Love Travelling Blog

Located close to the historic city of Winchester, the Watercress Line runs through ten miles of scenic countryside between the towns of Alresford and Alton in Hampshire. As fares include all day travel, passengers are able to start their nostalgic journey at either end of the line and stop off to visit the other charming stations along the way.

Getting there:

The Watercress Line is located just off the A31 in Hampshire from where passengers can follow brown tourist signs to either Alresford or Alton. Parking is available at both stations and on purchasing a 3 hour ticket costing £4 in Alresford this should be presented at the booking office when buying rail tickets. A voucher will then be handed over with the tickets enabling vehicles to be left all day. Please allow ample time before the train departs as you will need to return to the car to display the voucher on your windscreen. Alton car park is operated by South Western Railway with weekday charges £9.30, reduced to £4 at weekends.

For visitors arriving by train, there is a mainline link at Alton station, where South Western Railway operate platforms 1 & 2 and the Watercress Line runs from platform 3.

We chose to start our journey at Alresford station which sets the scene for a nostalgic day out with its heritage ticket office and waiting room. Standard adult day tickets are priced at £24 with more information available here.

Trains run Thursday to Sunday in term time and from Tuesday to Sunday during school holidays. With the exception of special events, tickets can be used on any service for the day you have booked. After collecting our tickets we then had 15 minutes to take a walk along the attractive platform which is adorned with heritage signs and posters, seating and vintage luggage trunks.

The steam engine in service over the weekend of our visit was the 41312 – LMS ‘Ivatt’ Class 2M. This design was introduced in 1946 with this engine built in May 1952. The locomotive spent its entire working career on the Southern region. Interestingly, this class of engines were nicknamed ‘Mickey Mouse tanks’ due to the placing of route indicator discs on either side of the smokebox giving the appearance of ears.

Alresford

Alresford station is where watercress that gave the line its name was grown locally and sent all over the country by train from the goods platform behind the signal box.

Alresford is a beautiful Georgian market town with its centre being just a few minutes walk from the station. The high street is lined with some lovely small shops and pubs and is definitely worth a visit during a day out on the steam railway.

Travelling on board the steam train is a very relaxing experience and we enjoyed viewing the rolling South Downs National Park countryside from the train windows, hearing the occasional hoot from the engine’s whistle and seeing puffs of smoke drift by.

Ropley

Ropley is a picturesque country station mid way along the Watercress Line so I’d recommend alighting there to take a look around. During our late June visit the platform was adorned with flowers and from hollyhocks to lavender, the well maintained flowerbeds and tubs were a joy to see. Ropley station is famous for its topiary and although I don’t know who is responsible for painstakingly clipping the trees, it’s incredibly well done.

Ropley was a sleepy country station until the Watercress Line preservation company took it over in the 1970s when it became the locomotive shed for the railway. This station is where visitors can see the engines and carriages being restored and view the displays to find out more about what goes into running and preserving a heritage railway.

A miniature railway operates from Ropley station with rides included in the price of the day ticket. This can be found at the end of the platform near to the footbridge. Trains operate each Saturday and on special event days. Trains alternate between Patricia, a dark green diesel electric and Nevada, a blue petrol hydraulic engine. Whatever one’s age, a ride through the fields along the miniature railway is a delightful experience. The line currently extends to 0.5 km with plans underway to add more track for a longer ride.

Whilst at Ropley we explored the station building on Platform 2, which houses a restored ticket office and a representation of a typical station master’s parlour which was lovely to see.

Finally, before continuing along the line we enjoyed a short stroll through the orchard and walked in Harry Potter’s footsteps over the railway footbridge where he received his Hogwarts Express ticket. This is a ‘must see’ for Harry Potter fans as the King’s Cross bridge is now here in Ropley.

Trains also stop at Medstead and Four Marks Station which is close to the highest point on the Watercress Line at 644ft (196m) above sea level. It’s another pretty station but much smaller and with fewer things to see than at Ropley so we just viewed it from the train windows.

Alton

Alton is the station at the eastern end of the Watercress Line and a major hub of the railway. The platform is home to a heritage newspaper kiosk, cafe and gift shop. Whilst at the station it was interesting to watch our steam engine being replenished with water from the hopper tank above.

The town centre is just a short walk from the station with most of the shops and cafes being located along the bustling high street. Fans of Jane Austen may be interested to learn that she lived close to Alton in the village of Chawton, with the house being open to the public.

Well, what a lovely day we’d spent along the Watercress Line Railway. Both steam and diesel trains operate along the line so I suggest carefully studying the timetable in advance and working out which stations you wish to alight at and the length of time you plan to spend in each one. All our journeys were on board the steam train with the exception of the short hop between Ropley and Alresford on our return. Even though this was a diesel train, it was a fun experience as we were seated in one of the traditional six seater compartments.

Details: The Watercress Line, The Watercress Line, The Railway Station, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9JG

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We were guests of The Watercress Line and as always all views and opinions are entirely my own.