Report - Hunting Butts Farm Disused Rail, Cheltenham, April 2019

[Survey Dave]

Been visited a few times by other members on this site, which is how I came to find out about it.

Compared to other visits the area seems a lot less overgrown and had recently had a bunch of ground clearing done. There is now also a half hearted attempt at putting a fence across the accessible end of the tunnel. Though to be fair a couple of planks won't stop anyone interested in seeing whats inside.

For those who haven't seen the previous reports, the Hunting Butts tunnel is where the GWSR Heritage Railway ends. The tunnel was constructed to allow direct access from Hunting Butts Farm to the adjacent Cheltenham Race Course. The line was closed in the 1970s and then reopened by the heritage rail in the early 2010s (as far as the tunnel). The line is active up to Cheltenham Race Course station after which is a short stretch of track and then the tunnel.

I've seen a suggestion that the goods wagons stored on this part of the track and in the tunnel are spares for the GWSR but I haven't seen anything to back this claim up.

Excessive Photoshop...

 

[RDeano]

The tunnel was actually built as part of the original Honeybourne line which connected Cheltenham to Honeybourne village in Worcestershire. A cycle/footpath runs from the other end of the tunnel all the way up to Chelt train station, following where the tracks used to be. Line now stops the other end at Broadway. This was our stomping ground as kids, had many good times around those ends!