Start of the Hamble Rail Trail - geograph

The Hamble Rail Trail is a circular

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

in Hampshire, southern England, comprising a path which runs alongside a disused railway track that connects Hamble-le-Rice to

Royal Victoria Country Park The Royal Victoria Country Park is a country park in Netley, Hampshire, England, by the shores of Southampton Water. It comprises of mature woodland and grassy parkland, as well as a small shingle beach. From 1863 until 1966, the site w ...

and looping back via a section of the Solent Way footpath. The railway track in question was constructed during the First World War to transport aircraft from Manchester to Hamble-le-Rice. A siding was built as part of the railway to serve the flying boat factory in Hamble. The line was not actually used during the war as hostilities ceased before it could be utilised; it was, however, purchased for the storage and transportation of oil to the BP

oil terminal An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obt ...

in Hamble. BP maintain the option of reopening the line, but it has not been used since 1986 when it transported crude oil from Wytch Farm in Dorset, a route which has since been replaced by a pipeline.

References

Footpaths in Hampshire BP Rail trails in England {{UK-trail-stub