In 1863, the Andover and Redbridge Railway Company was in financial difficulty and it was acquired by the London and South Western Railway. Construction of the line took until 1864 to complete but permission was not given to start operating immediately because the government inspector who undertook the commissioning survey made it a condition that the rails had to be replaced with ones more substantial. The railway finally opened in 1865 after the remedial work had been carried out.
One of the practical problems experienced during the first 20 or so years of operation was derailment. This inconvenient and no doubt expensive distraction was mainly due to the line having several sharp bends – in part as a result of the track being laid directly over the former canal bed. This unsatisfactory situation needed to be resolved and the catalyst for bringing that about was the opening in 1882 of the line between Andover and Swindon via Marlborough, which created a direct route to Southampton.
The fortunes of the Andover and Redbridge railway improved significantly due to the increase in its traffic and, as a consequence, it was decided that the line should be straightened and converted from a single to a double track. This work was completed in 1885.
The railway at some point became known as the’ Sprat and Winkle’ and there are several theories why it was blessed with such a name. One possible reason is the suggestion that the line went through areas where sprats and winkles might be harvested nearer the sea at Southampton; another refers to the single engine and carriage formation that operated over part of the line − the engine being the ‘sprat’ and the carriage the ‘winkle’!
The railway was strategically very significant in World War 1, providing transport for both personnel and munitions. During World War 2 it was also used extensively and particularly in the latter stages to transfer wounded service personnel from Chilbolton airfield (Walk 7) via Fullerton Junction (Walk 6) to the American hospital at Stockbridge.
From the 1950s the use of the railway for both freight and passenger traffic gradually declined. The line between Andover and Kimbridge (Stage 7 and Walk 13) had become financially unviable and was closed in 1964 as one of a series of closures of parts of the rail network made in the wake of Dr Richard Beeching’s report, The Reshaping of British Railways, published in 1963.
The ‘Longparish Loop’ also known as the ‘Nile Valley Railway’
There is another strand to the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ story. In 1882, an Act of Parliament was passed authorising the construction of a branch line of about 7 miles (11km) from Fullerton to Hurstbourne where it connected with the London and Salisbury mainline at the viaduct just south of St Mary Bourne (Stages 2 and 3). This branch line, which was completed in 1885, became generally known as the ‘Longparish Loop’ (the Loop), and Fullerton became Fullerton Junction.
The quiet remnants of Fullerton Junction (Stage 5/Walk 6)
It was an expensive project as it turned out. The hope and expectation was that the existence of this connecting line would encourage more traffic from Manchester and the midlands to Southampton rather than let a rival railway company construct a more direct line to Southampton through Didcot, Newbury, Whitchurch and Winchester. It was put to the promoters of the alternative line that they should ‘join forces’ to save the expense that would be incurred and instead make use of the Loop.
In the event the proposal was rejected and the more direct line was constructed which meant the Loop never fully realised its potential. It was mainly used to transport freight as the passenger business was limited due to the lack of demand. Together with the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ railway, it was particularly useful during World War 1.
Passenger traffic ceased in 1931 and the track between Longparish and Hurstbourne was removed in 1934. The remaining part of the track between Fullerton Junction and Longparish came in to its own again during World War 2 when Harewood Forest (Stages 3 and 4 and Walks 3 and 5) was used for the storage of munitions by the RAF. It was closed for good in 1956 and the track removed in 1960.
Geology and landscape
The ‘ribbon’ of chalk and flint at Inkpen Beacon (Stage 1)
The TW begins at the escarpment of Inkpen Beacon at a height of 280m. It is astonishing to think that at one time this area was at the bottom of the sea. The geology of the North Wessex Downs, is mainly upper chalk formed during the Upper Cretaceous period (99–65 million years ago). Upper chalk is soft white limestone and is the product of the fossilised skeletal remains of countless microscopic marine algae and other creatures.
The chalk deposits also contain flint nodules in large quantity. There are some parts of the downland that are covered by shallow deposits of clay; these also contain flints but to a lesser extent and are known as clay with flints. The availability of flint has led to its wide use as building material throughout the Test Valley.
Chalk is also porous and permeable and therefore the soil drains easily. As the chalk is gradually dissolved by the rain it becomes alkaline and ‘hard’ due to the calcium content. The underlying chalk also acts as an aquifer or reservoir and naturally regulates the rate at which water percolates into the springs further down where the soil is not so porous and the water has to find its way back to the surface.
The springs in turn supply the river and its tributaries with water that is oxygenated, clear and full of nutrients. Significantly, the temperature of the water remains fairly constant at about 10°C. This combination of factors together with the lack of flooding (because rain water quickly disperses and does not accumulate) has also helped create the large deposits of peat found along parts of the valley floor.
The volume of water held in the chalk aquifer does vary from time to time, which means that during drier periods there may be insufficient water to feed into some of the tributaries known as ‘winterbournes’. One example is the River Swift between Upton and Hurstbourne Tarrant (Stage 1 and Walk 1).
The overriding influence of the chalk geology starts to reduce from about Houghton (Walks 11 and 12) onwards. There is a much greater prevalence of clay and gravel deposits in the lower part of the Test Valley where there are several quarries. As the Test progresses southwards it also broadens out into a more braided system or network of streams and channels that finally coalesce to form a single channel at the entrance to Southampton Water.
Water meadows
In the 18th century, water meadows were created along many stretches of the Test. This novel concept at the time was designed to extend the growing season to produce two crops of grass rather than just the one. A principal requirement was a supply of clear water at a constant temperature above freezing, and chalk streams were ideal candidates for the purpose. The intention was not to flood the ground but simply to keep it damp and at a temperature sufficient to minimise the effect of frosts during the winter and early spring. As a consequence, grass began to grow some weeks earlier than it would have done otherwise and therefore grew for longer; it was also of a higher quality as the ground absorbed the nutrients from the river.
The use of water meadows literally ebbed and flowed as the various periods of agricultural depression took their toll during the 19th century. More effective and cheaper sources of fertiliser also became available as farming methods improved with the consequence that water meadows gradually declined.
Plants and wildlife
The Test Valley is sprinkled with large areas of woodland including alder, ash, beech, birch, hazel, holly, hornbeam, lime, oak, pine, poplar, willow and yew. The woodland, together with the fertile and extensive tracts of rolling farmland and the River Test itself, provide a diverse landscape rich in wildflowers, plants and wildlife. Harewood Forest (Stages 3 and 4 and Walks 3 and 5) plays its part as a nationally important habitat populated by a wide variety of invertebrate species.
At Chilbolton Common (Stage 5 and Walk 7), 265 species of plant have been recorded including the southern marsh orchid and the snake’s head