On the Wednesday morning we did the usual click and collect at Morrisons Leominster. To be honest I would rather do it on the day we arrive and get it out of the way but B likes to relax on the first afternoon. We stopped off at B and Q and I came away with a perennial wall flower (Bowles's Mauve) for the border at the caravan and a pepper plant to bring home for D.
In the afternoon B wanted to garden so I took myself to nearby Fencote to look for the restored railway station on the disused railway line which I seem to be totally obsessed with!
Fencote station was a stop on the Worcester Bromyard and Leominster railway. Great Western Railway rescued the railway from bankruptcy in 1888 and the line was completed in 1897.
Due to lack of use the line was closed to regular passenger services from September 1949.
In 1980 Fencote Station was purchased by a former railway employee who restored it to use as a private residence. The station and signal box etc are all fenced off so you can't access the site but you can view it from the bridge that goes over the track. The signal box has also been restored and sections of the track re-installed.
As you can see it looks beautifully restored. I understand that in the past there were occasional open days so you could look round but the station has been recently sold I've been told - thankfully to more railway enthusiasts! So I just hope there may be more open days in the future.
This is the view from the other side of the bridge.
I did wander down to the station fence and gate but as you can see it is marked private!
The hedgerows are full of Cow Parsley.
There is another restored station on the same line at Rowden Mill, near Bredenbury, which is not far away but that has been converted into holiday accommodation so I doubt that could be accessed either.
On the way back I stopped off at St Leonard's in Hatfield.
I must try and time a visit so I can go the Flower Festival later this month.
I had a lovely chat with a lady in the church who was decorating it for a VE Day service.
East Window
The copse with the trees now in leaf taken at the "Golden Hour".
On the Thursday we popped into Tenbury Wells and then a visit to Burford House Gardens but I'll write about that in the next post.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks.)
7 comments:
We are surprised that Timothy hasn't melted yet.
Isn't the cow parsley lovely? To me along with pink campions and a few other specific springtime flowers it epitomises the quintessential British hedgerow of this time of year.
I ride and run along the disused railway line here all the time, now Sustrans 64
Thank you Debbie and lol! I don't think you can beat hedgerows at this time of the year. They look so beautiful.
Thank you Simon. I think a group has suggested turning this disused railway line into a path for walkers and cyclists - it would be lovely if they did.
The restored station looks interesting, let's hope that the new owners will have some open days so you can get closer to the buildings. The Cow Parsley and Hawthorne along the walk looks wonderful. It seems to be a good year for both, the hedgerows and verges were looking wonderful as we travelled yesterday all white and acid green:)
Thanks Rosie. It would be good to explore the station properly. It does seem to have been a good year for cow parsley and hawthorn - saw so much of both in Herefordshire.
The disused railway and station looks really interesting. I hope the new owners find a way to open it to the public from time to time.
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