Thanks Ron, a really nice adventure that! I hope you are doing well now, and I wish you all the best. James

Hi Ron, Hope your having a great Christmas!! Those viaducts are such amazing structures, its shame they can't be easily distinguished inline. In my walks I often come across the remains of watermills, in fact in our village we have two that are being restored. The oldest we have nearby dates back to the islamic times 500 years ago, this being nothing more than some blocks of stone. Others the purpose is more clearer often being for grinding foodstuffs and sometimes for fulling. Given the clay soil could this have been for fulling perhaps? What surprises me is that the footprint and funneling is very clear but little remains of the rest of the building and nothing on the maps. A real mystery and a great walk rewarded with some sunshine!! All the best!!

Another splendid walk adventure Ron. I have to say I would have been nervous walking through unmanaged woodland in those high winds, but the Gods were looking out for you. We can probably all agree that the location of the mystery structure would mean a water wheel of some sort being used, what for, is any bodies guess. An early mill, pumping engine or a forge. Whatever when the railway came through they probably needed the land so they bought it and just left it to rot. Have a lovely Christmas. Ron

Another great video Ron, what magnificent structures those viaducts would have been, have only seen photos of them, would of made good walking,cycling trails if left alone progress for you, have a good Christmas Ron look forward to more videos next year.

A very interesting piece of exploration of these magnificent stone edifaces. I wonder whether that ruined brick building by the stream, had any connection with the building of the railway? A dating, if possible, might help determine its purpose - though a pumping engine or a sluice do seem plausible. Thank you - and Seasons Greetings.

Hi it's railway Explorers) Do you have recommendations for railway tunnels in the forest of Dean to visit)

Hi Ron, Im down this weekend so had a look at the oddington/Icomb Bridge after threatening to do it for years, glad I did. Some flay bottom rail near Icomb side of parapet and in the left hand hedgerow on the road towards Icomb.

Hi Ron, Hope things are all ok after all these heavy rains that I've seen on the news. I can only imagine what this line must look like as of today!! The water tower at the start was a real throwback and very rare on a mainline station do you think? The canal warf bridge looked like it was from back in the day but recently restored, it doesnt take long for the brambles to move in. Great find at the end with the halt, perhaps one of the shortest platforms? Well done for sticking the course. All the best!!

@47:55 - Thank you for sharing your walk. Occupation Bridge being where you claim is looking highly unlikely my friend due to the number of mature trees seen growing from the crown of the mound. It's the opposite to what we would expect to find.

The Canal Bridge is Halfway Bridge or Hinton Bridge.

Great video Ron, I am sure there is a video on KZbin taken from a diesel railcar taken on this branch line, showing picking up passengers at Park Leaze.

Great ramble. Thank's for the memory. The bridge over the lane leading to the station at Kemble was still in situ when I first visited around 1981/2, although the bridge over the main road nearby, was long gone. There have been plans for reopening for a number of years and Cirencester's population has grown considerably since closure, but, I wonder how viable the line would be, if it was ever reopened.

Great film Ron, a true abandoned railway adventure. I like your style, I always feel I am walking beside you, nattering as we go. Wonderful. Hope all is well. Ron

Hi Ron, Hope all went well with your wife's last treatment. If nothing else its a lovely path to follow but that bridge, what a gem. Mind you, you could see the moss starting to take hold. A bit of maintenance now will prolong its life I'm sure. It did look confusing at the other end by the roundabout. Just been looking on railmaps and you can see a siding crossing or rather ending over the roundabout, maybe that was a loading dock? I couldnt fathom out the other platform which disappeared into the undergrowth, just off the roundabout, but I'm sure you've seen all that. The east to south curve wasnt too obvious either as it was coloured in dark grey. Its a great resource to have at your finger tips All the best!!

Hi Ron, Catching up on some videos that I missed. Hope all is well with you and your wife I was thinking that the cutting angle must have been at the limit of what you could have with out some kind of wall and buttresses. Incredibly steep The bridge arch was a marvel but is going to need some attention sooner rather than later. Im amazed at those mounds which are solid calcite, another indication of the lack of maintenance. You persistance paid off, excellent video, now on to part 2 All the best!!

Very good Ron I really enjoyed that! I think the loop at Stratford was installed in 1960 and ended like you say in 1965 not only for Iron ore traffic but also it coincided with the end of freight on the former Great Central Railway which use to send quite a lot of trains from Woodford Halse via its link with the SMJR there.

My father was a policeman based at Stratford in 1930's and used this railway to visit my mother at Byfield. He always referred to SMJR as the slow, miserable and jolly railway

Thankyou Ron another great video,I had to laugh when you used the phrase ducking and diving, reminds of old times, looking forward to the next video.

Very interesting and informative exploration of another of Stratford's former railway links. The overbridge looked to be in very good condition, but alas little, if anything else, remains, except some marvellous old photographs of what was - and well within living memory. Thank you for this painstaking piece of exploration.

Hi Ron, lovely walk with your usual tenacity, loads of information, taking care of Debs must be giving you more research time. Thanks for the mention. Ron

Great video Ron! Wow! That wasn't an easay explore at all - very deep and overgrown cuttings there. Oh gosh I hate horseflies - been bitten many times on my wanders - sore, very itchy bumps for weeks afterwards. The East/West Jct Railway was a very complicated line/network - I can never remember all the details of it. I did do a video about a year ago on the Kineton Military Railway - the MOD Police kept following me in my car, but never stopped me. Obviously I didn't film directly into the base or trespass; I just showed what you can see from public footpaths. I asked in the bakery in Kineton how you pronounce Kineton and I was told it is "kin - et - un" (which is what I had originally thought it was pronounced), but I was told a gazillion times in my comments that it is pronounced 'kind-ton', with silent 'e' , which is how you pronounced it, I think. I look forward to part two. Take care, Paul

I used to work at JJ Thomas in the 70s/80s the long shed in the picture had concrete shuterd on the original rails (2 parallel lines) the rh side still had the ash/inspection pit (with cover boards)

Hi Ron, nice to have you back in the saddle. Lovely adventure I always feel like I’m there with you just chatting away. If you found access difficult, the rest of us would probably find it impossible. It didn’t seem a well used trackbed in places there is usually a track of sorts, you know how to find them! Pity about the missing bridge but you made the best of it, I have to say it is a brave time of year to tackle overgrown paths That cutting was steep and narrow, looks like they spent the minimum digging it out. Loved the information board at Goldicote, very helpful. Everything including the kitchen sink in the cutting. When I was filming there I managed to see the arch from the top of that magnificent bridge, it looked exceedingly dodgy so I left it. In fact the whole cutting looks unstable, you are braver than me. Your persistence certainly produces results, and your knowledge and research make a wonderful watch. Can’t wait for part two. Ron

Marvellous piece of exploration. The astonishingly deep cutting and massive abutments of the former road bridge spanning it inspires a mixture of awe and wonder at the achievements of the engineers and navvies who built this line - and just this one short section. Great finds! Thank you.

Apart from the historic train bits, I love to see the British countryside, being a Dutch Anglophile

Another great explore Ron, didn't hear any flapping and swearing so guess the horse flies left you alone, please keep up the good work stay safe and look forward to the next video.

Do you know why the road from here down to Cheltenham is referred by yokels as tunnel hill? I’m yet to find a tunnel

Oh what memories - I was the last passenger on the line in 1960 and amongst my 60 odd photos of the line are the last photographs of the train shed and loco shed at Shipston before demolition.

Superb video Ron! I really enjoyed that, and as Ron says below, it is one that you can be really proud of. That double bridge really is tremendous. Shame that the councillors/councils/Network Rail won't budge on the decision to reopen the line from Honeybourne to Long Marston and Stratford-upon-Avon again. With all the new housing around Long Marston/Meon Vale and around Stratford it is needed now more than ever. Hope all is good with you and your family. Take care, Paul

I live in kings Sutton and used to walk along the line regularly , a short cut to the canal fishing

A freight train derailment is a very poor excuse to shut the line down. What year did the line just south of Stratford Station get turned into that walkway/cycle path and do you have any pictures before the road got built on track bed ?

Great video. Have walked along here many times walking our dog, If you'd have gone about half a mile more there's a railwaymans cottage and remnants of a halt. I've lived in Shipston on Stour ( i only watched your videos on Shipston yesterday which were also very good) since 96. Sorry to say it but there's as much chance of the whole of Britain becoming a crime free utopia than Stratford town council or warwickshire county council going back on a decision such as this, despite it being made by previous councillors.

Another great explore Ron please keep up the good work.

Great video. What superb examples of railway bridge architecture, especially over the Avon, which I have visted several times. What a short-sighted decision by BR to close the line in 1976. The Greenway was not in place when I last visited some years ago, but looks perfect for walkers and cyclists, and well-used by the looks of things. Many rail reopening projects look under threat at present, so I don't expect a rail link to Honeybourne will be re-considered anytime soon, although the light-rail and battery-operated schemes you outlined, look promising for the future. Let's hope their development will continue.

Hi Ron, hope everything is going on OK at your end. Loved the hat and garden intro. What an adventure, I loved that double bridge I’ve never seen anything like it before. What some skill putting that together. You certainly found and explored lots of bridges on this one and the carriage caff at the end. Wonderful. One to be proud of. Ron

Thanks for another entertaining and informative abandoned railway adventure! your efforts are appreciated!

Very interesting! I have cycled this line as only live in Evesham. I recently rode over the last bridge where the line went from Weston Subedge to Honeybourne before it went under the line to Oxford and curved round to join the north south line to Oxford. The track is a bit overgrown but I think it could be walked through. I see on the Railway Paths Ltd website they have this line marked to Broadway. I'm not sure if they own it. Perhaps they have ideas to convert it to a Greenway to Brodway if GWR don't extend the line to Honeybourne. I think it's a bit cost prohibited for GWR. At least is mot taken over by land owners which is the biggest issue with re using old railway lines. Great video. Thanks.

The tunnel is 3/4 miles long my grandad used to walk through it daily years ago

I walk along here all the time!

I live in Bourton and i never knew about this! I wish they'd kept the line clear and left it as an accessible footpath all the way.

Just found your channel. Very interested in the proposed Greenway from Cheltenham to Bourton. Is there anywhere promoting this project? Thanks for all your hard work.

Great explore and adventure Ron. I really enjoyed this. You did well covering a lot of ground here. I liked seeing the brick arches. Well done, Take care, Paul

You are looking well Ron, another great explore please keep up the gòd work.

If you looked to the left of the 1960’s picture you showed the back of the cheltenham platform (Kingham end) has been retained and you can still see the brickwork from the care home car park. All that remains of the station. I was fortunate or unfortunate to catch the building whilst it was being demolished and one of the workers kindly gave me one of the stones from the station. It was scandalous to see the original oak doors split and ruined whilst bring taken out 😡. All materials were taken to a reclamation yard in Chipping Campden according to the contractor on site.

Great video, thanks for sharing. I was born near Bourton but only walked the section from Bourton to Ayleworth in the late 80’s.I wish I would have walked what you did. I Still want to look at the bridge just down from Oddington Im sure its similar to this one. 👍🏼

They were both rebuilt in 1938. I have the official records of the date, costs and contractor who was employer for the work. An extension was built at Bourton approximately in 1948.

Hi Ron, a great walk through the countryside. Although parts were overgrown it didnt stop you. Enjoyed seeing those culverts - great decision to keep out of the mud, you can never be quite sure quite waht is under you until its too late, I speak from experience digging up cockles!! The birds did well to drown out whatever other background noise there was. All the best!!

Great explore - picking-up the old line at the junction and discovering some rather nice brick arches along the way. Pity the bridge over the canal was removed - though assume it was probably rusty ironwork. Very enjoyable. Thank you.

I wonder why they retained the bridge over the river but removed the one over the canal - corrosion perhaps?

Cheers, Ron. Another one crossed off the to do list. A bit on the warm side today, so not ventured too far. Ron