How to get to The Watercress Line

Preserved steam railway (aka Mid-Hants Railway) links the main line at Alton with Medstead, Four Marks, Ropley and the pretty Georgian town of Alresford

Click map for more detail (Graphic: Henry O'Dwyer)

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Come and visit us anytime; you never know what you might see: our well-kept stations, our loco shed & yard

Coming by:   Train    Car    Bus    Air

Where to stay:  ACCOMMODATION local to our railway     

Coming By Car:

From London: Follow A3 (crossing M25 at M25 Jct10) out of London to Guildford, then via A31 to Alton or Alresford

From Motorway M3 heading South:  Exit at M3 Jct 9 and follow signs to join A31 towards Alresford/ Alton

From Motorway M3 heading North:  Exit at M3 Jct10 and follow signs to join A31 towards Alresford/ Alton

Alresford & Alton stations (Hampshire, England) are signposted off the A31 Guildford to Winchester road; follow the brown tourist signs. Each has a car  park at the station. The Watercress Line can normally be reached in about 1 hour from Bournemouth, West London, Brighton or Oxford

N.B. Parking at our other stations (Medstead & Four Marks and Ropley) is very limited except at certain special events with publicised extra parking space

Alresford, Hampshire was later renamed New Alresford, and this is the name to input if you are using a computer program to find us

  Current local road traffic information

Coming By Air:
From London Heathrow Airport just follow the yellow Railair signs to the door of any of the Arrivals halls. Wherever you start your journey - Heathrow, Woking or your local station - you can purchase one Railair ticket (valid for one month) for the whole journey. At Heathrow, simply check-in and purchase a ticket to Woking from the Bus/Coach Ticket and Information desks in Arrival Hall of Terminal 1 or Terminal 3, or outside Arrivals at Terminal 4. There are frequent trains from Woking to Alton (direct connection to Watercress Line steam trains) Travelling back to Heathrow, on arrival by train at Woking station, follow the signs to the exit on platform 5. There are lifts on all platforms. The Railair coach leaves from immediately outside the station

NATIONAL EXPRESS Daily departures throughout the UK to/from the major airports including Manchester, Birmingham, Luton, Heathrow and Gatwick. Also operate the door to door Heathrow Hotel Hoppa, with frequent connections from Terminals 1,2, and 3 to the following hotels:-  Forte Crest, Novotel, Crown Plaza, Le Meredian Excelsior, Travelodge, Radisson Edwardian, Heathrow Marriott, Heathrow Park, Sheraton Heathrow, Mariott, Posthouse, Ibis, Renaissance.
 
 

For private fliers: Convenient local airports for light aircraft:  Popham, Blackbushe, Farnborough, Southampton, and Lasham

Coming By Train:

EuroStar trains now connect Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Liège, Lille, Namur, Paris with London St Pancras station.   From St Pancras take London Underground  Victoria Line  to Oxford Circus, then take Bakerloo Line to Waterloo At Waterloo change to main line station from which:   South West Trains  will take you  via  Woking  direct to  Alton     SWT MAP Trains between Alton and London Waterloo TODAY (Alton Station Board - updates automatically every 2 minutes) Watercress Line services depart from Alton Platform 3 (across Alton Station footbridge) and connect conveniently with South West Trains services (but please check this on our timetables for your day of travel) Local rail map

Travel to Alton station by South West Trains services from London Waterloo to Alton over the Easter weekend 21st - 24th March 2008 will be disrupted during that weekend due to engineering work. Please check: South West Trains  or travel to us by car/ bus

Please note that the only 'Alresford' on the UK national rail network is in Essex, a long way from Alresford, Hampshire on the Watercress Line
 

Visitors from other countries can get a Britrail Pass which can cut the cost of UK mainline rail travel considerably

Coming By Bus:

Bus service  routes 64 and X64 between Winchester and Guildford connect with all Watercress Line stations*   Timetables

*Revised bus services from 9th December 2007

Cango - bookable local bus service

 

Where to stay nearby:     from  'bed&breakfast'  to the best hotels

    

Station	Toilets	Meals	Ices etc	Shop	Play area	Picnic area	Photo opportunities	Attractions
Alresford	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	Footbridge, gaslit station, signalbox, picnic area overlooks the whole station	Pretty Georgian country town, guided walk to watercress beds and river (ask for our leaflet at the Station), interesting shops
Ropley	yes		yes*	yes*	yes	yes	Footbridge, footpath beside trains starting towards Alresford, picnic area overlooks loco yard, water tower, water crane	Loco Works, Sheds & Yard
Medstead & Four Marks	yes						Footbridge, goods yard, cuttings, signalbox,  1:60 approach gradient both ways	Typical Southern Railway peaceful country station
Alton	yes (over footbridge)		yes*	yes*			Mainline connection,  water tower,  3 mile 1:60 gradient to Medstead & Four Marks	Curtiss Gallery & Museum. Grave of  'Sweet Fanny Adams', Jane Austen's House (at Chawton)
Guide to the Watercress Line: photos and details of each station

Details and pictures of what else you can see at the Watercress Line may be found
also on our pages about filming facilities and group visits, and there are links
from those pages for further information, e.g. -    Facilities for wheelchairs and less-agile passengers

   
*(Open on most operating weekend and event days)

Map of the route of the Mid Hants Railway