I have seen a few images on Facebook sites showing murals that have been made on the old Rugby Central Station (Great Central Railway). These appeared after we had departed Rugby, so I was keen to have a look. Parking at Ashlawn Road I walked along the track bed to the old station, with Symphony in tow, and I offer some images taken along the way.
The Great Central Railway architecture is fantastic and the achievement completing the span at Ashlawn Road could not be overlooked. Vegetation prevents the full span being photographed.
The smaller Pytchley Road Span
Rugby Central Station (and I do remember it as an operational, passenger service!)
The start of the platforms looking towards the station from the south
Along the way
Purple Loosestrife
Bullrush
Looking north from Ashlawn Bridge
Looking south from Ashlawn Bridge
Now, if you have looked this far, you are going to think I have had a funny turn! The following images are signs erected in the late 60's early 70's and I wanted to see if they still existed. They do, of sorts, but they are still there!
Back in the late 1960's, the council leased (?) the west embankments from Onley Lane to Rugby Central initially to a group of local naturalists, Bertha McCleod, Pat Keats et.al. and was used by Dunsmore Girls School as a science project. Later, it was taken on by Rugby Natural History Society and as a schoolboy, I assisted the likes of Lynn Rushall, Bill Mason et.al. to record the species of creatures calling it home. Later, in the early 1970's, the newly formed Warwickshire Nature Conservation Trust (WARNACT) took on responsibility, eventually becoming Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. The reserve has of course expanded under their management.
Now, these signs (or what is left of them!)
This is the Rugby Natural History Society sign, erected in the late 60's, hidden in a bush, devoid of much of its livery
And the WARNACT sign, erected in the early 70's, devoid of all its finery
Thank you for looking.
All images taken with Sony RX10 Mk4.
