This peaceful 5-mile West Midlands railway trail is ideal for a flat and easy stroll
Once a busy track built for trains, today it’s a tree-lined path that stretches for five and a half miles from Castlecroft to Wall Heath.
If you’re after a quiet stretch of countryside to clear your head this spring, the South Staffordshire Railway Walk might be just the ticket.
It’s hard to believe that this route was once part of the Wombourne Branch Line – a project the Great Western Railway spent years building between 1912 and 1925.
Passenger trains never really took off here, though, and services were scrapped as early as 1932.
The line did see a moment of wartime importance: in the aftermath of the D-Day landings, it carried wounded Allied soldiers to nearby hospitals. After nationalisation in 1948, it limped on until 1965 when the Beeching cuts sealed its fate. The last train rolled through on June 24 that year.
What remains today is something very different – a local nature reserve where locals and visitors swap the sound of engines for birdsong and the rustle of branches.
The all-weather surface means it’s accessible to wheelchair users, pushchairs, and cyclists, and there’s free parking at both Wombourne and Himley stations.
Midway along the route you’ll find The Platform Café at Wombourne, a popular stop for walkers and riders in need of tea and cake before heading on.
The walk also links into the Smestow Valley Leisure Ride, making it a handy connector for anyone exploring the wider West Midlands countryside by bike.
With its mix of history, wildlife, and wide-open skies, the South Staffordshire Railway Walk is one of those places where the past lingers quietly in the present.
And on a crisp autumn day, when the hedgerows turn gold and the air sharpens, it’s as peaceful as it gets.
