Wrexham County Borough 55 - Bangor on Dee/a winter walk along the railway line/Thoughts of Dr Beeching

---

Winter walks - they have a certain feeling to them. The leaves have all fallen from the trees and they are skeletal across the sky. The sky itself has little colour. Grey and almost white . No clouds just a blanket of whiteness above me. It is December and the last month of the year. The wind whistles through the branches and I am going to try to walk the railway line. An old disused lane so there wont be much left of it after 60 years of disuse.

Look at any Google earth map and the line of the old railway can in many places be easily seen. It follows such a straight line you can hardly miss it on a map. Sometimes the line of the trees define it . At times the railway bridges are there to be seen along its route . I had to climb up the embankment to get onto it . Go on you can come up with me if you like . It is very muddy. The farmer has been cutting down trees and the wheels of his tractor have dug in deep into the mud. I pick my way up slowly avoiding the worse of the ruts . On the top I can see the route of the line in front of me. I am high up above the road and the houses . Sheltered in the dip by the trees that have grown over time . I try to keep to the far right . That way the houses below cannot see me. I don't know if the line is now private . There are no public footpath signs so I am taking a chance . It is early on a Sunday morning so the road is fairly quiet and the houses below should be quiet with the owners hopefully in bed. The farmer should not be about . I can always feign ignorance . I am lost . I am trying to find my way back to the paths .

My thoughts go to the railway line . At one point the line would have been busy . Both passenger and freight . When Dr Beeching cut the routes the lines went into disuse and were eventually pulled up. Oddly beneath my feet is artificial turf . It looked odd and time and time i would see white lines or circles drawn on it . At some point the farmer must have been to a football ground and bought some astroturf to lay down and keep the tracks clear for the winter . It squelched under foot .

In the distance I could see a bridge under which I would be walking soon. The walk was taking me much longer than I expected . I knew the starting point of my walk and had over the last few weeks found the point down the Cloy where the line crosed the road . The piers of the railway bridge were all that were left . I was heading slowly for that drop into the road below. The old bridge over the line must have been utilised to cross from one field to another . The brickwork was still in the main imaculate . The workmanship of the Victorians was easy to see . In a few places age was taking over and the mortar joints were slowly spreading across the brickwork . It wouldnt be falling down anytime soon though. I could see nothing in the distance bar a straight line .

There as little to see of the railway . No platforms , sidings nor any ironwork associated with trains . That was until I got to a bend in the track . It felt odd as it went off at an acute angle to my left . I could see the piers of the bridge ahead of me . No way could I climb down the embankment to the road below. It seems I was now deviating along a sidings as in the hedgerow was the equipment rusting slowly away that once worked the points . The only bit of railway memorabilia to be seen . A line that once would have been crowded with the equipment needed to run a railway now had one item left hardly spotted in the undergrowth .

I was now on a gravel path that must once have been railway sidings and was heading to the farm with its yard . I knew i could get out onto the road but kept my head down . Again I did not know if I were on private land and hoped the farmer was too busy to notice me. To busy feeding his cattle , milking his cows or still in bed . There was no sign of life and I came out on the road . I wouldnt see anyone for some time . A lone runner past me and bade me a good morning . Leaves covered the road , Trees and branches were down from the recent storm . The fields were empty .

It was though a lovely walk . I prefer to get off road when i can . Today was one of those days . A new path found , Some railway equipment spotted . Me and my thoughts of Dr Beeching . How I wish he had not closed these lines . Now more than ever we need the railways . Another one of my home walks. I seem to do more of these than anything else . Tomorrow the village Christmas tree goes up and the Treasure Hunt around the village goes on . My walk will take on another different feel as I search out the clues scattered around the village.

---