Castleman Trailway
Encyclopedia
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
in Southern England. Portions of the trailway are also a cyclepath
Segregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
but the middle section from West Moors
West Moors
West Moors is a village in East Dorset, England, on the northern fringe of the Poole-Bournemouth conurbation, just outside the larger settlements of Ferndown and Verwood...
to Wimborne is not cyclable.
One trailhead is on Bickerley Road in Ringwood
Ringwood
Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....
and the other trailhead is the car park at Upton Country Park. The entire path is waymarked
Waymarking
Waymarking is an activity where people locate and log interesting locations around the world, usually with a GPS receiver and a digital camera. Waymarking differs from geocaching in that there is no physical container to locate at the given coordinates. Waymarking identifies points of interest for...
.
The path passes through the villages of Ashley Heath
Ashley Heath, Dorset
Ashley Heath is a village in Dorset, England adjacent to the villages of St Leonards and St Ives. Together these make up the majority of the St Leonards and St Ives civil parish....
, West Moors, Oakley
Oakley, Dorset
Oakley is a village community in Dorset, England. Sitting just south of the River Stour it borders the suburb of Merley and the village of Canford Magna to the East and South and the Town of Wimborne 2 km to the North...
, Broadstone
Broadstone, Dorset
Broadstone is a town and suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. It is located from Hamworthy railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The town has a population of 10,256 according to the 2001 Census....
and Upton
Upton, Dorset
Upton is a village in south east Dorset, England. It is the second largest village in Purbeck-Geography:The village is built around a road junction where the Blandford to Hamworthy road crosses the main Poole to Dorchester road. The Poole suburbs of Hamworthy and Turlin Moor adjoin the village to...
, as well as Upton Heath and Upton Country Park.
The trailway is part of the former Southampton and Dorchester Railway
Southampton and Dorchester Railway
-Planning and Construction:The Southampton and Dorchester Railway, operating in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset, received Parliamentary Assent in 1845 and opened in 1847. The railway was promoted by a Wimborne solicitor, Charles Castleman...
line which ran from Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is a village situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is a national park and Brockenhurst is therefore surrounded by woodland that attracts thousands of visitors all year round. The nearby towns surrounding Brockenhurst are Lymington and Lyndhurst. Brockenhurst...
to Hamworthy Junction
Hamworthy railway station
Hamworthy railway station serves Hamworthy, an area of Poole in Dorset.-History:The station opened with the Southampton & Dorchester Railway, which later became part of the London and South Western Railway , in 1847 as Poole Junction...
via Ringwood. This circuitous route was promoted in the 19th century by the Wimborne solicitor Charles Castleman, and was chosen because of the need to run through populated areas at a time when Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
was a small village.