Worth Way Trail ~ Disused Railway Line
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- Walking part of the Worth Way, Back on 26th May 2016...
East Grinstead to Home via Crawley Down Section.
The Worth Way is a 7-mile (11 km) footpath and bridleway linking the West Sussex towns of Crawley and East Grinstead via the village of Crawley Down. Mostly following the trackbed of a disused railway, the path is an important wildlife corridor. It is part of the National Cycle Network.
The Worth Way follows for much of its route part of the course of a dismantled railway - the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line - which opened in 1855 and closed in 1967 as a result of the programme of closures put forward by East Grinstead resident and British Transport Commission Chairman, Richard Beeching.
By 1977 West Sussex County Council had purchased almost four miles (6.4 km) of the line, mostly in the parish of Worth. On 10 July 1979 much of the route was officially reopened as footpath and bridleway.
The reopening came, however, too late for two sections of the route which had already been lost to development by 1979. Firstly, a small commercial and residential development was built over the site of the former Grange Road railway station in Crawley Down and the trackbed leading eastwards from there has been built on. To avoid this, for a distance of approximately 1,000 m, the Worth Way travels over local roads within a housing estate from just east of B2028 Turners Hill Road to Cobb Close where it rejoins the former railway bed alignment. Secondly, at Compasses Corner (formerly Compasses Crossing level crossing) on Wallage Lane the trackbed as far as the M23 has been reused as a landfill site, the original railway alignment being marked by a line of trees. Here the Worth Way continues along Turners Hill Road for 150 m before turning off to join a bridleway which passes through a farm to reach a bridge over the M23 which leads into the urban sprawl of Worth, now a suburb of Crawley, following local roads to rejoin the railway alignment near Church Road.
A final minor diversion occurs near Rowfant railway station (still standing) where the former goods yard is in industrial use and the route briefly diverts to the road.
Officially designated a Site of Nature Conservation Importance in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, much of the Worth Way forms an important wildlife corridor supporting a wide variety of fauna and flora. The former railway cuttings and embankments have been progressively colonised by trees, notably silver birch, ash, hazel and sallow, which have developed into mature woodland. In addition, in areas where chalk was used in the construction of the railway line, chalk-loving plants such as guelder rose, common spotted orchid, twayblade and wild strawberry have flourished. The trees and plants attract in turn a variety of wildlife, including over two hundred species of insect which feed on the sallow. Butterflies are also common, with brimstones in spring, the white admiral and speckled wood from June followed by meadow brown, ringlet and skippers in high summer.
The Worth Way habitat is also home to a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles. Nuthatch and chiffchaff are often spotted in the trees, whilst the kingfisher has been seen at Crawley Down Pond. Adders, grass snakes and the common lizard bask in sunny glades along the old railway line, and the adjoining farmland provides a habitat for roe deer and foxes. Bats can sometimes be spotted near dusk.
The trail is managed by two local authorities - Crawley Borough Council (in respect of the section from Three Bridges to the M23 and West Sussex County Council (the remainder of the route). The sympathetic management of the route seeks to maintain a mosaic of differently-aged trees and shrubs whilst retaining the open areas; this is achieved by coppicing in rotation - cutting trees and shrubs back to their base - to benefit plants such as primrose and insects. The subsequent regrowth then provides nesting sites for birds. Open areas are regularly cut, preventing scrub from encroaching and encouraging species which thrive on open conditions. Ditches along the way keep the path dry and are important to wildlife. The Crawley Down Pond is managed by a local environmental group which initially began in 1999 with three or four members of the public collecting litter; it has now grown into a more substantial and organised collective which meets every third Sunday of the month (weather permitting) between September and May. Recent activities have included the installation of a new bank to prevent flooding.
Litter picks along the length of the Worth Way have been organised annually by Crawley Borough Council as part of their Let's FACE it campaign to clear fly-tipping and refuse dumped along the trail.
References: en.wikipedia.o...
l enjoy the train and bus trips you take so l can view the cities and towns l'll never see in person thanks very much
Love the railways that have been converted into walking paths, such a wonderful idea!
I used to live in Pound Hill, Crawley, opposite a footpath which led down about 100 yards to the trackbed of the old line, about 3/4 of a mile out of Three Bridges Station, which is of course still open. The East Grinstead line closed when I was about 4: I can just about remember seeing trains going over the bridge, which has since been replaced by a structure with steps, enabling easier access to the Worth Way.
Love this trail walk! thanks bunches! it is such a great stress reducer, watching your vidoes..and God knows we all need a little stress reducing right now! Cheers!😊
Nice video mate,can't beat the sound of spring in our part of the world.
What an absolutely wonderful video. I LOVE these little walks you take in the countryside....just lovely. Thanx ever so much...
I had to laugh out loud as the funny man came on his bike. A bicycle without proper tire :-)) But the man looked funny, too.
Someone else wrote that he liked the sound of spring and summer. I can only get to it. A beautiful landscape, beautiful trip from you. Hey, it’s the same cock as in my prelude :-) Apologize if my english is not quite correct ;-) Have a nice week, Steve! Regards Olli
Hi Olli, that was such a great day for it, & I understand your English is very good. The Cockerel crowing instantly made me think of your channel....i had to wait a short time for him to crow again & again & again...:-)) You have a great week also Olli & thanks for reviewing the video. Regards Steve.
Love the sound of spring and early summer
I used to cycle down that track many times during my youth on a Saturday to Crawley. That first bridge was more or less in the middle of Gardenwood Road. I used to walk or cycle over that on my way to Halsford Park primary school and later to Imberhorne school.
There is another unused railway line that I used to explore in East Grinstead but it was quite overgrown back then, so god knows what it is like now.
Enjoyed very much, Thankyou for Sharing.
Lovely walk and love the sound of the birds, some nice photos near the end.
I have really enjoyed this video. Listening to the birds brought back memories when my husband used to go camping and hiking. We would try to identify them when they would sing. I also loved your king Albert video and those foggy morning pictures.I wish I could explore the forest and country sides again, but since I can not walk any more I will just watch your and other videos alike and enjoy them that way. Thanks for being my feet.
keep up the vids man, looking forward to your next one :)
A very nice walkaround again, loved watching, the house with the 5 chimney's would be a nice explore.
Lugar muito bonito muito verde.
Wow great to see you back you look like a different person now love your videos xxx keep up the great work you do Hun xxxx
You would love our trails as well, and just about every state has them.
The bike with no tyres! 😂
Nice video. I always find old abandon railroad lines to be interesting. When I see old houses next to them, I wounder if the residents have any idea that trains used to run right next to their houses. Unless the residents are really old, or have an interest in the history of their area, they probably have no clue.
I live in Crawley Down
Hope your doing ok and i wish you a Happy New Year!!
Good Thanks! Happy 2017 rolf :)
All these old railway lines should be made into cycle lanes as a few already exist.
nice vid man
Isn't it a shame, some of the buildings you run into, just sitting there, waiting for someone to bring them back to life. Some beyond help
should turn this back into a railway, as crawley down is not a village anymore.
& Those metro buses can be a lot unreliable;)
hope your keeping well are you doing anymore videos? hope you have a good Christmas
Really well, Thanks! :) really busy with my new temp job & going to new gym a lot etc lately...Hope to get back to doing some exploring in the new year, still have a video to edit. Wishing you & yours a merry Christmas too. p.s. Am under my Christmas goal of 200lb weeks ago, = total loss since April 25th = 7st (44.5kg)
Thank for the reply back that's really good keep the good work up have a good Christmas x
Great video Steve...Haven't seen many urbex videos this long :)
TopAbandonedPlaces | URBEX ll
why no tires on his bike.??
wish i had asked Him....maybe sick of getting a puncture on a short commute?
ya got me ,quite a racket .
We, in the States, have a similar, but different phrase for our abandoned railroads that are turned into trails, we call them the Rails-to-Trails program. Even though the tax payer may be flipping some of the bill for these trails, all users of these trails must pay a fee to use them as well. The only things prohibited on the trails are motorized vehicles except for maintenance.
In Massacusetts said conversions are free to use. In some instances subject to future use as railroad again.
Nice foliage, but I hope you folks don't have too much of a problem with those God awful mosquitoes.
I think you creeped those women out lol
Great video mate, I walked this route the other way yesterday, check out my viddy if your interested, always good to get out and about. I've subbed you as also seen some of your other quality vids. Cheers for now. Lee (Burton Outdoors)