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The Nickey Line The diagrams and information below are taken from a leaflet jointly published and available from Harpenden Town Council, St Albans City and District Council, Redbourn Parish Council, Dacorum Borough Council and Countryside Management Service. Harpenden Section
Notes (See numbered points on the diagram): 1.
Harpenden is still considered by many as a large village which grew in size
after the arrival of the railways. Harpenden at the turn of the century became
increasingly attractive to London commuters but still retains much of its
countryside feel with 250 acres of commons and greens. A steep cutting joined
the original branch line to the mainline railway to London. Cyclists may prefer
to join the Nickey Line from Moreton End Lane where accesss can be gained
avoiding steps. 2
The platform and a former signal can still be seen at the site of the Roundwood
Halt on the edge of Harpenden. When the railway first opened, this area was
entirely agricultural, but in the early 1900’s houses were built, creating
sufficient demand for the halt to be constructed and opened in 1927. 3.
The Nickey Line runs through land used by IACR Rothamsted for agricultural crop
research. In the grassland areas alongside the Line here look out for salad
burnet, marjoram, wild basil, oxeye daisy, agrimony and field scabious in late
spring and early summer. Listen here for the songs of skylarks and
yellowhammers. Part of the estate includes Knott Wood which can be seen from the
path. Notice the hazel and hornbeam coppice in the woods and on either side of
the Line. Regular cutting or coppicing of the hazel increases habitat diversity,
adding to the wildlife interest of the Nickey Line. 4.
Redbourn’s name is believed to derive from ‘reedy steam’. The
village is steeped in history with its first settlers arriving after fleeing
Caesar’s invasion of St AIbans around 5OAD. Today Redbourn is an
attractive village with a large common. One of the Nickey Line’s main stations
was at Redbourn, along with a goods yard and sidings. The former station site is
now being developed into a pocket park by Redbourn Parish Council. 5. The Ver Valley walk joins the Nickey Line for a short distance at
Redbourn. The Line crosses the River Ver itself via a brick bridge after
crossing a steel plate girder bridge over Redbourn High Street. The latter
bridge was recently repainted with joint funding from local councils and
businesses. 6. This more rural stretch of the line was home to Beaumont’s halt, half a mile outside Redbourn. The M1 motorway (opened in 1959) passes over the line near to the former halt, from where the path runs through open countryside to the edge of Hemel Hempstead, at Cherry Tree Lane.
Notes (See numbered points on the diagram): 7.
A short distance from Cherry Tree Lane lies the site of the former Hemelite
works, the last company to use the railway. The Line then continues through the
Eastman Way industrial area where the path is interrupted for a short distance.
Follow the Nickey Line signs through the industrial area to where the path once
again resumes. 8.
Yew Tree Wood is one of a number of woods in Hemel Hempstead managed by Dacorum
Borough Council. Named after the yew trees which line the edge of the path, the
wood is an important wildlife habitat island in an otherwise built up area. 9.
The railway once continued through Hemel Hempstead to Boxmoor across a viaduct
over the Marlowes. With the closure of this part of the line in the 1950’s the
viaduct was demolished in 1960. The footpath and cycleway now continues from the
bridge over Queensway, through Keen’s Field and finishes beside the Midland
Hotel. |
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