Volunteers reclaiming much loved historic railway

Published 5 September 2025

For more than a century the Somerset and Dorset Railway (S&D) served as a lifeline for rural communities - transporting coal, commuters and holidaymakers alike.

The historic line ran between Bath in Somerset and Bournemouth in Dorset, serving towns and villages such as Highbridge, Glastonbury, Wells, and Wincanton.

This week is the 60th anniversary since the 105-mile (168km) route was given a public notice it had to close all its station due to the Beeching cuts - a sweeping reduction of the UK rail network that severed thousands of miles of track.

But now volunteers, historians and local residents are reclaiming sections of the abandoned route, determined to preserve the once rich history of the railway line.