Sudden demand from SWMBO to visit Corfe Castle meant parking in C' Castle N.Trust carpark, a short walk up the hill to C' Castle for "sum 'istory" and then a ride on the railway sponsored by SWMBO! Pictures herewith…













Hope there is something useful there for someone, apologies for quality but I inadvertently had my camera sitched to the wrong mode…

Doug

Your modelling gets better and better Doug.  Any one of those shots could be mistaken for the real thing ………………..

I especially love the castle, the bridge and the street shot.  :thumbs

Hope life is treating you well and that you're not missing the vines too much ……….

A tu aussi!

I am missing the fruit of the vines….RLW costs an arm and two legs over here, it used to be Chateau Margot, now it's Chateau Lidl or Chateau Pompe de Ville…..

Doug

You could always sample something a little different, and only just up the road from you near Axminster, I like the mead.

British Fruit Wine | Buy Fruit Wine Online | Lyme Bay Winery

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Buy Liqueurs Online | Fruit, Cream, Reserve Liqueurs | Lyme Bay Winery

Buy Cider Brandy Online - Lyme Bay Winery

Wow! What a selection!

Doug

Some could be classed as vino collapso, particularly things like Elderperry port and Damson liquer; if a trip to Axminster is not viable you could email them for local stockists.

While this might not be Doug's ideal it seems to fit here.

Those good people of the Swanage Railway having been unable to resource the through Wareham service they hoped to run this year (the train is not available) have negotiated with the main line people at South Western Railway for the latter to run a Wareham - Corfe Castle shuttle on summer Saturdays.  It cannot go through to Swanage because there is no platform capacity for it there.

But wait - there's more.  Aside from bringing a class 159 diesel unit to the line, and Salisbury depot has suggested they will try to make sure it is always a newly-liveried one in the stripey grey colours this train forms part of a most unusual diagram all of which is available to the general public.

Stating from Basingstoke at 07.22 (and with a tight connection available from Waterloo) the unit travels via Salisbury (08.08), Yeovil Junction (reverse), Yeovil Pen Mill (reverse) to Weymouth reached at 10.30.  Reversing again and departing at 10.38 the unit then runs to Wareham where it reverses one more time to reach Corfe Castle at 11.37.

It then runs two round trips to Wareham and back before leaving Corfe Castle at 15.45 for the reverse journey which continues through to London Waterloo arriving 20.19.

Normal SWR fares apply between Waterloo / Basingstoke and Weymouth (but must be booked "via "Yeovil") and special bargain fares are offered for the Weymouth - Corfe Castle and return legs, plus the shuttles.  

http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/events/detail/summersaturdayspecial

This is believed to be the first advertised public through train service between Swanage and London since 1968 when the last summer Saturday workings ran.  The line closed in 1971 having had no through services beyond Wareham for its final few years.   

For those not wishing to make such an early start it is of course possible to travel from London via the main line through Southampton and change at Wareham.

This initiative deserves to be supported.  It is one trip I shall definitely be making.  Having been a passenger on the final through (charter) train from London to Swanage which ran in its final days I am overdue a revisit.

I don't know if it is just me and the fact that I have not been swallowing my tablets recently but every time I go through Corfe Castle on the train I look at the village and think, "Ah! It's just like Pendon!" :doublethumb

never mind the camera settings  Ilove the photo of the station

thanks Doug