Bridport News, 11/08/10, "25 years ago...", suggestion to make line a walk etc. Drove out and recce'd what I could without going on to private land. Would be a lovely route. Any one any knowledge on feasibility of this ever becoming a ramble? Also, what is latest bews on Maiden Newton-West Bay? Winston.
Unfortunately I think there's very little chance of any significant stretches of the Lyme Regis Branch becoming footpaths. It is virtually all private land, Cannington Viaduct is blocked off and even the former bay at Axminster has recently been obliterated by the new platform for the redoubling. However, we live in hope!
Sorry I didn't see this posting earlier. The Maiden Newton to West Bay line is the subject of a Sustrans-backed project to create a cycle trail between Maiden Newton and Bridport, leaving the railway formation at Loders, beyond where the trackbed has been ploughed out. The section from Bridport (main station) to West Bay is a road with a footpath/cycle trail alongside. Near the Crown Inn at the south end of Bridport, this becomes a proper railway path for the final run into West Bay station, which is now in use as a tea room. With local knowledge, it is possible to walk already along most of the trackbed from Toller Porcorum to Loders, but you really do need local knowledge - the route is not waymarked, and it is very easy to take a wrong turn and get lost. Walkers should NOT attempt to walk from Maiden Newton to Toller, even though there are accessible sections at both ends - this is because this part of the cycle trail is subject to delicate negotiations, which trespass could (and probably would) jeopardise. I hope this helps.
By contrast, I feat that Axminster to Lyme Regis may now be a lost cause. I walked this in 1974 or 1975 when the route was intact, but bits have now been ploughed out and used for garden extensions etc., and it would require dedication (and a king's ransom) to put it all back together again. This route appeared years ago as a suggestion in a book, but I think that it is now impractical and probably ought best to be forgotten about.
