Lydney Junction Webcam, Gloucestershire

The Lydney Junction Webcam looks across the southern terminus of the Dean Forest Railway, a heritage line that runs north from Lydney in Gloucestershire into the Forest of Dean. The wide view takes in the platform with its small cream building and red doors, the LYDNEY JUNCTION nameboard, and a yard in front scattered with stacked sleepers and lengths of rusty rail. A second camera, in the next tab, is zoomed in and moves. It watches the station when heritage trains are running and turns toward the Gloucester to Newport main line at the end of the yard when nothing is moving on the Dean Forest Railway. Steam services run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from mid-March to early November, the days when trains arrive and leave here.

About Lydney Junction Station

Lydney Junction was once the name of two stations side by side. The Great Western Railway station opened in 1851 on the Gloucester to Chepstow section of the South Wales Railway. The Severn and Wye Railway began passenger services in 1875 from its own terminus next to it, replaced by a new station in 1879. Its freight line crossed the main line here, carrying coal and iron from the forest to the docks at Lydney, and its passenger trains ran on over the Severn Railway Bridge to Berkeley Road. British Railways merged the two stations in 1955. Services stopped abruptly in October 1960, when the bridge was damaged beyond economic repair in a shipping accident, and passenger trains were officially withdrawn in November 1964.

The old Great Western station is still open next door as Lydney, a stop managed by Transport for Wales, about five minutes away on foot. The heritage station reopened in 1995, built around the old down platform, the only part of the Severn and Wye station left after the up platform and original building were demolished. Its signal box opened the same year to supervise a level crossing, and the flat-roofed timber cabin came from Heysham Port station in Lancashire. The railway calls Lydney Junction its “business end”, with the link to the main line, and its diesel department is based here.

The Dean Forest Railway Society was founded in 1970 and bought the route from British Rail in 1986. The line now runs for about 7 kilometers (4.5 miles) through Lydney Town and the headquarters at Norchard to Whitecroft and Parkend, along part of a route that began as a tramroad more than 200 years ago. Lydney, home to 10,043 people at the 2021 census, lies on the west bank of the River Severn, 25 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of Gloucester. Railcam UK runs both cameras from a site provided by Now Storage.

Weather and Climate in Lydney

Lydney has the mild, damp climate of the lower Severn valley. Ten years of Open-Meteo data for the station put January afternoons at about 8°C (46°F) and nights near 2°C (36°F), in line with the Met Office averages for Ross-on-Wye to the north. Spring warms steadily, with April highs around 13°C (55°F), and by May the trees around the yard are usually in leaf.

July afternoons average around 21°C to 22°C (70°F to 72°F), with nights near 13°C (55°F), at the heart of the steam season. October highs still reach about 15°C (59°F), but October to December are usually the wettest months. In early November the trees behind the platform turn yellow and gold just as the regular season ends. Daylight runs from under 8 hours at the winter solstice to about 16 hours 40 minutes in late June, so in December the light on the cameras fades by late afternoon.

Things to Do Near Lydney Junction

The obvious outing is the train. The line runs through Lydney Town, close to the shops and across the road from Bathurst Park, to Norchard, the main station, with its museum, shop and cafe. A riverside footpath starts from the Norchard car park. At the northern end, Parkend is a classic branch line terminus with walking routes to Cannop Ponds and the Darkhill Ironworks, plus an off-road path back to Norchard of about 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles).

On foot from the Junction, the railway recommends the old trackbed path to Lydney Harbour, a round trip of about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles). The docks were built in 1810 on the Lydney Canal, once shipped timber, coal and iron from the Forest of Dean, and became a scheduled monument in 1980. Today they hold pleasure craft and look across the Severn to Sharpness, with no facilities. Lydney Park has the remains of a Roman temple to Nodens on the site of an Iron Age fort, with gardens that open for a short season each spring, and Taurus Crafts on the estate has craft shops and a cafe. Bathurst Swimming Pool, an outdoor pool from the 1920s, opens from May to early September.

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Where is Lydney Junction located?

On the south side of Lydney, in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, 25 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of Gloucester and about five minutes on foot from Lydney station on the Gloucester to Newport line.

What can you see on the Lydney Junction Webcam?

The wide view shows the heritage platform, its small cream building and the LYDNEY JUNCTION nameboard, with stacked sleepers and old rails in front and a blurred block over part of the foreground. The second tab follows the station on running days and otherwise turns toward the main line, which Railcam UK says brings a mix of passenger and freight trains.

Is Lydney Junction the same as Lydney railway station?

No. Lydney Junction was the name of two adjacent stations, merged in 1955. The Great Western one on the main line is now simply Lydney, while the name lives on at the Dean Forest Railway’s heritage platform, a five-minute walk away.

When do steam trains run on the Dean Forest Railway?

On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from mid-March to early November, plus Santa Specials at Christmas. Days change from year to year, so check the railway’s own timetable before traveling.

Why does the Lydney Junction Webcam sometimes show the main line instead of the station?

The zoomed camera in the second tab is set to look toward the main line whenever nothing is moving on the Dean Forest Railway, as its on-screen caption says. The wide view in the first tab is a panoramic view of the station itself.

What is the weather like in Lydney?

Mild and fairly wet: January days average about 8°C (46°F) and July afternoons around 21°C to 22°C (70°F to 72°F), with the most rain from October to December.

How far is Lydney Junction from Lydney Harbour?

The walk along the old trackbed is a round trip of about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles), ending at views across the River Severn to Sharpness.

Fonte: Railcam UK Ltd