Selsey Tramway celebrates 125 year anniversary

Down the line: setting off from the newly-revealed platform of Chalder station in Sidlesham

Celebrations have been taking place to mark the 125th anniversary of the Selsey Tramway.

Saturday, August 27 was the 125th anniversary of when the first train ran on the Selsey Tramway and to mark the occasion a large group of walkers set out on the newly updated Tram Way heritage trail from Chichester station to East Beach.

Some managed the entire nearly 12-mile route and others started halfway, either to or from the platform of Chalder Station in Sidlesham which was recently revealed by a team of volunteers from the Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group clearing years of undergrowth.

The tramway line opened in 1897, the brainchild of engineer Colonel Holman F Stephens. It took only three months to build at a cost of £21,000 and was called a tramway to avoid the railway rules and regulations!

All aboard: nearly 30 walkers gathered near Chichester station on Saturday for the Selsey Tram Way heritage walk from the city to East Beach in Selsey via Hunston and Sidlesham

It had plenty of nicknames, not all complimentary, including the Blackberry line, the Bumpety-Bump and the Sidlesham Snail, its tight bends preventing it going faster than 15mph.

The Selsey Tram Way walking trail guide has been rewritten and updated by Dr Bill Martin and David Pearce of the Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group and new orange logo signage attached to footpath posts along the trail. Colourful information boards are being erected along the route, including at the 11 stations on the line, telling more of the story of this fascinating but ill-fated local attraction.

The original tramway was 7.5 miles long but it is not possible to walk the exact route and the total length of the new heritage trail is 11.8 miles.

Walk it in sections using the No 51 bus with stops at Hunston, The Anchor pub at Sidlesham and at the RSPB Pagham harbour visitor centre.

The signs have a link to the webpage and there is an interactive map for mobile phones. There is also a leaflet which will be available at the Novium museum, RSPB and tourist offices and downloadable from www.mwhg.org.uk/tramway

The organisers are grateful for the generous sponsorship from the Colonel Stephens Society, The Lady Neville Charity, Ferry Farm Community Solar, Caroline’s Dairy, Langmead Farms and Natures Way Foods among others and the advice and support of the local parish and town councils and neighbours along the walk route.