GWSR Broadway Developments

I think it may be more than a bit of a walk, but there again there's almost certainly q quicker and shorter route than the one the bus follows.
There's some sort of rule in geometry I think that sates that the longest distance between two points is a bus route.

 

I just looked on Google maps and it's 2.7 miles and 52 minutes. You might be able to fit in part of the old trackbed too .
The first 1.2 miles is a cycle track. Check out pictures of it on my Flickr site:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/73536293@N02/albums/72157632569562864
The rest is overgrown somewhat, and finally blocked by Hunting Butts tunnel, so there you are better off following normal roads.

 

Sounds pleasant. I do 5k most mornings at home.

Robin

 

That's a 4 or 5 hour walk and later on in the year there is the chance of running out of daylight if you spend all day on the railway. It can be tempting to follow the roads if you run short of time/daylight but they should be avoided as much as possible as there are very few stretches with walkable verges/paths.

Would it be in poor taste to suggest that the aforementioned large clock might be accommodated inside the new bradstone barn on Winchcombe Station?

 

Ryde to Havenstreet is about 3.5 miles - almost exactly an hour through very pleasant countryside.

How do you get to 4/5 hours?

Robin

 

The Bradstone Barn - I love it! Two of us tried to persuade management to use real stone and add a chimney, but there was no interest. There was 'no need' for a chimney, and Bradstone was to be used because it had been used before. The thing is huge, it's an abomination in artificial stone and plastic. When the building was announced in the 'Cornishman' we got a postage stamp sized image - who knew what it would turn out like. The sliding doors have fittings from a modern garage, there are B&Q security lights around it, the Bradstone arch is fake and in the wrong place. Compare that with the 'goods shed' at Goathland, they did a lovely job of converting that to a cafe, I was really impressed.

 

By walking very very slowly, pointing at the beautiful countryside and going "OOOO isn't that pretty?" every 5 minutes.

 

I used to have a friend (sadly no longer with us) who was like that on a walk ‘Oooo it’s a bird’. A week when a group of us walked Hadrian’s Wall path nearly led to a baseball bat being applied to her to keep her moving...

Robin

 

The walk from next to the mainline station along the old trackbed is quite interesting and pleasant, with some good views of Cheltenham 'from above' at one point, but I must admit I got a bit lost at the far end when leaving the trackbed, despite having a printed map, and had to resort to phone gps/maps to get back on track.
I got the bus on the may back, they are very frequent and it's a pleasant walk through the racecourse to the park and ride.

 

There's been an update on the bridges blog http://bridgestobroadway.blogspot.com/2018/09/work-starts-at-broadway.html covering the new bash beams at Broadway and some other bits and pieces too.

 

A baseball bat? I expected something more on the lines of a section staff...

 

Blimey, you're quick. I was just going to mention it, but had a cup of coffee after the lengthy job of putting up the post first.

I need to point out that the link is a bit harder to find on the GWSR website, as infrequently updated blogs no longer feature at the top of the page. Best to subscribe to email updates, then you won't miss anything.
There will be more about Broadway and the other bridges in the blog, as the closed season makes such repair possible.

 

That's a very well-written and illustrated blog. Gives one a good idea of how much there is to look after on a heritage railway, and the substantial (and no doubt expensive) work involved.

 

Well, I think it's really good (as is the one at Goathland too of course). A very useful, impressive and pleasant-looking building at Winchcombe which fits in well with its surroundings. The security lights can be replaced if required with something more "heritage." Sorry, but I could not disagree with you more on this one Breva and I usually agree with your views. Still, it would be a strange world is we all agreed on everything!

 

It's the Winchcombe equivelant of the signalboxes at Cheltenham and Gotherington.

 

Haven't you mentioned those once or twice before?

 

Regardless of the size/construction materials, surely the GWSR doesn't have money to burn by replacing the B&Q lights? I think the point is, why was something heritage not put up in the first place?

Personally, from the pictures I've seen, I think it does look too big and the stone rather fake looking. Considering the heritage efforts being made at Broadway, it's rather a shame that scaffold type handrails, plastic gutters, B&Q lights etc were all installed without thought to the heritage of the station. All of these items could've been installed as heritage items at little or no extra cost.

Keith

 

The mission was: 'it has to look right from a distance' and heritage suggestions were turned down with 'it isn't a copy of Ashburton goods shed, only inspired by'.

As far as I can see, there isn't a single thing about it that relates to a GWR building. Even the arches, made to resemble vaguely the bricked up entrance to a goods shed but made entirely of the same material Bradstone, are in the wrong place. Historically, the wagons were pushed in on one side, and the road vehicle had a ramp on the other. This isn't possible if you have the arches slap bang in the middle.



Visible on this picture:
- 'bricked up' arch in the middle
- Bradstone all round, to match the toilet block, not Monmouth Troy
- garden fencing, not spearhead
- concrete ramp
- modern handrails
- plastic guttering
- modern door with a doorhandle you can buy from B&Q

And this is just one corner...

 

The Bradstone at least blends in even if it's not right, but those bright metal handrails really offend the eye.

 

Oh dear - it was late after a busy day and I'm afraid I misread your original post. I took you to mean walking from Broadway to Cheltenham! I have done that walk and it is well worthehile. One of the highlights was a crow dropping a dead rabbit when a red kite flew by. Somehow the kite didn't see the rabbit - another classic misreading of the situation! It makes me wonder what the Kite had been drinking!

Re the walk between Cheltenham stations: when you get to the end of the path along the former GWR route/cycleway turn right and then cross the main road. Turn left passing the sports centre then right into the park. When you come out of the park turn left along the Evesham road passing the Pittville Pump Rooms on your right. Further up the hill turn right at a large roundabout into the racecourse from where the station is sign-posted