The Mystery of Ascot West Station...

In this video I'm in Swinley Forest, part of the Crown Estates, to investigate what happened to the old Ascot West railway station. In my investigation I discover the multiple uses that the station had, not just to passenger travel but also in use by the Royal Flying Corp, The army, Bertram Mills circus and a local brickworks. I go in search of the remains of the brickworks, discovering a nature reserve and find evidence of the past and local businessmen.
Filmed on GoPro Hero 8. Rendered on Kdenlive
Music
------------------------------
Wanderlust by Scott Buckley / scottbuckley
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/l-wander...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Wanderlust - Scott Buckley (No Copyri...
------------------------------
------------------------------
Forest by Vlad Gluschenko / vgl9
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/forest-...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Forest - Vlad Gluschenko (No Copyrigh...
------------------------------
Equipment used...
Waterproofs and fleeces: Regatta Outdoors
Boots: Brasher Jura Mid
Rucksack: Berghaus Freedom 3 with OEX bladder
Gaiters: Trekmates Torridon Dry

[@maryginger4877]

They used Ascot West for the race horses, got photographic proof. This might go a long way to 'missing' passenger schedules. Anyway, great research. Ascot West also had a unique signal box, LSWR. Oh, and Bertam Mills used to exercise the animals, from elephants to actual tigers in the woods, where you walked.

[@richardmay3794]

Surely your oak trees near the end are lime trees. All that suckering around the base ofthe trunk and mistletoe does not grow on oaks. Otherwise excellent.

[@richardward-jones7299]

My grandfather Richard Jones trained race horses at Ascot Cottage , Winkfield for Sir William Waldron . Horses would be brought in by train for the races and stabled at Ascot Cottage . My father told me many tales of the POW camp and the stationing of American troops on the racecourse prior to the invasion . The stables , gallops are now occupied by the Royal Berkshire Polo Club .

[@darrelhill9754]

could be pill boxes for 2nd world war

[@alanprioroutdoors]

In respect of the approach to Ascot West? It appears to be brick built storage buildings. At some point I may go out and dig a test pit and see if I can find any archaeological dating evidence

[@angelsone-five7912]

20.00 in shows a static water tank for use in case of fire, that is why there are several dotted about. Not too many hydrants in the forest I imagine 😅

[@alanprioroutdoors]

Possibly but why are they all empty? There are reasons why they are terrified about a fire in Swinley Forest that I'll go into in a later video ;)

[@angelsone-five7912]

@@alanprioroutdoors Definitely a water tank and they are empty because the get defective over time and leak. Even sound concrete is not waterproof.

[@Quackalott]

Quite fascinating area and a great video exploring an explaining it's not too distant history. Thanks for that Alan. Be well. 🖖 Pete.

[@andrewhotston983]

Interesting. The tramway to the brickworks is shown on the OS map from the 1920s, but by the 1950s only the curve to the road crossing remained. Neither map shows Ascot West station at all - perhaps because it wasn't a public station?

[@alanprioroutdoors]

Its very hard to work out from the maps what was going on with that station. It was known that the station was in use by the army during WW2 as temporary internment accommodation whilst the POW camp was being built across the road. There are some testimonies from internees saying that they had slept in the same stalls that the circus elephants were kept. After the war it is uncertain whether the station returned to public duty or was just used solely by Bartram Mills :)

[@john07973]

I remember as a kid in the late 60s driving along Kings Ride with my grandparents and being told there was a PoW camp there in the war

[@duncancurtis5108]

In the area of long lost Tonghams link with Ash Junction twixt Ascot and Aldershot south west?

[@alanprioroutdoors]

Ascot West was an additional station on the Reading to Waterloo line. The Tongham link was a short length of line between Farnham and Guildford. Unfortunately sections of it were used for the route of the Blackwater Valley bypass? I'll add it to my "to do" list though :) Thanks for watching :)

[@michaelmoney9445]

Just subscribed!! I was fascinated by your video and remember the Bertram Mills sidings well. You mentioned brickworks at Pinewood and that surprised me as I lived opposite Pinewood but had never heard of this.

[@alanprioroutdoors]

The pinewood brickworks were there around 1890 according to the old OS maps, but they'd gone by 1910 and subsequently Pinewood became a hospital / sanatorium. Its on my list of future projects ;) Thanks for watching and subscribing

[@Steero1983]

20 years living in the area, and never knew there was ever an 'Ascot West' - thanks for the video!