Guestbook

Excellent demo DVD. I applaud what you do Chris...well done mate!

Thank you for your prompt despatch of the videos. I was particularly interested in Bexhill West Station, where as a lad 66 years ago, from age 9 to 16, I would collect the newspapers for my paper-round, meeting the train from London with the National newspapers, at about 0530am six days a week for 7 years. I walked on those original flagstones, through that main entrance and under that canopy onto the platforms every day. The papers would normally have been collected by the agents (W H Smith?) for delivery by van to all the newspaper shops, but by special arrangement, I was permitted to collect the papers for our shop early, as the van’s delivery was too late to finish my round before school. I would use my own bike as the shop didn’t have one, and strap one bundle to my bike carrier behind the saddle, and balance another bundle on my handlebars! Each bundle was too heavy for me to carry, and the porter or stationmaster would load me up, and the shopkeeper would catch me at the other end before I fell off! The shop was in the group of terraced housing on the right of your 1959 aerial photo of the station - only about half a mile and mostly downhill, and at that time of day, little other traffic! I lived at the lower half of Belle Hill (marked on your first map, now demolished, and the foundations of which now exist beneath the concrete of the replacement King Offa Way) and cycled through the goods yard straight to the station for the collection. Then it was not an industrial estate, just a goods yard, no metalled road, only a rough track which disappared into the cattle pens and coal dumps. I would have to dismount from my bike to cross some of the rail lines (not the passenger line, I hasten to add!). It was almost a straight line from my house and a lot shorter and quicker than by road. Regarding King Offa Way, my parents' property was in receipt of compulsory purchase order in late 1970s, and they moved to Reginald Road, which is the nearest road to Bexhill West as seen to the east in your 1959 aerial photo - quite coincidental! The newspaper shop was in the next parallel road - Windsor Road. The school shown in the same photo was where I attended as a junior - St Barnabas Junior Boys, now demolished and is a used car lot! I later attended the grammar school in Sidley, crossing the old Woodsgate Park bridge twice daily. Here there is now a new bridge spanning the new Bexhill/Hastings Link Road. The shop has ceased trading and has been returned to its original residential accomodation. As lads, the 17 arches as we called the viaduct, along with Pevensey marsh, was a favourite spot for fishing and bird watching - before the days of TV, PCs and mobile phones etc…they were GOOD days! Happy days! I well remember also the viaduct of 17 arches as we called them, before they blew them up. Best wishes, Phil Lambert

Your travels over the old lines in the Isle of Wight bring back many memories of these trains. It was in April 1957 that I was on a ten day school journey to Sandown when I was an eleven year old school boy. We had to keep a diary, which at the time seemed a bit of a bind, but I still have it. Over that period we travelled on the lines daily. The Freshwater and Ventnor West lines had closed and I am not sure about the line from Ryde to Newport. I see from my notes that we used the line from Sandown to Newport, Shanklin, Ventnor and Cowes. My memory that stands out during that period is when we visited Carisbrooke Castle. We travelled from Sandown to Shide and then from Shide to Newport. I can still see the train coming into Shide station and the token being exchanged before it stopped. We must have been some of the last visitors to use the Sandown Newport line as it appears to have been closed later in the year. Thanks for the memory.

Hi, I would like to see your video of the dyke railway, as a child it was my playground, we walked out of our back garden in Rowan Avenue, onto the track which was a cutting at that point, walked down to the farm by the trees in knoll park before the park was there, the line came up the back of the houses in lower Elm Drive & Acacia, crossed the road by Harringtons Coach works, where our father worked for 24 years. Out of our back garden and walking north we crossed Hangleton road, the waste ground where they had occasional fairs, car sales lots, Billy Grahams tent when he came to convert us, across West Way & climbed up the chalk mountain onto the track and from there stayed on the track right up to Dyke station which we walked often, it was a shame when the council started filling up the cutting behind our house with rubbish, digging out the mountain & ruining our playground, later on I worked for Hall & Co and we carried chalk from the track up behind the Downsman Pub when the council was using that bit as a dump as well. When I looked at this I hoped you had old film actually from the trains, but I’ve probably seen more of the track than most still alive.

Many thanks for swift delivery of your excellent dvd. I remember Hellingly hospital. So sad to see it in such a state Anyway, keep exploring.

Hi, just a quick note,excellent DVD, my son and me watched it tonight and both thought it was a cracking watch cheers for that and top marks cheers g

Hello Chris, thank you so much for the two films covering the Meon Valley & the Bishops waltham line. Both are superb, the Meon Vally particually so! I have orderd further of your works. Have you considerd filming the remains of The Basingstoke to Alton Light railway? there are a few bits left but they are going fast.Your films will become an important historical document in years to come. All the Best, Roger...

Our fave films are Isle of Wight - loved to bits the old road by Blackgang - we never plucked up the courage to go down there and now we dont need to as you did it for us! Think we have all your Island films. Whenever we think we miss the Isle we watch your films and we are back again! thanks for doing all this stuff , it is almost as good as being there.

Brilliant films! Bought them for my Husband's Christmas present and have enjoyed "checking" them all.