# Disused Railway Line Brockenhurst - Burley



## miniac70 (May 5, 2011)

Hi, this is my first post and I thought I would do a report on a disused railway line not too far away from me. The line was built in 1847 and was taken out of operation in 1964 courtesy of Dr Beeching in favour of a more direct route along the coast. The line ran from Brockenhurst in Hampshire through to Hamworthy in Dorset. Much of the line is now just used as a cycleway but some is totally overgrown. 

The pictures I have taken are from the stretch of track from Brockenhurst to Burley where the line returns to thick undergrowth. 

There are still a nice few reminders of the past along the route.






Concrete posts still line the majority of the line





Not totally sure what this was but was in the centre of the tracks





A lot of the bridges have fallen into disrepair but have been adapted for use as a cycleway









Some of the more substantial bridges are in much better condition





The old station still stands but is now a tea room





One of the largest remaining features is this brick constructed siding near the old station





Some rails still remain in location as a road has been laid over the top of them





Evidence of a set of gates near Burley and the remains of a building but it is only a few bricks marking out its footprint remain





On the smaller bridges that only cross streams are far less grand than the large brick built ones but the construction gives clues as to past use.

I hope investigate the rest of the route soon!


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## gingrove (May 5, 2011)

Looks like a nice day out and a surprising amount of bits left from the railway. I like the shot of the iron work under the bridge! Look forward to the rest of the route. Thanks of posting


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## themousepolice (May 5, 2011)

aaah yes we know all about Dr Beeching in out industry. the fact that lines had their census on how busy they were on bank holidays and factory breaks thus giving false proof on how economical there were and the transport secretary for the Tory gvernment at the time.. a certain Mr Marples... owned and was director of a certain road building company that went on to be called TARMAC

and upto present day so called private train companies get more subsidies than BR got when it was owned nationally by all of us.

good pics but youve got me started now.............................


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## Black Shuck (May 6, 2011)

That's a nice looking line. The Castlemans Corkscrew if I'm not to mistaken.


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## miniac70 (May 6, 2011)

It is indeed know as the castleman corkscrew, i think this is due to the winding route it took as it had to run inland through the forest rather than across the coast.


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## Labb (May 6, 2011)

Very nice pictures. The old bridge is just supurb.


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## gushysfella (May 6, 2011)

photo's 4 and 5 brick arch porn


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## miniac70 (May 6, 2011)

For those all those bridge fans here are a couple more pics. They didnt really do justice to the colours and I am sure would make some good HDR shots.










Along the route were also a few remains of similar bridges that had fallen into disrepair and have been demolished, leaving only a few crumbling columns.


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## matt22272 (May 7, 2011)

Hi mate, how far is this from brockenhurst train station? As this looks like a great bike ride and an excuse to get my camera out, cheers fella


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## dobbo79 (May 7, 2011)

Great pics - I have a soft spot for disused railways
:biglaugh:


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## bonecollector (May 7, 2011)

Nice work mate.
I have cycled along that line many times but never thought of taking any pictures.
Lovine the bridge shots.


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## Sonofdavros (Jun 3, 2011)

Ah, what a coincidence - just walked some of this the other day. Years ago (20?), we kept coming across bits of this line all over the countryside, so I decided to see where it used to run from. It looked to be about 13 miles from Ringwood to Brockenhurst, so my wife and I got dropped off in Ringwood, and set about walking the route. Easier said than done!

The first half - Ringwood to Burley road - was quite tough. Almost all bridges were down, and we found ourselves more than once having to cross private land.  Although we both had reasonable footwear on, we weren't prepared for one particularly boggy bit - much to my wife's amusement (I wasn't laughing at the time!), I went in to a boggy bit right over my knee!

Anyway, we struggled on, but things got much better after we crossed the Burley road. At Holmsley station, the old line actually becomes the road, for approximately a 2-mile stretch - I always wondered why the A35 bridge was over another road.

Some great pics - thank you.


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