WORCESTER FOREGATE STREET The railway strides across the northern end
of the town centre on a GWR crested viaduct over Foregate Street. The station entrance is at ground level, and
there is also a travel centre. 48 steps take you up separate staircases to the two platforms above, and both have
lifts. The lifts came recently to an awkward site, so the one to the north-side platform had to be sited in a
little alley, reached from the main road. But it's there, it's signed, and it does the job.
Platform 1 has a cafe, there are waiting rooms, and most of the station is canopied for weather protection. Signs warn you that the two platforms are each bi-directional. Trains calling at Worcester Shrub Hill use one platform; those that don't will use the other. There is no official railway parking. Wheels: BW.
Photo: view towards Hereford. The station buildings butt right up to the bridge over the street the station is named for - it's just visible beyond them.
As the two-level arrangement was complex (ok - a pain!) to illustrate in a single sketch you have the unusual benefit of a second sketch to show the street level arrangement.
 Click here for Worcester to Birmingham via Bromsgrove
Click here for Worcester to Birmingham via Kidderminster
Click here for Worcester to Oxford
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 | | WORCESTER SHRUB HILL does actually sit on a hill, with a sweeping road approach from the grander days of horse and carriage. It still has a grand frontage, but the approaches are now full of parked cars (pay and display). A short distance down from the station is a free car park. Within the station, there are more platform faces than are now used for public services - i.e. the two long platform faces, plus a stub siding at the southern end of platform 2. A passenger overbridge links the two sides of the station, while wheelchairs can cross using the goods lift and bridge (with staff help). There is plenty of shelter.
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Those who like early railway architecture will find a listed building on platform 2 in the shape of a small wall-tiled waiting room that looks like it was built in the 1840s. It is apparently scheduled for restoration, though the current financial situation may delay that. Wheels: BW.
Shrub Hill retains a lot of the grandeur it had as a major station on the Paddington-Birmingham main line in steam days - most of it on platform 1 (right).
Click here for Worcester to Cheltenham and Bristol
Otherwise Shrub Hill has the same connections as Foregate Street above.
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MALVERN LINK This station lies almost invisibly to the west of the A449
heading north-east from Great Malvern towards Worcester. If arriving by car, turning into Howsell Road and then
left towards the station brings you to the car park (about 50 spaces). Pedestrians have direct access from the
A449. There is flat access to the southbound platform right by the ticket office. This appears to offer a waiting
room during office hours, and there is a glazed and enclosed shelter on the Birmingham platform opposite. The
stepped overbridge is the only immediate way between platforms, but there is a ramp up from the Birmingham side
to Somers Road, which links with Howsell Road. The ramp is about 75 yards of rather rough surface - manageable by
pram (though perhaps uncomfortable for the passenger) but a challenge by wheelchair.
Wheels: WH.
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GREAT MALVERN station is a small gem. In keeping with the town itself,
Great Malvern Station has been kept in something like its former elegance, even though parts of the station
building now house other enterprises. But it retains its ticket office and a pleasant refreshment room, and both
platforms are covered by freshly (and stylishly) painted canopies with additional decoration. The underpass
between platforms is steps only, but the southbound platform can be reached by an original ramp down from
Thorngrove Road. There is parking outside the station in Imperial Road and also off Thorngrove Road, and taxis gather at the bottom of the road close to the ticket office.
Wheels: WH.
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Each side is accessible, but the wheels rating has been adjusted to recognise the problem of leaving a car on one side of the line, and having a long trip round to collect it on your return if you cannot use the subway.
Above: The photo doesn't do justice to the care and attention taken in painting the
station to keep it elegant. See top of this page for another view. |
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COLWALL
Colwall is a quiet little station just off the B4218 near a
handful of shops. There is parking for about a dozen cars alongside the station, which comprises one single-track
platform with two shelters, each with about 10 seats and the added luxury of lighting. A railway-type footbridge
at one end of the platform spans the track, but is actually there to continue a local footpath. Beside its base
is a tiny floral square with additional seating. Wheels: WH. (rev 2007)
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LEDBURY Ledbury is on the north side of the town, where the A438 meets
Bromyard Road and the Homend. There is substantial parking by the station, and level access to the Hereford
platform near the ticket office (which is open Monday-Saturday, early morning until lunchtime). An overbridge (23 steps each side) links to the Worcester platform, whereas wheelchair users will need to get staff assistance to cross on the boarded crossing by the signal box. |
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We are informed that an easy access is planned for the Worcester platform, though we don't know when that will happen. Each platform has a bus shelter with seats for 6-8 people, and on suitable days you can also take the Ledbury air on a couple of old Great Western bench seats on the Worcester side. Our thanks to Steve Glennie-Smith for additional information. Wheels: WH. (rev 2007)
Right: waiting for trains at Ledbury - another of this line's florally decorated stations.
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HEREFORD is a fine example of a traditional station that looks well
cared for. It was freshly painted when we were there, with plenty of flowers also in evidence. There are three
major platforms plus a bay, with canopied areas for shelter. The main station building includes a ticket office
and refreshments, and a passenger overbridge links the platforms. Hereford's main buildings are easy access, and
wheelchair users can presumably ask for assistance to cross to the opposite platform via the boarded parcel
crossing.
Outside the station, a large level area provides substantial short stay and pay-and-display parking. As you'll
gather, we liked this station. Wheels: WH.
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The photo shows the main station frontage, with the clouds bringing the rapidly alternating sunshine and shower mixture that British weather is so good at.
Hereford also serves the Chester-Shrewsbury-Hereford line. Click here to transfer to our guide for that line.
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Please note: the notes and sketches are intended only to give a general impression, and should not be
relied upon for more than that. Dudley Mall accepts no liability for errors, but will correct any significant
ones notified to us through dudleymall@dudleymall.co.uk or by
post to Dudley Mall, 62 Gervase Drive, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4AT.
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