An exhibition of Carters work in Egypt can be seen in the town museum, which also serves as the tourist information centre. Turn right and stay on this road as it passes through a residential area, before keeping straight ahead at a crossroads and passing through a cutting in a disused railway. 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. Time for a picnic lunch at Killamarsh station, Derbyshire, on the former Great Central Railway during one of the clubs 40th anniversary walks in September 2018. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Swaffham railway station was located in Swaffham, Norfolk. [10], Two more Manning Wardle tanks, and two Sharp, Stewart and Company 0-4-2 tender locomotives were added by September 1876. Drive. A Brief History of the Watton and Swaffham Railway - also known as the Bury and Thetford (Swaffham Branch) Railway On 16 July 1866 the Thetford and Watton Railway was incorporated to construct a new railway that would leave the Norwich & Brandon Railway line at Roudham Junction, four and a half miles east of Thetford. Via Airport sky train to Airport railway Station. It had an authorised capital outlay of 80,000. 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. Norfolk Health, Heritage and Biodiversity Walks Project, 'Walking your way around Swaffham, you will see many fine examples of historic architecture and you will experience a sense of traditionalism mixed with the energy of modern day life. Some of the main platform edging and surface survives. 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. Re-connecting Watton and Swaffham: re-purposing the Watton and Swaffham Railway line as a walking and cycling route will better connect the two towns for residents travelling for education, employment and leisure purposes while also creating a new attraction to encourage people to visit and spend money in local businesses. . This trail is great for running and walking, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. 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. In 1876 two larger Sharpe, Stewart & Co 0-4-2 tender engines joined the fleet, presumably because of the motive power needs of the new Swaffham extension. Disused Stations:Swaffham Station 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. . It was the junction for lines to King's Lynn, Dereham, and Thetford. The 56-lever Tyers 4" frame controlled extensive goods facilities on both sides of the line with the crossing gates being operated by a wheel. Find the travel option that best suits you. Swaffham railway station when part of the Eastern Region of British Rail Until 1968 the town was served by Swaffham railway station on the Great Eastern Railway line from King's Lynn. Early tickets had serial number and date on the face, right and left sides respectively: later ones had the serial number twice on the face and the date on the back. Disused Railways - Open Paths and Trails Like many of East Anglias railways it was agriculture that generated much of the goods traffic. This is now part of the Peddars Way Long Distance Trail. The Thetford branch closed on 15 June 1964, and the station closed to passengers on 9 September 1968. The Junction box was taken out of use at this time. . Walk on the pavement along Station Road until you see Sporle Road on your right. There is no national registry of who owns old railways and so our volunteers have to find out the hard way by research, letters and visits to find out who owns what, followed up by personal requests which, of course, have to be handled with some skill. The Watton town plan includes a separate proposal to regenerate the area around the loch,potentially including the provision of new car parking, toilet facilities and a cafe. In this vast open landscape, it is easy to appreciate the power of the wind. [note 1] Instead locomotives were obtained from Manning Wardle & Co. [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 civil parish has an area of 11.42sqmi (29.6km2) and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households, which increased to 7,258, in 3,258 households, at the 2011 census. The clue is in the name! The pedlar set off home with great haste, discovered the treasure and donated his money to the towns church. Timetables from Alan Young . Enjoy this 2.0-mile out-and-back trail near King's Lynn, Norfolk. The first of these began operation in 1999[19] and the second in 2003. They are all around the Norfolk Coast. Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes, "The Man Who Became Rich through a Dream: Folktales of Type 1645", "Is this the infamous Norfolk panther prowling near Saxlingham Nethergate? About Our Walks - RailwayRamblers [23] The height of the attraction's popularity was in 2016, when 22,000 people visited the centre and 8,000 climbed the turbine. Earth was extracted from a pit beside the route. [12], Swaffham was struck by a tornado measuring F1 on the Fujita scale and T2 on the TORRO scale on 23 November 1981 during the 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak. Under the proposal, the former Watton-Swaffham railway line would be repurposed to become a walking and cycling link. 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. However, our leaders ability to do this depends on the location of the walk, which in turn governs the level of available public transport. Swaffham railway station - Trainstation | RouteYou 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. Swaffham is near the crossroads of the west-east ( Kings Lynn (15 miles) to Norwich (30 miles)) A47 and the south-north A1065 ( London, Cambridge and Newmarket to Fakenham and North Norfolk). The main line saw a big increase in services: eleven up trains bound for Lynn stopped at Dunham, one more ran only to Swaffham where a change for Lynn was offered. The Fairlie Steam Carriage was instead successfully tested in July 1869 at the, "Fairlie's Steam Carriage. The Pingo Trail walk is a really extraordinary and fascinating walk in Mid Norfolk, just north of Thetford in the heart of The Brecks. One post-holder of note at Swaffham was John Coker who supervised the no doubt large workforce required for a busy junction station for more than 25 years. Watton-Swaffham railway line could become 15km walking link Also known as kettle ponds, these pingos date back to the ice age, and Pingo is the Eskimo word for hill. The line from the junction with the Dereham line at Swaffham remains unobstructed, although with some bridges removed. Opened in 1875, the Watton and Swaffham Railway - also known as the Crab and Winkle line - connected the towns with Thetford in one direction and King's Lynn in the other. The walks are dotted all around Norfolk depending on where there is something fascinating to visit, be it a priory ruin or castle ruin, a stately home, windpumps or lighthouses and more. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can ', 'Inspired by the BBC series, Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury, this section aims to document the surviving remnants of Britain's many disused railways (unfortunately without the assistance of Julia Bradbury). [20] Together they generate more than three megawatts. The view from the hide overlooking Thompson Water. Light railway steam locomotive for use on branch lines. [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. The route either side of Stow Bedon station has been removed, and the station site levelled. Powered by HBSMR-web and the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd, and mojoPortal CMS The line would be worked by the Thetford and Watton company. From Watton went poultry, butter, milk and eggs, principally to Cambridge and London markets. Rose (NLA), 29 January 2005. Fourteen walks around and about Swaffham. Click here for a brief history of the Lynn & Dereham Railway On 7 July 1869, the company had obtained an additional Act that allowed its trains running powers on Great Eastern tracks from Roudham Junction to Thetford and to form a junction with the Bury St. Edmunds and Thetford Railway at Thetford. [9] These locomotives were maintained at a shed at Watton. To help you find the best hikes and walks around Swaffham, we've reviewed our full collection of trails and routes in the region. Turn left and walk for 0.25 mile (400m) to a crossroads by Reepham town centre. Browse the best walks around Swaffham and see interactive maps of the top 8 hiking trails and routes. Tickets for travel from intermediate stations, except at Watton, were issued by the guard. Watton station has also been demolished and the site redeveloped, although a level crossing gate survived on Church Road as late as 1983. Some of these ponds were stagnant, others had pretty water On Mondays and Fridays Swaffham sent out a light engine to Dereham at 6.00am. Sometimes, our own walk leaders were there to take some archive photographs. Additionally, at 8.30 am, a non-stop train left Thetford and terminated at Watton. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Breckland.[3]. It was the junction for lines to King's Lynn, Dereham, and . Harry Carter, the grammar school's art teacher of the 1960s, was responsible for a great number of the carved village signs that are now found in many of Norfolk's towns and villages, including Swaffham's own sign commemorating the legendary Pedlar of Swaffham,[6][7][8] which is in the corner of the market place just opposite the old school's gates. [14], In medieval folklore, a black, hairy dog called the Black Shuck was rumoured to have wandered the three settlements of Swaffham, Castle Acre, and Great Cressingham, ambushing merchants who were on their way to large towns to sell their goods. tokeep up to date with 4 different tips every month for enjoying what Norfolk has to offer. It hadnt gone far during the time it took me to walk the 7 or so miles but because the last stretch is parallel to where I was walking earlier, it had just walked across these two tracks! The Pingo Trail starts in the car park off the main A1075. The 15km trail would create a new link between . [4] As a result of this prosperity, the town has a large market place. The shed was closed by the GER in 1914. All passenger services to Watton and Thetford ended on 15 June 1964 although the final trains had run on 12 June. Swaffham to Sheringham - 3 ways to travel via train, taxi, and car [23] The council subsequently put it up for rent or sale and discussed exchanging it with Swaffham Town Council in return for 5 acres (2.0ha) of building land. There was more activity on the main line, by that time part of the Great Eastern Railway and the branch to Thetford was, from 1879, worked by the same railway under a leasing agreement. We have developed resources to help our walk leaders design and plan railway walks ranging from straightforward events over official railway paths to walks which require negotiation with landowners.