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The Strawberry Line Heritage Trail is an eight
mile trail providing easy level access for walkers, cyclists and
wheelchair users through the heart of North
Somerset.
The line was part of the Great Western Railway and originally
completed in 1869.
It takes its name from the famous Cheddar strawberries which
used to be carried along the route. The route also became an
important line for passengers, dairy produce and stone from Mendip
quarries.
The line was busy for nearly a century until its closure in 1965
but since then has been turned into a
Local
Nature Reserve. This reserve protects a wide variety of
wildlife habitats from ponds and wetlands to limestone grassland
and dense scrub.
Volunteers from the
Cheddar Valley Railway
Walk Society began converting the line into a walking and
cycling route in 1983. The
heritage lottery fund and
South West Regional
Development Agency are funding more major improvements.
The Strawberry Line follows the old railway line from
Yatton
Railway Station in North Somerset to Cheddar, passing through
Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve. The trail forms part of the
National Cycle Network.
Following the line takes you from the Biddle Street
Site of
Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Yatton into the
Mendip Hills Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
More information is available on
The Strawberry Line
website.
You can download a
Strawberry Line map. Alternatively, pick up a copy from our
Tourist Information
Centres or your local
library.
For more information about cycling across the district or to
order a free copy of the North Somerset Cycle Map 2008 contact
Sustainable
Travel. |