Railway Walks

[Steve Chester]

I dont know how many people managed to watch this programme but if you do a search for railway walks Harbouring History by Julia Bradbury you can still see it on the BBCiplayer Well woth a viewing

[Stuart]

Railway Walks is no longer on BBC iPlayer, but is now available on DVD.

[Peter Minter]

Ive watched 'our' episode of Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury a couple of times,It was repeated on BBC 2 only last week!
My general views are that on the whole, it is a pleasent & warming portrayal of our Island filmed in glorious sunny weather..
However,as much as i enjoy being the occaisional 'tourist' guide to lost ramblers,'Railway walks' may have confused the majority from the mainland who intend to follow Miss Bradbury's footsteps...
On several Island walks i have guided lost walkers or even experienced seasoned ramblers who carry OS Maps.
The first hurdle is Castletown or to be precise,at the bottom of the Incline.The OS map shows no sign of restricted access to Portland Port and shows the old railway line which runs to the rear of the Portland Roads/Green Shutters etc.Anyone following this route would I estimate, have a 3+mile trek to the padlocked gate by the old Osprey site below the Verne.I will say that Julia Bradbury did briefly add in the programme,'We now have to make a small diversion around a military establishment',to rejoin the original route!
Thats quiet a trek for anyone whos not expecting it,or anyone with limited stamina.
A couple of weeks ago I had to suddenly volunteer as a temporey 'Group' leader to guide a group of lost walkers from Swindon.
They were walking in the opposite direction,from Church Hope-Weymouth.Yes,they all had OS maps & were looking lost,confused by the Osprey gate,which darkly threatens 'Tresspassers will be arrested & may receive a criminal conviction.
I had to explain that it was not possible to progress their 'Railway Walks' any further,unless the dont mind being arrested.So i guided them back to the overgrown path which guides them up to Grove Point.There is a wooden finger post,but because the rough path was very overgrown with Nettles,brambles & thorn they thought it looked unused & very unsafe to divert up the cliff.
Feeling a little sorry for them & their aching soles,I offered my services as a temporey 'Edmund Hilary' without ropes & Ice axes!.So they followed my 'experienced' footsteps up to the Borstal to safety...I told them it was a good 2/3 mile walk to Castletown to rejoin the walk,so they decided to 'Give up' and head to the bus stop at Grove Corner...
I am seriously thinking of doing this for a 'Living' as its happening frequently on my Island strolls.The quicker Portland Port sort out this mess & give the residents our Island back then our visitors will return home with a better image of Portland & may wish to return!

[Stuart]

The good news is that the high-level track from the top of Incline Road, under Nicodemus' Knob and around to the path by the RN cemetery is to be reopened. It is part of the package of community works which Portland Gas plc has agreed to do. (I started campaigning for this in 1976!). I believe this should happen within the next 6 months.
Incidentally I told Julia and the team a lot about the railway route, but obviously much had to be cut to fit the programme.

[Peter Minter]

Hello Stuart,Thanks for your interesting comments.Like i mentioned I did enjoy the programme and realise that much filming ends up on the Cutting room floor and enjoyed your contribution to the programme.
For some people like myself,I cant wait to see the opening of this new path.There will be excellent views of vessels berthed on Coaling Pier.A great view of Southern Breakwater Arm.Another 'close encounter' will be that we can at least get a better view of 'Forbidden City',which will be easier to photograph than at present.The thought of a face-face meeting with an angry Alsation has never been on my wish list so i am content to view it from a distance...

[Andy Straw, Portlander by birth]

I too watched the programme, although I have a bit of a thing for miss Bradbury, but as most of you know, I have a bigger thing for Portland. Stuart, is someone who I would love to meet one day, he has such a wealth of knowledge about our isle, I just wish I could have that knowledge. So that I may pass it on to others. But I think I have enough to get me by. I too assist Walkers with their directions, however I do get a bit too keen, and offer to detour by my intended track at least 4 miles in order to set them on their right track. They are normally quite easy to spot, standing looking bemused at the OS map that Peter so rightly thinks is misleading. I always carry laminated maps, so that I can give them directions clearly, and I always let them keep the maps. I hope that the few walkers I have helped, have gone back home with positive thoughts of Portland's beautiful landscape, and maybe "friendly" Portlanders. Happy wanderings to those who walk our Portland!! Andy