By Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter
WELLS could soon be better connected to numerous villages near the Mendip Hills as work begins on the latest section of a car-free active travel route.
The Strawberry Line currently runs uninterrupted between Yatton railway station and Station Road in Cheddar, and will eventually stretch all the way to the eastern edge of Shepton Mallet.
Numerous short extensions have recently been delivered over the last few years, with Greenway and Cycle Routes working with local contractors and armies of willing volunteers to close the gap between different settlements near the Mendip Hills national landscape (formerly area of outstanding natural beauty, or AONB).
Following the recent completion of the Dulcote extension to the east of Wells, the Strawberry Line Society is turning its attention to the west and linking the city up with two small villages on the way to Cheddar.
The villages of Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton were once connected by the Cheddar Valley railway line, which was dismantled in the mid-1960s as part of the infamous Beeching cuts.
Since this time, anyone wishing to walk or cycle between the two settlements had to rely on the A371, which is exceptionally busy, has little to no pavements and a number of fast blind bends.
The two villages were reconnected through a new section of the Strawberry Line which was opened in two phases – the section from Station Road in Westbury-sub-Mendip to Erlon Lane (which opened around Christmas 2021) and the extension from Erlon Lane to Easton Village Hall (which was completed in September 2023).
Nearly a year on from this latter section being opened to great fanfare (and more than 50,000 people using it each year), the same contractors are returning to Easton to begin a new section which will eventually run all the way to the Haybridge area of Wells.
In a statement on its official Facebook page on Monday morning (August 5), the Strawberry Line Society said: “We are pleased to be able to inform you that preparatory work on the next phase of the Strawberry Line towards Wells will begin in Easton from August 5.
“It will be undertaken by Greenways and Cycle Routes using the local contractors who have handled the previous work in Westbury and Easton, supported by our volunteers.
“We would strongly emphasise that at this stage the work will be concerned with drainage and groundworks – therefore access by the general public is prohibited for safety reasons.
“While work on this next phase is in progress over the coming months, and until we announce access arrangements, it is important that members of the public do not enter the site or trespass on adjacent property.
“Thanks for your patience and support.”
The initial part of the extension will deliver around 500 metres of new path, running from Ebbor Lane to the north of the village hall and ending near Beaconsfield Farm, just north of the Woodlands Caravan Park.
From there, the active travel route will run as closely as possible along the former railway trackbed, crossing Titfield Lane and moving past the St Cuthbert’s paper mill.
The new section will eventually link up at Haybridge with the existing section of the Strawberry Line to the Wells Sports and Fitness Centre on Charter Way.
After this point, the Strawberry Line primarily uses quieter roads through the centre of Wells, emerging onto a planned new section near the city’s Lidl store and a designated cycle path along the A371 East Somerset Way before heading off-road towards Dulcote.
For more information on the route, including all the different extensions being planned, visit www.thestrawberryline.org.uk
• Picture: Users of the new section of the Strawberry Line at Easton (Rose Atkinson)