A sad end for ‘Ventnor-above-Sea’ | Nostalgia

With summer not being too far away I expect many of you are looking forward to a holiday. What with the dreadful coronavirus, I am sure many will stay at home this year.
Sorry sight - Ventnor station in 1970, four years after services stopped on April 18, 1966.Sorry sight - Ventnor station in 1970, four years after services stopped on April 18, 1966.
Sorry sight - Ventnor station in 1970, four years after services stopped on April 18, 1966.

If I am right then I am sure the Isle of Wight will come back into fashion as it was before cheap package holidays abroad.

Many might not know but at one time locals and holidaymakers could travel the length and breadth of the island by train.

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Unfortunately Dr Beeching had other ideas thinking the railways on the island were out-dated and would cost a fortune to electrify.

The only part of the system to remain would be the 1.2 miles from Ryde Pier Head to St John’s Road, but the transport minister said the line to Shanklin would remain and that from Shanklin to Ventnor would be closed.

And so it was, the line to Ventor station closed on April 18, 1966, 100 years after it opened.

Of course, the station was not exactly made for walking into the town.

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Some railway stations are called ‘Something-or-other-By-Sea’ but Ventnor station could have been called Ventnor-Above-Sea.

It was at the top of a very steep hill and OK for walking down even with a suitcase, but there was no way you’d walk back up again unless a heart attack was what you were after and taxis had a good trade in taking homeward bound holidaymakers from their hotels to the station.

Unbelievably the station remained for many years and the photograph shows the station from the tunnel end in 1970. As you can seen buddleia has taken over the trackbed but the canopies and buildings remain waiting, in vain, for trains to return.

Not long after the photograph was taken the station was demolished and the land has been turned into an industrial site.

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There have been several proposals to open the line from Shanklin but there is little chance. What should have been done in my opinion was to keep the island’s railways as a heritage site and kept in steam. I am sure thousands would travel to the island just for that reason.

A short heritage line runs the 5.5 miles from Smallbrook Junction to Havenstreet. What could have been, eh? If only a little more thought gone into matters?

The photograph comes from Southern Region Through the 1970s by Michael Hymans and published by Amberley.

The book is full of photographs, many from our area and the Isle of Wight. Each year is recorded with anecdotes and reports and photographs of crashes and derailments that occurred through the decade across the region.

Well worth getting hold of if railways are your thing.

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• Ironic that after Premier League teams had their winter break they now have to take a compulsory three weeks off because of coronavirus.

The break was, I suppose, intended to give players a ‘well-deserved’ break from the rigours of playing a game of football.

Can you imagine coal miners, perhaps the hardest job ever, saying they wanted to take a break as they were tired. Of course not. Why is it that these so-called super-fit men can’t play a game or two a week without feeling shattered?

After another three weeks off and having to play into May or even June to catch up with the cancelled games will they be complaining again?

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Then, with just a month or so off before the season starts again the poor loves will be off with stress!

• My photograph of the Eye and Ear Hospital in Grove Road North, Southsea, brought back memories for George Jeffery, 86, of Havant.

George says: ‘Firstly it was where I had my tonsils and adenoids removed just before the outbreak of the Second World War.

‘Secondly, I shall never forget the nurses who sang There’ll Always Be an England every day to me. I made many trips to this hospital until it finally got bombed.’

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• Last Friday I was invited to a dinner at the Guildhall to mark the centenary of the Portsmouth Property Association, and a superb evening it was.

Guest speaker was former England footballer and manager Kevin Keegan of Liverpool, Hamburg and Newcastle fame. What a superb speaker he is. The illustrated talk charted his rise from a £28-a-week player with Liverpool to international fame.

Very self-effacing and down to earth, he told of his failings as well as successes. He also mentioned the miss in the 1982 World Cup when it it was easier to put a header in the net than put it behind as Keegan did.

During the evening many guests had their photograph taken with him and I think he was overwhelmed with the greeting he received.

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