An overnight arrival - the Greensand Way Footbridge at Witley Station

The Greensand Way Footbridge at Witley Station is now open again, as the contractor BAM Nuttall delivered and placed the bridge overnight on the 18th April. The bridge arrived on a lorry in the evening of the 18th, was placed by crane onto the pre-prepared concrete bases and was in place the following morning, with minimum disruption to residents. Further preparatory construction followed, allowing it to be opened on May 6th, with access ramps in place, allowing access to all, and constructed utilising geogrids with gravel infill, allowing surface water to drain freely, rather than causing excessive run-off.

Witley Parish Council is delighted that the foot bridge has been reinstated and is now open to the public once again. The bridge is a short cut for residents living to the west of the railway line and is  particularly valuable for the disabled and parents with pushchairs. It also forms a link on The Greensand Way, a long distance footpath of 170 miles between Haslemere and Hamstreet in Kent.

The bridge is featured in two of the walks which are now available to be downloaded free from the  Parish Council website. As a Millennium project the council produced two history books and a book of discovery walks in and around the Parish of Witley. The two history books were updated and reprinted last year but the walks were also in need of updating. Instead of reprinting the book it was decided that a better alternative would be to put the walks up on the Parish Council website. This will enable the walks to be continually updated as necessary and further walks can be added in the future.

Currently there are eight completed walks of various lengths. They explore the historic landscape, wildlife and built history of the civil parish of Witley and each walk is accompanied by a sketch map for guidance but it is recommended that you take with you the appropriate OS map.

The council will have a stall at all the local fêtes coming shortly and printed copies of the walks will be available. The local history books will also be on sale.