The south of England offers plenty of heritage lines, and some of the biggest names in the sector to boot. But whereas the likes of the Bluebell or Kent and East Sussex railways may have been the average enthusiast’s first choice, the Spa Valley Railway – based in Tunbridge Wells in Kent – has leapt to the front and centre of everyone’s attention, during the last few years in particular.
To all intents and purposes, the railway runs between two termini on the same road but travels out in a semi-circular route via Groombridge and through the Outstanding Area of Natural Beauty of the High Weald to offer a scenic, relaxed and enjoyable ride between the historic spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells and rural Eridge.
Go West
Its operating base at Tunbridge Wells West dates back to 1866 when the London Brighton & South Coast Railway opened the station to compete with the South Eastern Railway’s Tunbridge Wells Central, which had opened in 1852. Originally two separate entities, a freight link was constructed between the stations just a year later, but rail passengers had to wait a further decade before they could travel between the two stations.
The LBSCR station at Tunbridge Wells West was, when opened, intended to be the terminus of a branch from East Grinstead, coming in via Ashurst and Groombridge from the West. By 1868, the line at Groombridge also split to go south to Uckfield via Eridge via what later became Birchden Junction when a through route to Ashurst bypassing Groombridge was built.
The two stations of Tunbridge Wells remain within easy walking distance of one another, with the main
