The remains of the Buckingham Railway Station platform can still be seen at the back of the University Car Park. Follow the footpath in either direction and you follow the route of the railway line. The north path heads towards Banbury and south towards London. The station itself closed in 1963.
Closed railways provide wildlife corridors where nature can flourish without the danger of cars. The walk is looked after by the Railway Walk Conservation Group. Along the walk towards the south there are open glades with native wildflowers including ploughman spikenard. There is also a pond fed by a nearby natural spring. The water attracts varied wildlife including dragonflies and bats.
Sometimes the water in the pond here appears orange or red and tests by the environment agency haven’t given a firm answer as to why. It could be related to remains of the railway track bed below, or a natural iron based seam in the rock.
With thanks to the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies for the use of archive photographs. Image of smooth newt by Charles James Sharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0, via wikimedia commons.