If you find yourself walking along Chesil Street in Winchester, listen out for the ghostly whistle of a steam train or the clang of a signal bell. Here, at the foot of St Giles Hill, was Cheese Hill (later Chesil) Station, opened in 1885 as a stop on the ill-starred Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway line. From here Hampshire strawberries were carried to London, race horses to Newbury and thousands of troops to Southampton to embark on journeys to the Western Front, and, later, the Normandy beaches. The line closed in the 1960s, but tantalising fragments of station and railway remain. Winchester tourist guide Clare Dixon talks to Julie Dypdal about the history of the railway, and takes us on a podcast tour of the bridges and buildings, tunnel and viaduct that still form part of the Winchester landscape.
Clare Dixon
Clare is a Winchester Green Badge Tourist Guide and South/South East England Blue Badge Guide
History has always been my passion. I have a degree in Modern History (which covered everything since the fall of the Roman Empire!), and I especially love local history and historical geography.
Most of my working life was spent in the charity sector and then following my husband around the world. But after a break to have children, I trained as a Tourist Guide for Winchester and discovered a way to unite a love of history with a part-time job – what could be better! That was in 2005. Since then I have trained again as a Blue Badge guide for the whole of southern England and in normal times my main work would be coach tours from the cruise ships in Southampton and Portsmouth to eg Windsor Castle or Stonehenge.
My favourite job as a Tourist Guide is to take people on a walking tour around Winchester. I have lived here now for over 20 years, and have been a Winchester guide for 15 of those, and am fascinated by all the quirky corners of its long history. One of which is the story of the Chesil Railway.
Further Information and Useful Links
Winchester Tourist Guides offer walking tours each summer that explore the remains of the Chesil Railway in Winchester and offer an opportunity to go inside the disused Chesil Tunnel. We hope to be able to offer some dates later this year.
You can watch a video created by Howard Blake and the Southampton Video Club with help from the guides which tells the story of the railway in Winchester and of the Hockley Viaduct.
The Viaduct Way footpath and cycle path runs across the Hockley Viaduct. Download a trail leaflet from Visit Winchester or pick up a leaflet from the Visitor Information Centre, The Broadway, Winchester.
We made a blog post about the Chesil Railway, which you can find here.