CAMPAIGNERS have celebrated the progress being made to create better public access to former railway lines near Winchester with a walk along the route.

The Watercress Way Trustees set off on their first walk from the Chestnut Horse in Easton, crossing the Itchen floodplain up to the mile-long stretch of the disused railway line, which shut in 1973 but is now a public footpath.

Walking from Martyr Worthy to Itchen Abbas, residents of all ages searched for artefacts of the old railway and fungi called ‘King Alfred cakes’, as well as mouse and badger holes.

Trustee Kim Adams led the walk, aided by colleagues Cllr Jackie Porter and Mike Collis who explained how a few clearings were made by the South Downs National Park volunteers recently. The boundary of the park follows the old Watercress Line through the Itchen Valley.

Kim used modern technology to delve into the past, with smart phone sound tracks of the old steam train for the children and photos of the old Itchen Abbas station shown by archivist Chris Cornell making it easy to imagine the steam trains taking watercress to London in Victorian times.

After admiring the 1883 viaduct near the Plough pub, another sponsor of The Watercress Way, the group headed home along the Itchen, stopping off to discover the ruins of the fishing hut frequented by foreign secretary Lord Grey, who used the railway to visit his weekend home during the First World War.

From there the group could see Avington Park and the recently cleared floodplain as it would have appeared in Edwardian times.

Following the walk, Kim said: “Our landscape detectives of all ages returned to Easton full of historical and geographical facts, but also inspired by the unspoiled beauty of the upper Itchen Valley that has been enjoyed by pilgrims to present day.”

The next event planned by The Watercress Way is the third Dawn to Dusk Day on April 29, which will take place along the disused railway lines between Sutton Scotney, South Wonston, Kings Worthy and Alresford.