News Reader.info

Disused Northumberland railway line reopens to walkers and cyclists on 60th anniversary of closureThe first section of the former Alnwick to Cornhill Railway line is reopening reopened as

the Borderline Greenway six decades after the original closureCommentsDaniel Hall Rural Tourism Reporter15:43, 30 Mar 2025Updated 17:52, 31 Mar 2025High Sheriff of Northumberland Lucia

Bridgeman opens the Borderline Greenway(Image: Borderline Greenway CIC) A disused Northumberland railway line has reopened to walkers and cyclists on the 60th anniversary of its closure.

The Alnwick to Cornhill Railway officially closed on March 29, 1965, though the last trains ran on the tracks in 1953. Six decades after the closure, the first section of the former line was

reopened as the Borderline Greenway by High Sheriff of Northumberland Lucia Bridgeman on Saturday, March 29 at the Greensfield Bridge in Alnwick.

‌ Despite a cool and blustery day, around 70 people turned up to the ribbon cutting, including Alnwick councillors Gordon Castle and Martin Swinbank, who have supported the project. Stewart

Oades, chairman of the Borderline Greenway CIC, said that it was a "significant day" and was part of making the countryside "accessible to all".

‌ He told ChronicleLive: "We thought it went really well and it was a pretty decent turn out. We had quite a lot of cyclists trying the route and a lot of walkers and they were all pretty

positive about it. We were very pleased with the response from the general public, and overall it was a really pleasant morning."

The route is a 5km loop between Alnwick town centre and the Greensfield Bridge, which was installed in November, with the tracks two metres wide so that walkers, cyclists, horse riders, and

wheelchair users can all access the path. The work undertaken on the Phase One of the Borderline Greenway has included clearing more than 75 years of overgrowth to expose the original gravel

track, reinstating the original drainage system, installing the new bridge at Greensfield, putting up fencing to keep livestock off the greenway, and securing a 25 year lease for Permitted

Public Access from Northumberland Estates.

Article continues below Keep up to date with all the latest local news from Northumberland with our free newsletter

The Borderline Greenway CIC has spent £130,000 on getting to this point, and will now concentrate their efforts on generating more funding to continue their work. Stewart said: "We've got to

raise some more funds as we've spent everything that we've raised, and we've reached the end of our current boundary.

"We're applying for further funding so that we can carry on for the next few kilometres." The community interest company hope to work with the Alnwick Freemen, who own the land which the

next section of the railway line passes through.

Article continues below The eventual objective is to create a Greater North Northumberland Greenway Trail, across almost 100 miles of the county's former railway lines and current cycle

routes. The CIC hopes to use greenways to connect the Pennine Cycleway (NCN68) and the Coast and Castles Cycle Route (NCN1), which currently only connect at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community for all the latest news Northumberland news direct to your phone.

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN