Colliers Way, the disused railway line between Frome and Radstock in Somerset, has been transformed into a popular cycle and footpath, offering a rare flat route in the hilly Mendip Hills. The 6-mile path, which follows the course of the former railway, provides walkers and cyclists with a level journey through a landscape of hedgerows, hayfields, and glimpses of the original tracks.
A flat escape in the Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills are known for their steep climbs, but Colliers Way offers a welcome exception. The railway line was originally built to avoid slopes, and 50 years after trains stopped running, the route has been repurposed as a multi-use path. Funders of the project were commemorated with inscribed bricks set into a bank; one reads, “Yippee it’s flat!” written by the Wheadon family.
Walking like a carriage
As one walks along the path, the experience is compared to being a carriage on the old railway. The fields drop away on one side, then the other, and then both. The route passes through a V-shaped gully dripping with ferns, under a bridge, and then over a cowpat-spattered lane. Summer brings concealment as green screens of hazel, hawthorn, and blackthorn close in, with gaps offering glimpses of mown hayfields and hedge banks.
Wildlife and heritage
The path is rich in wildlife, including a pair of silver-washed fritillaries in a tangerine chase and pyramidal orchids in magenta. One of the most unexpected features is a section of the original railway line, complete with sleepers, left in place. Tall plants mask the rails, and trees have sprouted from the clinker over the past half-century. The weight of history still evokes the ghosts of coal-laden trucks, moving at a steady speed because, after all, it's flat.
The article is part of the Guardian's Country Diary series, with a collection titled "Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian’s Country Diary, 2018-2024" now available.
