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Camel Trail
The Camel Trail is a shared-space route in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, available for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and wheel-chair users. As a rail trail, the route has only a slight incline following the River Camel from Padstow to Wenford Bridge via Wadebridge and Bodmin, at a total of 18.3 miles (29.5 km) long.
In 2003, 400,000 people were estimated to use the trail each year, generating approximately £3 million year for the local economy.
The trail is jointly managed by Cornwall Council and the Camel Trail Partnership.
The trail follows the trackbed of two historic rail lines—a section of the North Cornwall Railway between Padstow and Wadebridge, in addition to the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway (B&WR) between Wadebridge and Wenfordbridge along with a short branch toward the former Bodmin North station.
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was originally built at a cost of £35,000 following a study commissioned in 1831 by local landowner Sir William Molesworth of Pencarrow. The line was originally used to carry lime-rich sand from the Camel estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. In 1862, the railway started shipping china clay which, became its most reliable trade. Additionally the line would be used to ship slate from inland quarries to ships in Padstow, and also to transport fish landed in Padstow inland; primarily to London and other cities.[citation needed][when?]
In 1868, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) purchased the B&WR without parliamentary consent. Although an ultra vires purchase, the acquisition would become legalised in 1886. In the interim, the LSWR nonetheless supported the B&WR and sought to connect the isolated railway to its own network via the LSWR-backed North Cornwall Railway. The now LSWR-owned NCR line from Halwill Junction reached Wadebridge station in June 1895, and then Padstow in March 1899.
In 1923, as a part of the railways Grouping Act the lines were taken over by Southern Railway, and then again by British Railways (BR) during nationalisation. Under BR, the lines repeately changed hands between the British Railways Southern Region and the British Railways Western Region, causing management issues. As quarrying and fishing diminished, and lorries reducing delivery by rail, the railway lost much of its freight traffic. Despite this, the line's passenger services remained frequently used by holiday makers and students.
Like much of the British Railways network, over the course of the 1960s the services between Padstow and Bodmin's three stations (Bodmin Road, Bodmin General and Bodmin North) were subjected to closures as a part of the "Beeching Axe"—an attempt by the UK government to increase the profitability and efficiency of British Rail. As a result, passenger services between Bodmin and Padstow were terminated, with the last passenger train running in 1967. Freight services continued between Bodmin Road and Wadebridge until 1978. The last services on the line to close were the china clay freight services from Wenfordbridge to Bodmin in September 1983.
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Camel Trail
The Camel Trail is a shared-space route in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, available for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and wheel-chair users. As a rail trail, the route has only a slight incline following the River Camel from Padstow to Wenford Bridge via Wadebridge and Bodmin, at a total of 18.3 miles (29.5 km) long.
In 2003, 400,000 people were estimated to use the trail each year, generating approximately £3 million year for the local economy.
The trail is jointly managed by Cornwall Council and the Camel Trail Partnership.
The trail follows the trackbed of two historic rail lines—a section of the North Cornwall Railway between Padstow and Wadebridge, in addition to the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway (B&WR) between Wadebridge and Wenfordbridge along with a short branch toward the former Bodmin North station.
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was originally built at a cost of £35,000 following a study commissioned in 1831 by local landowner Sir William Molesworth of Pencarrow. The line was originally used to carry lime-rich sand from the Camel estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. In 1862, the railway started shipping china clay which, became its most reliable trade. Additionally the line would be used to ship slate from inland quarries to ships in Padstow, and also to transport fish landed in Padstow inland; primarily to London and other cities.[citation needed][when?]
In 1868, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) purchased the B&WR without parliamentary consent. Although an ultra vires purchase, the acquisition would become legalised in 1886. In the interim, the LSWR nonetheless supported the B&WR and sought to connect the isolated railway to its own network via the LSWR-backed North Cornwall Railway. The now LSWR-owned NCR line from Halwill Junction reached Wadebridge station in June 1895, and then Padstow in March 1899.
In 1923, as a part of the railways Grouping Act the lines were taken over by Southern Railway, and then again by British Railways (BR) during nationalisation. Under BR, the lines repeately changed hands between the British Railways Southern Region and the British Railways Western Region, causing management issues. As quarrying and fishing diminished, and lorries reducing delivery by rail, the railway lost much of its freight traffic. Despite this, the line's passenger services remained frequently used by holiday makers and students.
Like much of the British Railways network, over the course of the 1960s the services between Padstow and Bodmin's three stations (Bodmin Road, Bodmin General and Bodmin North) were subjected to closures as a part of the "Beeching Axe"—an attempt by the UK government to increase the profitability and efficiency of British Rail. As a result, passenger services between Bodmin and Padstow were terminated, with the last passenger train running in 1967. Freight services continued between Bodmin Road and Wadebridge until 1978. The last services on the line to close were the china clay freight services from Wenfordbridge to Bodmin in September 1983.