Watercress Line, 8th October 2025
We had a nearly full coach (51 people) and a quiet early Autumn day for our visit to the Watercress Line.
We got out of Nigel’s coach at Alton and crossed the tracks of the mainline to arrive at the Watercress Line platform. The two volunteers didn’t seem to be expecting us but cheerfully took our booking confirmation and, when we returned after getting a cup of coffee from the nearby Waitrose, handed over a carnet of tickets which luckily they did not expect the group leader to hand out.
Most of us took the first train to Alresford, and spent a couple of hours browsing in the shops and having lunch. Some of our party found their way down to the river Alre, where they were able to wander by the side of the delightful chalk stream.
We got back on the train at 3 p.m. where (courtesy of the Hayling U3A committee) we were served a cream tea with unlimited refills of tea and coffee. We spotted deer and hares in the fields by the track, and the trainspotters amongst us were pleased to catch a glimpse of the sleek engine, “Sir Nigel Greasley”, which is one of the few surviving examples of the same class of locomotives as “Mallard”.
The sun had come out by this time and we stayed on the train to steam back to Alresford. Miraculously, all 51 of us had been able to follow the day’s itinerary and get back to the right place! Nigel drove us home.