Places to see in ( Shepton Mallet - UK )
Places to see in ( Shepton Mallet - UK )
Shepton Mallet is a town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately 18 miles south of Bristol and 5 miles east of Wells. Shepton Mallet contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council.
The Mendip Hills lie to the north, and the River Sheppey runs through the town. Shepton Mallet lies on the route of the Fosse Way, the principal Roman road into the south west of England, and there is evidence of Roman settlement. The town contains a fine parish church and a considerable number of listed buildings. Shepton Mallet Prison was England's oldest prison still in use until its closure in March 2013.
In medieval times, the wool trade was important in the town's economy, although this declined in the 18th century to be replaced by other industries such as brewing; the town continues to be a major centre for the production of cider. Shepton Mallet is the closest town to the site of the Glastonbury Festival, the largest music festival in Europe. Also nearby is the Royal Bath and West of England Society showground which hosts the Royal Bath and West Show, and other major shows and festivals.
Shepton Mallet lies in the southern foothills of the Mendip Hills. The area is geologically founded on Forest Marble, Blue Lias and Oolitic limestone. To the north of the town are several caves of the Mendip Hills, including Thrupe Lane Swallet which is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The centre and oldest parts of Shepton Mallet are adjacent to the River Sheppey, and thus at the bottom of a valley, approximately 115 m (377 ft) above sea level. The edges of the town lie about 45 m (148 ft) higher up. The river has cut a narrow valley, and between Shepton Mallet and the village of Croscombe, to the west, it is bounded by steeply-sloping fields and woodland.
Within Shepton Mallet there are several distinct areas which originated as separate communities around the central point of the church and Market Place. The town centre is small, basically consisting of two streets: High Street, which runs south from the Market Place towards the Townsend Retail Park, and the pedestrianised Town Street which runs north from the Market Place to Waterloo Bridge. To the east, separated from the Market Place by the Academy complex, is the parish church of St Peter and St Paul.
The A37 road runs north and south through Shepton Mallet, along the line of the Fosse Way between the south of the town and Ilchester. The A361 from Frome skirts the eastern edge of Shepton Mallet on its way to Glastonbury, and the A371 from Castle Cary passes through the town on its way west to Wells; for some distance, both routes follow the line of the A37. Shepton Mallet had railway stations on two lines, both now closed. The first station, called Shepton Mallet (High Street) in British Railways days, was on the East Somerset Railway branch line from Witham and opened in 1859.
( Shepton Mallet - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Shepton Mallet . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Shepton Mallet - UK
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Bike ride: Shepton Mallet to the East Somerset Railway
Bike ride: skirting Shepton Mallet to the East Somerset Railway, Somerset, August 2016. Be sure to check out my other bike ride videos and the other (mainly Yorkshire) cycle ride segments - ideal for use at the gym on an exercise bike, treadmill, cross trainer, etc! Most are in Yorkshire, but my (East, West & Mid) Somerset videos were shot while on a week's cycling holiday near Taunton. Best to turn the sound off - just wind, etc, no music, sorry.
The East Somerset Heritage Railway.
The East Somerset Railway is a 2 1⁄2-mile (4km) heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells.
The East Somerset Railway Company was incorporated under the East Somerset Railway Act on 5 June 1856 and was built as a 7ft1⁄4in (2,140mm) broad gauge line. The line was originally between Witham railway station and Shepton Mallet and this line opened on 9 November 1858. It was planned by Mr. Brunel and built by engineer Mr. Ward and contractor Mr. Brotherwood. The station buildings at Shepton and Witham Friary, as well as the bridges along the route, were constructed of Inferior Oolite from nearby Doulting Stone Quarry. Shepton was now 129 miles (208km) from London by rail, a journey of just over four hours.
Four years later the line was extended to Wells; this part of the line was opened on 1 March 1862. The East Somerset Railway was bought by the Great Western Railway on 2 December 1874, shortly after it was converted to 4ft8 1⁄2in (1,435mm) standard gauge.
In 1878, the GWR joined the East Somerset line with the Cheddar Valley line to Wells, which had been built by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, by obtaining running rights over a section of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and running its trains through the S&DJR Wells station at Priory Road, though GWR trains did not stop at Priory Road until 1934. At this stage, the main traffic became the through trains from Yatton to Witham and the East Somerset Railway station in Wells closed, with Wells (Tucker Street) becoming the station for the city on the line. The Yatton to Witham service remained in use with the GWR and later BR until passenger service finally ceased in 1963 as a result of the Beeching Axe, however trains carrying bitumen continued until 1985.
In 1971/72, the artist David Shepherd came across, viewed and later purchased Cranmore station and a section of the track to house and run his two locomotives; the BR 2-10-0 Class 9F No. 92203 Black Prince and BR Standard 4 4-6-0 No. 75029 'The Green Knight'. In 1973, the line opened offering Brake Van rides before extending first to Merryfield in 1980 and then to Mendip Vale and into Cranmore station itself in 1985.
Today the railway plays host to a variety of preserved diesel and steam locomotives.
The East Somerset Railway only operates the line between Cranmore, Cranmore West, Merryfield Lane Halt and Mendip Vale. Between the last two sections, the train runs through the Doulting Railway Cutting Site of Special Scientific Interest. The section between Cranmore and the mainline is used for heavy quarry traffic to the nearby Merehead Quarry.
In 1991, a new station building was constructed at Cranmore which now includes a cafe, booking office, gift shop and toilets. The platform then extends to the old station which is now a museum. On the platform is an old K4 red telephone box which incorporates a stamp machine and post box. It was made around 1927 and is one of only 50 made to that design. Opposite the platform is a signal box dating from 1904 and is the standard GWR pattern of the period. Close to Cranmore station are the engine sheds and workshop (known together as Cranmore Shed) which were built in 1973, (during the preserved line's restoration at the time).
Cranmore Traincare and Maintenance and Services (CTMS) was set up in 1995 at the Cranmore base of the ESR. They carry out professional repairs to carriages and bodywork overhauls on Diesel Locomotives. CTMS is based opposite the ESR loco workshop in a separate preservation era shed.
In recent years the ESR has gained a reputation for restorations and overhauls at its Cranmore headquarters. In 2014, LMS Ivatt Class 2 No. 46447 was restored to working order from scrapyard condition, being followed by LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T No. 41313 in 2017 for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. It is currently overhauling GWR 5205 Class No. 5239 Goliath for the Dartmouth Steam Railway.
Intro Music:-
Cinematic (Sting) by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
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Main Music:-
Daily Beetle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
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Mid Somerset Show 2017 Cliff&Nova
East Somerset SM&E Engineers Visitors Open Weekend April 2018
A visit to the Bath & West Railway owned and operated by the East Somerset Society of Model and Experimental Engineers at the Bath & West Showground Shepton Mallet. These pictures of the railway, steam traction engines and cars were recorded on the Saturday of this years Spring visitors weekend of 21st -22nd April.
East Somerset Railway 28th July 2012
Just a short record video of my first visit to the East Somerset Railway.
On Saturday 28th July 2012, the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore near Shepton Mallet was running GWR 'Taffy Tank' 5637 on its green timetable, with four round trips over the 2.5 mile line.
In this video we see:
5637 running around to form the return half of the first round trip at Mendip Vale.
5637 on the 12:30 ex Cranmore at Maesdown Bridge.
5637 climbing the bank up to Merryfield Lane at Mendip Vale fixed distant.
5637 returning to Mendip Vale with the 14:00 ex Cranmore.
5637 running around following arriving back at Cranmore on the last round trip of the day, ready to run ECS to the sheds.
The Wessex Downsman - Part 13 : The Final Stage
We complete our coverage of the Wessex Downsman railtours of 1965 in the, appropriately, 13th part. The S&D was in its death-throws and we joint the train as it rolls down the southern slopes of the Mendips before passing through the famous Evercreech Junction, where the rails have a patina of rust, since few trains ran over them. We then jump to the connection with the Southern at Broadstone, also soon to disappear altogether. A run alongside Holes Bay at Poole proceeds our arrival at Bournemouth West station - another candidate for early closure. Here the 8F no 48309 which had taken us over the Mendips gave way to the celebrated Bulleid Pacific no 34051 Winston Churchill which had hauled the great man's funeral train just two months earlier. A final, lineside, shot on 2nd May 1965 sees the repeat train passing through Micheldever.
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East Somerset Railway
Excursion train departs Cranmore station
Single Line Working
This is a BTF film made for training purposes for British Railways In this first chapter of the DVD, single line working is explained in detail - too much so for some perhaps !
For all afficianados of rail transport generally, and of the ex Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway in particular, this film is a gem, with glimpses of Charlton Rd viaduct and scenes which are never usually shown on other S&D related footage The two named stations in the video were actually Shepton Mallet (Averton Hammer) and Binegar (Boiland) both, of course, S&D stations. All this film was shot on the S&D.J.R with every person a genuine employee of the railway. This chapter Single Line Working (circa 1958), is one of six titles on this superb DVD.
The content is a must for all who work on preserved lines as there is a plethora of solid working practice shown, as well as being a fantastic historical record of how things were done 'back then' and now.
The entire 289 minute DVD can be purchased from Amazon.com and is titled:
POINTS and ASPECTS - Vol 8 An incredibly high quality mix of colour and b&w footage you would expect from BFI .
This DVD is as good as it gets - well worth the small outlay !
(This portion of POINTS & ASPECTS Vol 8 has been uploaded purely for educational and historical purposes - the DVD is much better quality as I had to run this through several editors before it could be uploaded to You Tube. An ex railman myself, I have no commercial interests from the viewing of this video whatsovever)
The Wessex Downsman part 1
On 5th April 1965 one of the most adventurous railtours of the late steam era was run by the LCGB. It ran from London waterloo via Twickenham and Ascot to Reading then down the GWR West of England line to Patney where it took the Devizes line and ran via Bradford-on-Avon to Bath and Bristol Temple Meads. There it reversed and ran via the old Midland main line round to the other, even more celebrated Bath station at Bath Green Park. Reversing again, it then ran south over the famous Somerset & Dorset Railway right through to Bournemouth West, returning to London via the South Western main line. In this first part we join the train at London Waterloo, where it left behind one of the last surviving SR Maunsell S15s, no 30837.
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Shepton Mallet - Friday 6th February 2009
The snow is a-fallin' in Little Brooks Lane, Tadley Acres, as the big freeze continues into its fifth day.
Shepton Mallet - Old Bristol Road (ORPA, N-S)
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Please click 'S H O W M O R E' for route info: ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
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NGR Start: ST620466
NGR Finish: ST622457
Byway Number: N/A
Date: 01.05.13
Condition: Stone/dirt farm track.
Notes: Width restricted by a locked gate at the Northern end. Watch out for pink cars and caravans at the Southern end which has a TRO (cars) sign.
The Wessex Downsman - part 12 : Shepton Mallet
This clip from our records of the two LCGB Wessex Downsman railtours run in 1965 is taken entirely from footage of the second tour, which ran on 2nd May that year, approaching and departing from Shepton Mallet on the Somerset & Dorset line (which was scheduled to close at the end of the year), where the passengers enjoyed a photo stop. The train on both days was identical, consisting of Southern Region coach set no. 770, an eight coach set including a Buffet Car with a red stripe, headed by steam-heated LMS class 8F freight loco no 48509. It had received this equipment in connection with a run of the Royal Train over the Central Wales line in the 1950s.
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#2 Mendip Hills Somerset
Drone Flight with the DJI Spark
Location: Mendip Hills, Cheddar, Somerset, UK
Date: 17.02.2018
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EQUIPMENT:
- Drone: DJI Spark
- Camera: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX60
- Editing programme: Shotcut
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MUSIC:
GEMAfreie Musik von frametraxx.de
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Somerset Floods: 550 cattle rescued from West Yeo Farm, Moorland: Shepton Mallet Journal
A Facebook appeal to evacuate 550 cattle from West Yeo Farm in Moorland drew a huge response from the farming community. Photographer Jason Bryant joins Jon King of Proud Cross Farm, East Harptree, on Operation Noah. See the story and pictures at
Somerset and Dorset Steam
a vid clip taken from a West Somerset Railway service train of a Somerset and Dorset shunting demonstration at Washford station
Redlight Runner in Shepton Mallet 25/10/2014
Yeah I know its sad I have a camera on the dash, but it does capture moments like this.
The lights that they ran were about 60meters away so not just gone past them.
WN13 NXL
The Wessex Downsman - part 10 : Onto the S&D!
At last our extensive tour of the steam-operated railways in the South of England - the LCGB's Wessex Downsman tour of 4th April 1965 - ventures out onto the legendary Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway's line from Bath Green Park station. We see our locomotive for this part of the tour, Stanier 8F no 48309, one of just two of this class to be fitted with steam heating apparatus, couple up at the magnificent ex-Midland Railway station and then, passing the two locomotive sheds here, take the S&D line at Gas Works Junction before crossing the ex-GWR Bristol main line and climbing up towards Devonshire Tunnel and then through Lyncombe Vale.
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East Somerset Railway Engagement Photoshoot
I shot Lesley and Oli’s pre-wedding photos, and while the weather wasn’t great we still managed to get some great images in the rain at East Somerset Railway in Shepton Mallet.
MUSIC
Brock Berrigan 'Solitude'
MY SOCIAL MEDIA
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Places to see in ( Cheddar - UK )
Places to see in ( Cheddar - UK )
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. Cheddar is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross.
Cheddar Gorge, on the northern edge of the village, is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves, including Gough's Cave. The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic times including a Saxon palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
It is also the site of several limestone quarries. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese and has been a centre for strawberry growing. The crop was formerly transported on the Cheddar Valley rail line, which closed in the late 1960s but is now a cycle path. The village is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.
The area is underlain by Black Rock slate, Burrington Oolite and Clifton Down Limestone of the Carboniferous Limestone Series, which contain ooliths and fossil debris on top of Old Red Sandstone, and by Dolomitic Conglomerate of the Keuper. Cheddar Gorge, which is located on the edge of the village, is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Cheddar Man was found in 1903.
Cheddar Reservoir is a near-circular artificial reservoir operated by Bristol Water. Dating from the 1930s, it has a capacity of 135 million gallons. Cheddar Wood and the smaller Macall's Wood form a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest from what remains of the wood of the Bishops of Bath and Wells in the 13th century and of King Edmund the Magnificent's wood in the 10th.
Close to the village and gorge are Batts Combe quarry and Callow Rock quarry, two of the active Quarries of the Mendip Hills where limestone is still extracted. It was on the Cheddar Valley line, a railway line that was opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the large volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried. It ran from Yatton railway station through Cheddar to Wells (Tucker Street) railway station and joined the East Somerset Railway to make a through route via Shepton Mallet (High Street) railway station to Witham.
( Cheddar - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Cheddar . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Cheddar - UK
Join us for more :