Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire Rlys - 6: Uncovering a little known disused railway - Pt 2

I head to the South Gloucestershire village of Wickwar and explore the hinterland to find remains of a tramway which once connected the Bristol to Gloucester mainline to a couple of limestone quarries.
#tramway #railway

[@geoffreystevens663]

Another beautiful video, really enjoyable, thank you

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Geoffrey! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Paul

[@ParkinsonsWalks]

Real adventure Paul, brilliant, that court looked like a job for Time Team. Thanks for a nice day out. Ron

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thanks Ron! Yes, I was thinking that as I was sat on that bench by Yate Court on the tump with my thermos of tea and biscuit! I could see tumps dotted around here and there - I bet it has never had a proper ground survey. Glad you enjoyed this little tramway adventure! Take care, Paul

[@faithg9766]

What a great walk on a beautiful day, if a little squelchy underfoot. It must have been a little nerve wracking setting out, not knowing if you would find anything, though it was amazing to see what you did find.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Faith! Sorry for the delay in replying - been a busy couple of days and I am behind with comments. Yes, I really enjoyed this little explore, but I had really no idea what sort of video I would have at the end of it - it may have all ended up on the cutting room floor! Take care, Paul

[@andrewmerriman7133]

Hi Paul, A very interesting video, I would imagine that there were interchange siding where the tramway met the standard gauge railway line, there obviously would not have been a connection owing to the different gauges. I guess the tramway would not have gone beyond the interchange Sidings, if you look at photographs of Blaenau Ffestiniog where the narrow gauge railway met the standard gauge railway then you will see an example of interchange sidings. Hope your dad is still improving. Regards Andrew.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Hi Andrew, yes that is entirely possible. I saw on a model railway site a mock up of the interchange here, or rather what it may have looked like. It showed the trucks from the tramway being tipped or tilted so that their contents fell into the wagons on the mainline below. Thanks so much for your kind comments. Take care, Paul

[@michaelmiller641]

Fascinating Paul. Near me there is evidence on maps, of tramways, but equally obscure evidence! Glad you were able to find as much as you did!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Michael. Yes, I literally had no idea in advance how this video would turn out! I may have found nothing, in which case the whole lot would have ended up on the cutting room floor. There is a museum in Yate and another in Thornbury, but they are only open certain times, so I may have a look next time I am in the area. Cheers, Paul

[@malcolmrichardson3881]

Fascinating piece of exploration searching for a 19C tramway and finding the splendid medieval ruins of Yate Court. Great video. Thank you.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Malcolm! Glad you enjoyed it. hope all is good with you. Take care, Paul

[@royedwards8713]

Hi Paul nice video and history👌

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Roy! Glad you enjoyed it. Hope you are having a good weekend. Cheers, Paul

[@PhilipOlsen11]

Hi Simon. That was great and a lot of research. I’ve tried to track down a similar railway and it can be frustrating with the lack of written/photographic evidence. Love Yate court. I’ve visited and cycled to Berkley Castle as it’s not that far from me. Stunning place 👍

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Phil! Glad you enjoyed it - yes, there are a fair few railways and especially tramways with little history in the region that I cover. There was an enormous railway complex (military) one at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire in the 20th C, but, again no photos of it, although there is some history (it was connected to RAF Moreton Vallence near Gloucester). Yate Court is rather spectacular and I suspect there is more history in and around the ground of that area. I have been to Berkerley Castle many times, as that is close to where I live too, but the owners would not allow me to film it for YT (I asked in advance). I did make a video there all about Edward Jenner though. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul (PS it isn't Simon!)

[@Roamingthecotswolds]

Really interesting video Paul.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Adrian! Cheers, Paul

[@charlespaterson9714]

I felt that trek was very well done. Definitely a difficult path to locate. But you did a great job narrating and had a nice background of music to go along with the birdsong. Very Peaceful. Tramways will be very difficult to track by their nature, built to be only a bit better than a rough foot and oxen-way. It would most likely be very light duty. There may be culverts and crude bridges over streams, but I would hardly expect them to spend money on building a road overpass. I would expect them to minimize their expenditures on this simple venture. The downslope may have been a cable way where they lowered the carts down to the tramway area from an upper cutting as they start at the upper end and dig down and out. In this case, this second quarry area never got as developed as the first quarry area before they chose to close down. Of course, all of this would just be my ponderings because, as you said, there was not much information to research.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you! Yes, tramways and their legacy, due to their lighter engineering (usually) are harder to spot when trying to identify their route. I think you are spot on about the two quarries and the cable on the downslope because I have come across similar elsewhere. The two other quarry tramways that I am most familar with are Leckhampton Hill (part of the Cheltenham - Gloucester Tramway) and the one on Clee Hill in south Shropshire, near both the Worcestershire and Herefordshire borders. There are some too on Dartmoor (Haytor springs to mind) and Bodmin Moor (part of the Liskeard and Caradon, which of course was standard gauge). It was amazing to find a location so peaceful and quiet so close now to a large New Town (Yate). Yate Court was the icing on the cake - I suspect that there are a lot of Roman remains in that area. Thanks again, Paul

[@dianarolph1770]

Well if that piece wasn’t scripted you presented it really well. It was good to see dry weather & also not squishy underfoot. It was a very good bit of detective work- you do so much research! Do you think that the tramway actually went to the main line or just stopped at the lime kilns in lime kiln lane? The people living at Yate Court have put up a blog from when they moved in around 2015ish showing bits of the ruins. Think it showed your bench! I see you are about to hit 3,000 subs- congratulations in advance- Your subs have rocketed from 2,000 to 3,000so quickly! Thanks Paul!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Diana! Yes, it definitely wasn't scripted at all, as I knew nothing about this line whatsoever, apart from the extract from that book that I showed. The maps I added during editing. I couldn't find the blog that you mentioned, but I found that area very interesting and think there was a lot of Roman (and pre Roman?) activity in the area. I think that the tramway went to the kiln, then the lime was tipped into trucks on the mainline. Oh, thanks about subs! You may have noticed that I stopped asking for new subs sometime ago - I really don't look at those numbers now. I just want to keep making videos to the be interesting, and to the best quality that I am able to do within my resources. I never do 'clickbatey' type things to get views - I hate some of the trends that I see on KZbin. Thanks so much for your support. Take care, Paul

[@leeclift4666]

Cheers Paul didn't know anything about this tram way or Yate court.The two smaller wheels on the gate could have been off the wagons maybe just a thought.Interesting vlog cheers Lee

[@westcountrywanderings]

Yes! I thought exactly the same Lee but have nothing to confirm it - but it is entirely possible, as the tramway was so close to Yate Court. I knew nothing about it either until I read that in the book. Thanks Lee!

[@lionelmarytravels6003]

Hello Paul. That was quite a search, but I reckon you were fairly successful. My favourite part were the ruins of Yate Court. A very photogenic structure.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Lionel and Mary! Yes, it was a little find and wander but also so little to go on in terms of facts and history about it. I loved Yate Court too - I am sure that if archeaology did a full survey here they would find a wealth of historical artifacts. Cheers, Paul

[@kestrel230]

Quarries around Yate produce limestone. This tramway seems to be to transport the stone to the kiln, perhaps for the lime to be used by the tanneries you also passed? Liming is a process used in leather production to remove the hair from the skin to be tanned. Possibly an ordinary family business so not considered of interest to the old fashioned historian types who only wanted to record the feats of the great and good or notorious and bad..

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you. I think that is largely true. Although, a lot was 'exported' onto the MR mainline for use elsewhere - perhaps for road building - the irony! Some of it could have been use in the local tanneries as well. Yes, I have come across this before on my Canal Series where only certain aspects of the history have been recorded, but other parts not documented at all (e.g. The Cambridge Canal in Gloucestershire, which was the first leisure canal in the world). One of the reasons that we have a skewed and somewhat distorted view of our history. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers! Paul

[@norriskiddle3434]

I found the ruin on google Paul. And there is a photograph Paul

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you! I have still yet to find it! I'll keep looking.....

[@kestrel230]

Shame you didn't post a link..

[@tataramoa]

Hi Paul, would the company that now does the quarrying in the area hold any old records? As always enjoying your adventures!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you! Yes, I am hoping (time willing!) to visit both Thornbury and Yate museums to see if they have more information about it. I could try and contact Hanson (who run the huge quarry in Chipping Sodbury) to see if they do hold records - that's a good point! Cheers, Paul