Picnic area at Mangotsfield Station

To explore the Bristol & Bath Railway Bath heritage visit www bristolbathrailwaypath.org.uk/thestations.shtml http://tinyurl.com/42sno29 and explore all of the links. Do you remember how ugly Fishponds Station looked before Safeway came to the area?

Mangotsfield Railway Station

The old railway station at Mangotsfield Junction closed in the 1960's but the station was the home to somebody right up until the late 1980's, this could well have been a squatter, we were never sure as children, we simply climbed the rocks in the area and explored.. but there was a transparent path that we never went beyond.. close to the walls of one of the inner buildings where the chimney was in use throughout the year, while the yard was overgrown with nettles, brambles, weeds and wild shrubs.

When the station buildings were demolished in the mid 1990's, Sustrans made this area in to a wonderful picnic area and the windows were replaced by sculptures in fitting with the station walls which were saved for local heritage.

The Bristol to Bath path was made fit for cyclists in the early to mid 80's, it was about this time when the Staple Hill Tunnel was closed off for a few months while the doorways were bricked up where workmen stood out of the way of trains.. later these were used by young people to scare walkers using the path so they had to be made safe.

It wasn't until the 1990's that the 2nd route from Mangotsfield Junction was made fit for cyclists, today this is extremely popular thanks to the new Emersons Green estate and other developments in the area. This is particularly good for existing businesses as well such as The Bridge Inn which is well placed for cyclists and walkers from the wider community who like to travel from A to B without needing to leave the safety of the Railway Path.