Lost Lines: Ryde to Cowes

Here we recall the Ryde to Cowes railway line, a route that joined the two principal Isle of Wight steamer ports with the county town. Taking a rather circuitous and hilly route from Ryde to Newport, it then turned north along the west bank of the River Medina to reach its Cowes destination. With rural stations some distances from their villages, continual green landscapes and vintage trains, the line possessed an ever increasing charm as the years progressed.