| Heathfield Tunnel reopens to walkers for 60th anniversary Posted by ChrisB at 21:30, 13th June 2025 |     |
From the BBC
An East Sussex tunnel which was last used by passenger trains 60 years ago will be reopened to pedestrians for one weekend.
Volunteers have spent thousands of hours restoring the 256 yard (242m) Heathfield Tunnel to open to the public on 13, 14 and 15 June from 10:00 to 17:00 BST.
The tunnel was once part of the now disused Cuckoo Line, running from Polegate to Eridge via Heathfield, which was fully opened in 1880 and closed to passengers in 1965.
The reopening is part of Spa Valley Railway's Cuckoo Line gala, marking 60 years since the rail line was shut to passenger trains following a recommendation by the British Railways Board.
The last passenger train to run through the Heathfield Tunnel on 12 June 1965 was a BR Standard 4MT 80144.
The tunnel remained open to freight trains until 1968 and was closed to pedestrians in 2015.
The train line's name came from a tradition at the Heathfield Fair where the "first cuckoo of Spring would be released", says Spa Valley Railway.
In the 1990s, the Polegate to Heathfield portion on the track was turned into the 10.4-mile Cuckoo Trail, jointly owned by Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council.
Six steam and diesel locomotives once used on the Cuckoo Line will run from Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge via Groombridge as part of the celebrations.
A spokesperson for Spa Valley Railway said: "This is as close as we're probably going to get to recreating the Cuckoo Line."
Volunteers have spent thousands of hours restoring the 256 yard (242m) Heathfield Tunnel to open to the public on 13, 14 and 15 June from 10:00 to 17:00 BST.
The tunnel was once part of the now disused Cuckoo Line, running from Polegate to Eridge via Heathfield, which was fully opened in 1880 and closed to passengers in 1965.
The reopening is part of Spa Valley Railway's Cuckoo Line gala, marking 60 years since the rail line was shut to passenger trains following a recommendation by the British Railways Board.
The last passenger train to run through the Heathfield Tunnel on 12 June 1965 was a BR Standard 4MT 80144.
The tunnel remained open to freight trains until 1968 and was closed to pedestrians in 2015.
The train line's name came from a tradition at the Heathfield Fair where the "first cuckoo of Spring would be released", says Spa Valley Railway.
In the 1990s, the Polegate to Heathfield portion on the track was turned into the 10.4-mile Cuckoo Trail, jointly owned by Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council.
Six steam and diesel locomotives once used on the Cuckoo Line will run from Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge via Groombridge as part of the celebrations.
A spokesperson for Spa Valley Railway said: "This is as close as we're probably going to get to recreating the Cuckoo Line."
| Re: Heathfield Tunnel reopens to walkers for 60th anniversary Posted by Ralph Ayres at 10:11, 15th June 2025 | |
From Wikipedia:
In 2019, Wealden District Council stated: "due to constant vandalism and anti-social behaviour, the tunnel is to remain closed indefinitely with no plans to look into it".
So it seems occasional openings such as this will be all that happens, which is a pity. I wonder why this particular location suffers more than similar tunnels elsewhere such as in the Bristol/Bath area.
| Re: Heathfield Tunnel reopens to walkers for 60th anniversary Posted by Mark A at 10:45, 15th June 2025 | |
It might be that in part that's because it's not open as a matter of course. It'll help if it's put on a more functional active travel route too - I'm now thinking of examples of other instances of shortish tunnels in urban areas that don't acquire a bad rap, so it can be done. The retrospective publicity around the 2007 opening very much hands the chalice to the people treating the location in an antisocial fashion too.
Going off at a tangent, the sight of Heathfield Station's building and entrance on the road above the station site is a bit achy: here's Google Streetview.
https://tinyurl.com/4pr3f7yk
The disused stations site is informative on both the station and the line, and makes mention of its distinctive source of fuel for the station lighting.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/heathfield_sussex/
Mark
| Re: Heathfield Tunnel reopens to walkers for 60th anniversary Posted by grahame at 11:09, 15th June 2025 | |
... I'm now thinking of examples of other instances of shortish tunnels in urban areas that don't acquire a bad rap, so it can be done ...
Indeed ... after MANY years of looking for a "solution" for the subway (= shortish tunnel) to Melksham Station, a solution has been found in a legal art all. Not only the initial job, but now continuing.
| Re: Heathfield Tunnel reopens to walkers for 60th anniversary Posted by Mark A at 11:38, 15th June 2025 | |
Hoping the spiral ramp bit attracts a gardening group too, it's compact, defined, manageable, prominent.
Mark
