Wythall Station News
Lord Hendy visit
Jay Barber, Headteacher of Woodrush Academy discusses with Lord Hendy, Chair of Network Rail, the benefits that have and continue to emerge by working with the stakeholders in the railways.
The First Railway-Based City & Guilds NVQ Vocational Qualification Developed and Launched by Woodrush Academy
22 February 2024
With funding from West Midlands Trains and support from Friends of the Shakespeare Line, Woodrush Academy have developed and launched the first railway-based City & Guilds NVQ vocational qualification based on horticultural studies. Students have also built a geocaching adventure based on stations along the Shakespeare Line as part of their IT work. It's the first railway-based Geocaching adventure in the world.
The school offers a City & Guilds NVQ 2 qualification for Horticultural Studies, a UK-first based on volunteer railway station work. The Academy is also working with Network Rail to explore a pathway for students to modern apprenticeships, a prospect Lord Hendy, the Chair of Network Rail, warmly encouraged when he spoke to students and staff when he visited the Academy in February.
Woodrush Headteacher Jay Barber said: 'The community partnership that has developed following our adoption of Wythall station has been transformational for our students. The partnership has led to us being able to offer unique curriculum experiences from landscape designing, gardening and planting, installation of artwork at the train station, new sustainability GCSE courses and a 2,000-sapling planting project with the Tree Council. Lord Hendy's visit to Woodrush signalled a key milestone in this unique and impactful partnership between Woodrush students the community and the surrounding public transport services.'
In a further example of the links that have developed from the original adoption idea, the school also partners with the nearby Transport Museum at Wythall. During its opening season, the Museum runs a vintage bus link to Wythall station.
Tree Planting
Freya Cooksey a student at Woodrush Academy joins Denise Wetton, Director for Central Route at Network Rail, Lord Peter Hendy, Chair of Network Rail, Fraser Pithie, Chair of Friends of the Shakespeare Line, Sara Lom, Chief Executive, from The Tree Council and Gille Bulteel, Tutor at Woodrush Academy as they plant a tree on 22 February 2024 commemorating the visit of Lord Hendy to the school.
Voluntary Group’s Hail Build Back Success
9 September 2021
It's been a great success, and it means next year will be even better; that's the view from two voluntary organisations that worked together to provide a unique day out this year that enabled people to use public transport to visit a local attraction in the West Midlands.
The Transport Museum at Wythall in Worcestershire is home to a significant collection of vintage buses, electric vehicles and a steam powered miniature railway. The Friends of the Shakespeare Line is a voluntary Community Station Partnership that supports volunteers at 18 railway stations between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon. In Spring this year, the two organisations discussed how they could help one another.
The result was a unique offer of a vintage bus meeting selected service trains at nearby Wythall railway station and providing a free ride to and from the Museum, connecting it to trains in the scheduled service and allowing several hours at the museum. The concept operated on specific days throughout the summer school holidays and has been hailed as a success by both organisations.
Denis Chick, Trustee of the Transport Museum at Wythall, said "This great idea was a quiet starter but as awareness grew we met more people using the trains from as far away as Gloucester, using the connections. With an extended marketing programme, it bodes well for 2022.”
The Friends of the Shakespeare Line are pleased too. They are keen to develop closer links with the Transport Museum at Wythall and potentially broaden the offer and service next year.
The Treasurer of FOSL, Fraser Pithie, said "The vintage bus rides for rail passengers to get to and from the Transport Museum at Wythall have shown people will use public transport to have a day out. Getting off a scheduled train service and hopping on a bus from yesteryear for a ride to a great museum is a fantastic offer.”
There are other things planned for 2022 that are under wraps for the moment, but both organisations say they will be jointly unveiling what they describe as something unique early next year.
Further information about the Transport Museum at Wythall
Wythall Transport Museum
1 July 2021
Transport Museum Wythall is taking advantage of the excellent West Midlands Trains service on The Shakespeare Line between Birmingham and Stratford upon Avon by revising its free bus service to stop at Wythall station, which is just a few minutes from the museum, meeting trains from both ends of the line.
The Shakespeare Line, with its hourly train service frequency at Wythall station, makes it possible to visit the transport museum, take a day off from driving and view the pleasant Warwickshire countryside through the window.
Visitors from further afield will be able to make connections from mainline services into Birmingham New Street at Moor Street station (a short walk) and within 40 minutes arrive on site to enjoy over three hours at one of the most significant collections of preserved vintage and classic buses in the UK, the country’s largest collection of battery powered delivery vehicles, a steam powered miniature railway and free bus rides throughout the day. A café is also available on site along with a well-stocked shop for books, models and souvenirs.
Station
Birmingham Snow Hill
Birmingham Moor Street
Shirley
Whitlocks End
Wythall
Museum
Out
10:26
10:30
10:44
10:47
10:50
11:00
11:26
11:30
11:44
11:46
11:49
12:00
Return
15:23
15:21
15:02
14:59
14:56
14:35
16:23
16:21
16:02
15:59
15:56
15:35
Station
Stratford upon Avon
Stratford Parkway
Henley-in-Arden
Wythall
Museum
Out
10:26
10:29
10:41
10:56
11:00
11:26
11:29
11:41
11:56
12:00
Return
15:23
15:17
15:06
14:50
14:35
16:23
16:17
16:06
15:50
15:35
The current free heritage bus service will be revised to connect at Wythall station with two trains in each direction on Saturdays/Sundays/Wednesdays from 24th July until September 5th inclusive on the following schedule:
This service can be used even if not visiting the museum, also stopping on request near to Beckett’s Farm, Wythall Church and the Chapel Lane Caravan Club site.
Fraser Pithie from Friends of the Shakespeare Line said “We are really pleased to working closely with the Transport Museum at Wythall, the vintage bus service from and to Wythall railway station is a fabulous development for the school holidays on Wednesdays and the weekends between 24 July and 5 September and will enable more people to attend the Museum which is a great day out both for individuals and all the family".
Museum tickets are available on arrival from £5 adults and £2.50 children 5-16. Under 5s are free. Full details of the museum and its facilities can be found at www.wythall.org.uk.
Wythall about to bloom…
Wythall railway station has now received its final batch of garden planters. The planters were built and installed by the nearby Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre who completed the works on Tuesday 25 May 2021 and as a local company, supports the volunteers at all 22 railway stations along the railway route between Birmingham and Stratford upon Avon.
Now in place, the planters will enable the pupils of the nearby Woodrush Academy, who have adopted Wythall station, to bring colour and vibrance to the platforms at the Worcestershire station.
The Academy has some great plans to develop the station’s appeal through its pupils and their commitment to adopt and look after the station. Soon the Academy’s pupils will start activities at the station under the direction of one of its teachers, Andy Reece.
Last year the long-standing Rail User Group known as the Shakespeare Line Promotion Group, which helped save the railway line from closure in 1969 and 1984, went out to the communities along the 24 mile route and encouraged local people and communities to come forward and adopt their railway station.
The results have been exceptional with every station along the line now adopted. An independent voluntary umbrella organisation, the Friends of the Shakespeare Line, supports volunteers at all the stations along the line and ensures their activities are funded and effective liaison with rail sector stakeholders is achieved to help develop and enhance all local stations and encourage people to use the train.
Images:
Sam and Chris from Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre prepare to deliver and install one of five garden planters at Wythall. They are joined by Fraser Pithie from the Friends of the Shakespeare Line and Ian Taylor, the Line Manager that manages the route for West Midlands Railway.
