The Southwell Trail

The Southwell Trail is a reclaimed railway route of some 7.5 miles running from the town of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, to Bilsthorpe.
Access from Derby is best by trains running hourly towards Newark. Some  of these run direct to Newark and do not require a change  at Nottingham.   Since Southwell does not have a train station you have to alight at Fiskerton and cycle a couple of miles on road. 

Southwell is a beautiful unspoilt town, well worth a look round, and has lots of nice places for food and drink. It even has a Birds cake shop which keen Derby cyclists/cake scoffers will appreciate.

                                     The Minster is a most unusual church and is well worth a visit.

                                            Some lovely old buildings surround the Minster.

 
                                      The start of the trail is from Station Street in Southwell.

                         The trail is well surfaced, and tree lined for most of it's length.
                                             It is route 645 of the National Cycle Network.

                 One or two minor gradients where the railway crossed roads on bridges, since removed.

The surrounding countryside is pleasant though not spectacular.

Unusual barriers at a few road crossings.

The off road trail ends here at this car park in Bilsthorpe, which has little of any significance.

However a few miles further North lies Sherwood Forest with cycle trails running from the visitor centre at Sherwood Pines, and this will be the subject of a future post.