The Telegraph looked at 10 of the UK’s most beautiful railway lines that were lost during the 1960s including one running between Kent and Sussex.
These lines were lost to Britain due to railway restructuring often referred to as ‘Beeching’s axe’.
One of the lost lines named was the Wealden Line – a 25-mile line which ran between Lewes in Sussex and Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
The entirety of the Wealden line ran between 1858 and 1969, with more parts of the line closing in 1985, and during the 1930s this line was at the peak of its use, transporting people to the Sussex coast.
The line – which earned its name from the beautiful Weald fields it passed on its route – went into disuse from 1969 when the line up to Uckfield was closed, followed by the upper end from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells.
However, the line is still in some use, with the middle 11-mile stretch between Eridge and Uckfield being used as part of The Oxted Line, with modern trains travelling on it.
But the disused parts of the line can still be travelled by vintage train no less, after they became respective parts of heritage railway companies – The Spa Valley Railway and The Lavender Line.
The Spa Valley Railway took on the line in 1996, with train enthusiasts able the travel the 5-mile railway between Tunbridge Wells Central and Lewes stations, with spectacular views of the Kent countryside.
Named after the lavender that once grew abundantly on this stretch of the line, The Lavender Line opened in 1993 and runs between Isfield and Little Horsted, with views of the East Sussex countryside.
Whilst the line may no longer operate in its entirety, it still thrives and exists both in modern day form and as a piece of history, to showcase what our railway industry once resembled during its much earlier days.
