Latest news with #CommunityRailPartnership
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
New Purbeck shuttle bus serves 'impossible to reach' attractions
A new bus has launched for the summer, linking rail services to rural tourist attractions and campsites in shuttle runs from Wareham Station to the Blue Pool and RSPB Arne on Wednesdays and makes an additional stop at Purbeck Park - near Corfe Castle and Swanage Railway's Norden Station - on by Dorset Community Transport (DCT), it is the result of a partnership with the Blue Pool, RSPB Arne and Purbeck Community Rail Partnership (CRP).The Purbeck Shuttle will run until the end of August. The shuttle, which is also supported by Dorset Council, follows a successful pilot project by the RSPB to operate a bus between Wareham Station and RSPB general manager Tim Christian said the new shuttle would "provide access to places otherwise impossible to reach on public transport".He said: "When we work together, everyone benefits - local venues, tourists, residents - and the environment."For some residents, this is the only way they can access these locations." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
01-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- BBC News
Leeds-Morecambe 'lifeline' railway line celebrates 175th birthday
Volunteers who have helped to drive up passenger numbers on a railway line between Leeds and Morecambe are celebrating the route's 175th Bentham Line, originally completed on 1 June 1850 and highlighted by travel publisher Lonely Planet for its diverse scenery, has been designated the UK's first "dementia-friendly railway".The route, through the Yorkshire Dales, is one of 75 in the UK supported by a community rail partnership, with one station on the route adopted by Townson, chair of the Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS) and the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership, says the railway is a "vital ingredient in the community". Improving the station means "substantially more people are making use of the line here at Bentham", Mr Townson the FOBS group was set up in 2011, approximately 11,000 journeys were made through the station each year, compared to 37,000 in the 2024/25 financial year."It makes a superb gateway to the town," adds Mr Townson."If you can get everybody out [and] off mobile phones and tablets, there's a good world outside." Recalling its history, Mr Townson explains how station buildings on the line were initially designed in a "mock-tudor" after "the woodworm got" Bentham in 1954, the station was demolished, with a new modular building constructed in just 16 1970, the station had 21 staff, with facilities including a porters' room and large waiting the following 30 years, the station became an "old, rundown place - with graffiti and all sorts of stuff", according to Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS) secretary, Lin Barrington - but the last decade has seen a transformation."The passengers can look out of the window, and it just looks welcoming and friendly," says retired maintenance electrician Chris Birkbeck, who moved from Bradford to work in the factory over the road from the station. Mr Townson believes the route "offers it all" - starting in previous industrial heartlands of Leeds, Bingley, Shipley and Keighley, emerging into the Yorkshire Dales at Skipton, passing by the "mighty" Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent mountains, along the Forest of Bowland, through the historic Georgian city of Lancaster, and ending at the coast."One of the most popular things, all the way from those Victorian times, has been the pilgrimage to Morecambe for an ice cream, a stick of rock and a fish-and-chip supper." 'It's a lifeline' The community is "quite fortunate to have our line", says another FOBS volunteer, Pete Hardman."So many others have closed down, but for people who live here, it's a lifeline. Without it, we'd be a bit isolated."The retired engineer says members of the group are brought together by "a will to help", but also have individual skills."I've done some bug hotels and some of the heritage side," he says. And their efforts are by no means purely aesthetic."Don't think about us as a set of people with trowels and not much else," Mr Hardman warns."The fact is, Gerald managed to get some of the train timetables changed to offer better connectivity in Lancaster and so on."This has proved even more important because of a declining bus service in recent years, Ms Barrington adds."I've got a son who was growing up in Bentham, and it means they get the chance to go to Leeds - the big city, or Lancaster," she says. Groups like FOBS work with a community rail partnership officer, who is paid to support Huddleston, who works on the Bentham Line, says it brings people together, enabling "active discussions about what people need, rather than presuming"."It feels great to give people a variety of opportunities and create a welcoming environment, while also helping wider causes like greener travel."She has supported FOBS and the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership to make the line more welcoming for people living with dementia, work which has been recognised at government along the line have also taken part in initiatives focused on the environment and railway safety, while volunteers have given their time to help local refugee groups enjoy the Yorkshire Dales. Ms Huddleston explains how the community rail groups' work has, in some cases, been enabled by "skill swaps"."Gerald's a retired maths teacher and has delivered A-level lessons before, in return for a bit of gravel," she members' individual skills have also helped to raise money for a defibrillator on site, says former local government worker Martin himself, has a "secret talent" as a quiz-master, according to Mr Townson, while "Margaret's famous lemon drizzle cake" is a regular feature at bake Cowling is a former teacher from Coventry, who first joined the "Bloom in Bentham" group, and now leads gardening efforts at the she says: "It's all thanks to Gerald – he's the big Mr Motivator." Mr Hardman says everybody in the group "has a sense of pride" about the station, which is currently decorated to celebrate the 175th anniversary."The celebrations only come once every 175 years, so that's worth a bit of bunting."Another group member jokes: "This is your third one, isn't it?!" 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