hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn October 2018 | Page 42

A Walk along the Wycombe Line By Bernard Oring
A short walk of 4½ miles on part of
a line opened in 1854 by the Great
Western Railway and closed in 1970
by British Rail.
When the line from Bourne End (BE)
to High Wycombe (HW) was closed the
track was lifted.
From BE, the first evidence of the
track can be seen on Cores End Road,
adjacent to it’s junction with Furlong
Road, where there is a rise in the road
that was the site of the level crossing.
From the north side of the road, the
first evidence of the track bed can be
found and is a well walked path, this is
your start.
When I moved to this area in 1986, WG
station was still there, by the turn
of the century it was demolished
and a number of houses were built
(now Old Station Way!) and on the
other side of Whitepit Lane (Red
Lion Way). When the line was built,
Whitepit Lane was only a short
rough track leading to a chalk
pit. The village was then Woburn
Green (note only one ‘O’) until
October 1872.
On the south side of Wycombe Lane
the track has gone, so take the road as
far as the Happy Union pub. The new
trading estate behind the Happy Union
was the site of Loudwater station.
On the west side of Treadaway Hill
there is a gate leading into Fennel’s
Wood, the line cuts through the
wood and can be walked from there
as far as Abbey Barn Lane (which
I consider the best part of the
walk), skirting round a school and
then under two original brick arch
railway bridges.
The last part of the track is
between Bassetbury Lane and the
London Road on an embankment,
ending adjacent to the Homebase
store. The bridge over London Road,
like the track, has long gone, but
the ends of the embankment can
still be clearly seen on either side of
that road. The final part of the track
bed to the current main line is all
fenced off and over grown, or it was
when I last saw it.
This is the journeys end. My brother
and I did this walk at least 20 years ago,
and enjoyed it, and the weather was a
warm summer’s day. I expect much has
changed over time!
To read the full article please visit https://www.hiyabucks.com/
things-to-do/a-walk-on-the-wycombe-line-and-with-a-dog/
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