Tower and Town, June 2019 (view the full edition)The Railway Path TodayIn the 1980s a group of local enthusiasts, working with Sustrans, converted the old track of the Midland and South West Junction Railway into a cycle/walking/bridleway path, which is largely off road. It is well used not only by cyclists, but also walkers, runners and horse riders. It is accessible from 5 Stiles Road, Barnfield or Rabley Lane and connects Marlborough to Swindon as part of the National Cycle Network. North as far as Chiseldon it is designated as a Local Nature Reserve, and provides a green corridor with a varied mosaic of habitats through a largely arable landscape. It runs past Ogbourne St Andrew and through Ogbourne St George. The habitats include woodland, scrub and grassland with a small fragment of high diversity chalk grassland on the sides of a cutting north of Ogbourne St George. A usage survey indicated that about 25,000 journeys are made on the Path each year. Between Chiseldon and Coate Water Country Park, the path has a tarmac surface and provides the only off road access to Swindon from the south. The land is owned mostly by local Councils. It is leased and managed by Sustrans, who have included it in their Greener Greenways programme. Friends of the Railway Path organises work parties and events to improve the Path and its habitats, to introduce people to them, and to encourage people to use and enjoy the Path. To find out more, search for Friends of the Railway Path on the web or Facebook. North of Swindon, the former railway is used by the heritage Swindon and Cricklade Railway. From south of Cricklade to South Cerney, the old line is again used by the National Cycle Network.  Dick Millard |