A special opening day organised by the SPA VALLEY RAILWAY. Commemorating 6o years since the railway line named The Cuckoo trail was closed. Built in 1880 and closed to passengers 1965. The tunnel was briefly opened as part of the Cuckoo trail cycling/walking route in 2002 then closed 2015 by the council due to vandalism and drug taking within the tunnel. The Tunnel we are walking is 265 Yards in length. It was a good turnout!
hello and welcome to a new video not on the model railway this time uh today is June the 14th Saturday and I’ve just been to visit the Heathfield Tunnel on what used to be the Cuckoo line the railway that ran between Polegate and Eridge which was axed in 1965 uh this was due to beaching cuts the line kept going to 1968 for freight only but 1965 when I was born actually I didn’t live down here then was closed to passengers so a special opening of the tunnel happened today and yesterday and it’s going to be happening tomorrow the 15th as well quite interesting a lot of people this was organized by the Spar Valley Railway by the way they were put an event on um with various steam trains and diesels that were used on the line back in the day i didn’t visit that but we did go through the tunnel i took my grandson there my wife we went through the tunnel he loved it by the way uh 1965 it was close now what’s happened since then the town I live in in Halam which used to have a nice station looking back in the history records we’ve got a population now about 24 and a half thousand people no railway line the next stop is Helen Lie that’s growing i think that’s about 7 no hang on a minute 2 and a half thousand people something like that roughly maybe a bit more heathfield the next stop about 7 and a half thousand people live there and it’s growing helen L’s growing we need a rail link it was very much folly to cut this line obviously beaching had to do it costs were going you know going through the roof it wasn’t making money but now is the car is car king anymore i don’t think it is i think the days are coming where we do need rail back um we’d use it obviously not for for work but we use it for going somewhere uh we’re going on holiday soon to York we’re using the railway it’s nice not to drive but going back to the railway it’s 60 years i’m 60 this year i can’t believe that since the railway was closed so I’ve just done a short video of the Heathfield tunnel which was open briefly for a cycle route back in I think 200 five maybe and I think it was closed 2015 i remember cycling through that and unfortunately it got vandalized people taking drugs in there and the council shut it so thanks to the Spar Valley Railway they’ve opened it today partially yesterday and tomorrow for a pound you can walk through it so I filmed this do you know what it’s been a fantastic event uh good attendance i mean it’s good for the town of Heathfield many people showed up i was quite surprised myself i was speaking to the event organizers and they were saying that it’s been very very successful we went to the old station which is now a cafe in Heathfield they couldn’t cope it was packed absolutely packed um they said they didn’t realize how many rail enthusiasts there are out there well there are a lot of rail enthusiasts like myself my wife calls me an anorak i don’t care there’s many of us but yeah I think we should re reinstate the railway uh I spoke to a few people there they said they use it for commuting to London spoke to one guy said I would use it whether it’ll happen I doubt it but we do need that rail link reinstating uh it was a funny thing to do just to get rid of and build houses on the actual rail line cor is no longer king we we’re heading that way now well people want to use public transport more we’ve got a bus route here £3 to Brighton from here fantastic now I drive most of the week for work and to be honest with you I’ve caught the bus a few times there’s nothing wrong with that it’s just nice to see things where you concentrated on driving you can’t really see things i think “Oh that guy’s got a telephone box in his garden or or this.” It’s just nice to be driven for three quid but we need the railway back um but going back to the tunnel they’ve opened it so this film’s about the 60 years since it was used as a railway many people have visited it as you see on the film my grandson’s with me so it might be a bit noise on there but I’m just going to load up to YouTube and away we go so thanks for watching where’s the Well there’s a lot of people here we’re going to go find it in a minute El [Music] okay this is what’s going on there’s a tall entrance oh I got wet wet yeah cuz I got it a little head we’ve got a little head there’s no track the track’s gone yeah the track used to be somewhere big dark tunnel it is [Music] one day to somebody bricks it might make your shoes tunnel yeah they only put these lights in don’t normally have the lights here it’s a big tunnel [Music] i don’t see the railway you can see it i can see it from there [Music] hey Mommy mommy hey Mommy no it’s just been a little bit down it’s time for someone to specialize [Music] they got a tunnel in it yeah right now another tunnel this is it back bye stop stop that’s the end must be up on this side as well [Music] some of the brick work is completely eroded brickton refuge point a few of these is it sleeping just looking through the bridge there’s a bit of track in there and some old sleepers in there as well how old are they and here’s the north side of the tunnel which is closed in the tunnel
7 Comments
Well done to the Spa Valley Railway and thank you for sharing! 👍
Lywood and Badger's Oak tunnls are the only closed tunnels I've yet to load photographs onto BloodandCustard – have to suggest to friend Adrian that he arranges a photographic visit with his floodlights…. 🤔
I'm just back from walking the tunnel Richard. (Sunday) Very busy. I went on the bus to Tunbridge Wells for their special event. Most enjoyable. Robert Camera Centre
Great video. My wife and I also took a walk through Heathfield Tunnel yesterday having not been able to do that for many years! (until 2019 we lived in Heathfield). We also went to Eridge for a very enjoyable ride on the Spa Valley line. We thought it was a pity the gates at the northern end remained closed and that having been resurfaced throughout, the tunnel remains shut and silent without a purpose. Yes, since 1965 there has been significant house building at Hailsham, Hellingly, Horam, Heathfield, Mayfield and Rotherfield, greatly increasing local populations, so a railway would be justified and an asset to all those villages and towns. I agree that closure of this line (and many other routes) was very short-sighted.
We went to see the tunnel as well. And we took the bus from Uckfield as we felt there would be a lack of parking (there was!). We went across to the cafe, just as they were 'pausing' to allow them to catch up! It was lunch so we went for a wander and grabbed lunch at a local pub, before going back to catch the bus back home.
Lovely day, and we got lucky with the weather too!
Like you, we didn't go to the SPV, however I would have liked to have seen the trains, so maybe they'll do it again at a future event
Great video! I fully agree they should reopen the Cuckoo Line!
Horam was next station after Hellingly
First walked through this tunnel on a baking hot afternoon in 1975. In those days, the ballast still crunched underfoot, the platforms were still there and so was the big old water tower. We'd walked up from Polegate, and didn't get any further north than the tunnel, mores the pity.
Good to see it opened up again, if just for a short while.