code 32A in BR days). The 1906 timetable shows five southbound weekday (up) through trains and four down. The road was not, however, constructed. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. 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. Roudham Junction to Watton closed completely. Route map drawn by Alan Young. [24] In 2008 the energy company Ecotricity took over the management of the site[25] and in 2012 the visitor centre was renamed the Green Britain Centre. Length: just under 8 milesEase of Walk: easy and flatWhat youll see: Pingos, long horned cattle, woodland and common land, wetland and swamps, Thompson Water, water violetsDogs: Dogs are allowed on this walk but they must be under control, especially on Thompson CommonPostcode: NR17 1DP OS Map: No 229 (advisable)For a downloadable pdf of theThe Pingo Trailmap, click here. Rails were removed soon after. Pretty much everywhere you walk, theres water! Goods services to Swaffham began on 20 September 1875 but it was not until nearly two months later that the supervising authorities were satisfied that the new embankments at Neaton were safe for passenger traffic to commence: it did so on 15 November. Walk on the pavement along Station Road until you see Sporle Road on your right. Stow Bedon station retains only a few buildings which may not have been connected with railway.E. Like many of East Anglias railways it was agriculture that generated much of the goods traffic. The idea has been suggested as part of Breckland Council's 'Future Breckland' project . That came to fruition on 15 November 1876. Bearing left, walk down the slight incline, and at the bottom of the hill you'll see another sign on the left hand side pointing to the left. The Bury and Thetford (Swaffham Branch), also known as the Crab and Winkle Line,[1] was a railway line in England. In Kingdom the town is called Market Shipborough. The railways were all closed as part of the Beeching Axe, though the possibility of rebuilding a direct rail link from Norwich to King's Lynn via Swaffham is occasionally raised. Theoretically, a group of 20 or so walkers passing over an old railway bridge might, just conceivably, weaken the structure, e.g. Swaffham (/swfm/) is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. The 15km trail would create a new link between Watton and Swaffham, whose railway line closed in 1965. As you drive along the main road, about 3 miles south of Watton youll see a largish lay-by. . It is now fairly clear. Future plans drafted for Watton and Swaffham - The Wayland News He asserted that he did not know whether the Watton and Swaffham company had ever issued its own style of ticket: all that he found bear the name of the working company. The largest remaining block of ancient wood in Norfolk, Roydon Common circular walk is a lovely 5.5 mile amble over the open heath land, along a stretch of disused railway and the countryside of North Norfolk, Felbrigg Hall walks are countryside and woodland walks. Some integration had happened and one train ran through from Lynn to Thetford, going forward to Bury, except on Mondays. And let's not forgetNorwich, the region's only city. ", "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. It took me about 2 hours, with a slightly niggly back, but it is definitely a walk I would do again. Even with a walk over an official route, theres a lot to consider, including lunchtime and transport arrangements: its no good reaching the lunchtime pub after the kitchen has closed, or the end of the walk after the last bus has gone. We also offer Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path walking holidays, as well as The Wherryman's Way and Short Break Walking Holidays. All passenger services to Watton and Thetford ended on 15 June 1964 although the final trains had run on 12 June. This is now part of the Peddars Way Long Distance Trail. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. 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. Under the proposal, the former Watton-Swaffham railway line would be repurposed to become a walking and cycling link. An express left for Lynn and Peterborough at 8.25am, non-stop to Lynn. Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link Kent to Swaffham - 4 ways to travel via train, bus, and car - Rome2rio 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. Theres a well-equipped kitchen, enclosed Little Flint and Lyons Green are two secluded, traditional brick and flint English country cottages built in the early 18th century, both with inglenook fireplaces, beams and many original features. [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. The shed was closed by the GER in 1914. He took up office around the turn of the 20th Century and stayed in post until after Grouping in 1923. Swaffham Walking routes starting in Turbine Way, Swaffham. Trains began running on the Lynn & Dereham Railway on 10 August 1847 after the line was extended from Narborough. The quiet market towns of Fakenham and Swaffham are prime examples, as well as Thetford, with its popular museum focusing on the TV comedy seriesDads Armywhich wasfilmed in the area. The latter are often the most interesting walks, but they take a lot of time, effort and skill to arrange. For Swaffham Bulbeck in Cambridgeshire, see. In the parish of Saham Toney some length of embankment remains in view and, close by, substantial brick-built abutments of an overbridge survive on Long Road at Woodbottom Farm. In addition there was an 8.00 am Watton to Swaffham service. Top 8 Hikes and Walks around Swaffham | Komoot The Junction box was taken out of use at this time. See full article Mar 2023 - Travel Routes in Somerset Crossing the line of the railway from Swaffham to Dereham Now officially only a bridleway, but hardly any worse than the road. The cheapest way to get from Swaffham to Wells-next-the-Sea costs only 8, and the quickest way takes just 32 mins. Further east, a high arched bridge over a road remains.E. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. A Gannett Company. A transport companys premises are on the site of the engine shed. (October 1995). Near the road the large goods shed, extended to cover the route of the railway between station and level crossing, now houses a motor company. [27] In 2021 the building was sold to manufacturer Flexion Global for use as their headquarters. Download your free copy of the "Quick Guide To Norfolk Beaches" and join our newsletter tokeep up to date with 4 different tips every month for enjoying what Norfolk has to offer. 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. Watton station has also been demolished and the site redeveloped, although a level crossing gate survived on Church Road as late as 1983. A sign erected by Breckland Council marks the entrance to the former station yard at the back of which the station building and adjoining house are intact but much altered since closure of the line. The pedlar set off home with great haste, discovered the treasure and donated his money to the towns church. 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.