Cornwall's Atlantic Coast Branch Railway

From the Main Line at Par to Newquay on the County’s North Coast

Jul 17, 2008 Paul Lightfoot

Cornwall's longest branch railway line leads from China Clay country through a wonderful wooded valley and across a nature reserve to the home of British surfing.

This 21-mile route starts at the mainline station of Par on Cornwall’s English Channel coast, passes through the beautiful Luxulyan Valley, across the Goss Moor nature reserve and on to the county’s largest resort town of Newquay, well known for many day and night attractions and an ideal base for exploring some of Cornwall’s biggest and best beaches.

Par and the Luxulyan Valley

Originally a fishing village, Par changed drastically in the early nineteenth century. By 1840 the river was canalized and the harbour rebuilt to bring out first copper and tin from the newly developed mines further inland, and then more recently china clay, leaving still-visible scars on the surrounding hills. The mainline railway from London reached Par in 1859 and the link with Newquay was completed in 1874.

The line winds its way northwards beside the modern edge of St Blazey before entering the delightful Luxulyan Valley. This is where Joseph Treffry quarried granite, dug mines and water courses, installed giant mill wheels and built tramways with ingenious devices to transport machinery and minerals up and down impossibly steep local gradients. 150 years ago the Luxulyan Valley was one of the main centres of Cornish mining and industry.

Industrial Archaeology in Cornwall

Most industrial activity had stopped soon after 1900 and what remains is a network of woodland trails and stone-lined leats, the arches of Treffry’s viaduct high above the modern train line and fast-flowing Par River, overgrown quarries, abandoned mine shafts and other scattered remnants of a bygone age, some restored and all merging seamlessly into the natural woodland. In 2006 UNESCO inscribed the Luxulyan Valley as part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, together with nine other areas within the county.

Goss Moor National Nature Reserve

In striking contrast, Goss Moor extends either side of the track as a flat, almost treeless area of fenland, bog, bright red flowers of heather in the summer months, and occasional stretches of open water. Here too human activities have done much to shape the landscape, from mining alluvial tin since the Bronze Age to gravel extraction until 50 years ago.

Best explored on a signposted seven-mile circular trail, Goss Moor is home to a diverse range of plants, insects and birds, including some endangered species. The moor has been protected as a National Nature Reserve since 1987 and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1988.

Newquay, Surfing Capital of Britain

This train probably carries more surfboards than any other, and from Newquay station many passengers head directly to Fistral beach. A mile to the west of the town centre, this wonderful stretch of flat, open sand faces directly out towards the Atlantic Ocean and enjoys some of Britain’s most consistently rideable waves.

But Fistral is just one of a series of spectacular beaches within easy reach, from the vast expanse of Watergate Bay to the north to the even larger Perran Bay to the south. For all its modern development, this remains one of the most remarkable stretches of coast anywhere in the country.

From these natural advantages, Newquay has developed a wide range of attractions. While it might lack the charm and historical connections of St Ives and Padstow further along the coast, Newquay has the zoo with its international links and educational projects, the environmental programmes of the Blue Reef aquarium above Towan Beach, boat trips from the harbour and numerous day and night entertainment centres which are unrivalled in Cornwall.

Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership

The one-way trip from Par takes 50 minutes; some trains are direct services from London or Plymouth, others start at Par. The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership promotes this line together with Cornwall’s four other branch railways.

First Great Western offers a number of discounted tickets: the Cornwall Day Ranger allows off-peak train travel throughout the county for £10; cheap day returns or Day Ranger tickets for the Atlantic Coast Line are £3.50 before applying discount cards; Ride Cornwall tickets, £12, cover both train and bus travel anywhere, for a day.

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