NOTTINGHAM is a traditional station with a lovely old covered forecourt from the
days of horse and carriage, now translated into a taxi area and small short-term pickup and setdown area. There is level
access to the entrance hall, which is pleasant, bright and fresh, with tickets and travel information, books and coffee. The
entrance hall lies over the tracks, giving level access to the first passenger overbridge, which has lifts to all platforms.
There are stairs to most platforms, but not platform 6, which looks somewhat like an afterthought. Obviously the lift will
get you there - but if it's busy, take the steps to platform 1 and use the second overbridge. The main platforms have large
overhanging canopies, refreshment services, and there is a waiting room on platform 4/5. Wheels:
NG.
|
|
|
NETHERFIELD has not been visited yet. All we know at present is that the station is in the Colwick area of Nottingham, is unstaffed and not accessible except by 30 steps. It has no facilities apart from a customer help point, no parking, and possibly no shelter. We believe the station is an island platform on an embankment and reached from Chaworth Road below. Wheels: NG.
|
RADCLIFFE station (for the town of Radcliffe-on-Trent) is just 2-3
minutes walk along Shelford Road and signed from Main Road/Bingham Road and at the station. On the south side
of the line, a road drops from the overbridge to platform level. There is no formal parking, but the area is
wide enough to allow something like 20-25 cars to park. The far platform is across the overbridge, with a
long-stepped ramp down to platform level that looks feasible for wheelchairs and just a minor nuisance for prams.
There are small bus shelters and seats on both platforms, and the station would be a fair example of its
minimalist kind, had the shelters not suffered from the attentions of the local sect of the mentally dismal.
Wheels: NG.
|
BINGHAM Bingham station lies on the northern edge of the village on
Station Street. You get to this from a road leading straight up from the market square - which was busy and
hence congested when we visited. The station building seems to watch you approach down the length of the road,
but as you get closer you realise it has been sold off and extended for commercial use. There is a very small
amount of parking in the station area, plus street parking. The photo at the top of this
page gives a general impression, showing train information, bus shelters and seats. There is a stepped passenger
overbridge and a footboard at the end of the platforms.
Wheels: NG.
|
ASLOCKTON The village of Aslockton spins off from Old Grantham Road - now left as a quiet loop off the A52, which has bypassed it. A branch off Old Grantham Road (signed for the station) goes north west along Dark Street, which becomes Main Street just about where the railway passes through. A humped level crossing marks the station clearly, with the platforms abutting it, and ramps easily get you up to train level. Like other stations on this line, one platform (but not the other one here) is set at two heights. The Nottingham side has an old timber waiting room, nice in its time, but now somewhat the worse for mindless attentions. The Grantham side has the old station building, now in private hands, and a modern bus shelter in compensation. There is parking around the station building, but it isn't clear how much is for rail users. It appears to be free. Wheels: NG.
|
ELTON & ORSTON This station is out in the country between the
two villages. The road goes straight over the line with little to note its location other than the bridge
parapet walls and a double-arrow sign. If you're travelling north, you'll see a bridleway signed off to the
right, and a yard or two past it there's a crack of an opening between hedges that is indeed the access road
down to the station. This has typical modern day provision for a truly rural station: two platforms, two
open-fronted brick shelters with a bench seat for half a dozen people, and parking for about six cars plus
what you can fit up the approach drive. There is no passenger overbridge, but there is a footboard crossing,
making both sides wheelchair-accessible.
Wheels: NG.
|
 |
|
BOTTESFORD Bottesford station is on the north side of the village and
sits amid a pleasant housing estate on Station Road and has a small crescent approach road. It is signed, but
not enthusiastically. The station building has been sold off, and the parking area in front of it seems to have
become general use. There is level access to the Nottingham platform, where there is an open-fronted shelter and
seating within. For no obvious modern reason (but presumably a historical one), the opposite platform is
staggered to the east,
|
 with a footboard connection. That platform also has an open-fronted shelter, but there is
rather more seating, suggesting that Grantham figures larger than Nottingham here. Both platforms have been
slightly ramped up for part of their length, possibly to ease train access. Wheels:
NG.
|
GRANTHAM The station is part of the East Coast main line and is maintained at
a level appropriate to that. It is furnished with traditional canopied buildings with some modernisation, and
looks generally attractive. There are two main platforms, with three faces plus a bay at the northern end
(possibly serving the Nottingham line). The platforms are linked by a covered overbridge. We saw no lifts, but
understand that wheelchair users can cross by a footboard with staff assistance. As this is a high-speed line,
take that assistance as essential. The all-day ticket office is in a moderately large entrance foyer which may
also serve as a waiting area, and the station has a range of services including two waiting rooms and a buffet.
But as our visit had to be briefer than we would have liked, we didn't have time to detail them properly and
would welcome information. Outside there is a small amount of 20 minute parking. The rest is pay and display.
The station lies south of the town centre, is well signed, and the access road (Station Road West) comes off
the roundabout where the A52 and the A607 (Harlaxton Road) meet.
Wheels: NG.
|
|
|
