Great Somerford

Great Somerford Halt was a station on the Malmesbury Branch Line of the Great Western Railway in Wiltshire, England. It was open from 1877 to 1933 for passengers, and 1879 to 1922 for goods. The station, at first named Somerford, was opened in December 1877 as part of the Malmesbury branch which left the Great Western Main Line at Dauntsey, 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) to the southeast. The station was on the road to Little Somerford and separated from the northern edge of Great Somerford village by the River Avon. A small goods yard and siding were in use from January 1879.The name of the station was changed to Great Somerford in 1903 when the GWR opened a more direct route to South Wales, the South Wales Main Line which left the earlier main line at Royal Wootton Bassett and passed half a mile (900 metres) to the north near Little Somerford, where a new station was built. The reduction in traffic led to changes in 1922 at Great Somerford: the goods yard closed and staff were withdrawn from the station, which was now named Great Somerford Halt.In 1933, Little Somerford station was linked to the Malmesbury branch and became the junction station. The line south to Dauntsey, along with Great Somerford Halt, was closed on 17 July 1933, as usage of the halt had declined to an average of one passenger per two trains. The track as far south as Great Somerford was retained until 1959 and used for storage of rolling stock; the track further south had been lifted by 1949. The site of the station and goods yard is now occupied by a sewage works. The station master's house, next to the road, survives.

Little Somerford railway station served the village of Little Somerford, Wiltshire, England from 1903 to 1963. It was on the South Wales Main Line and served as the junction for the Malmesbury branch line from 1933.

The Brinkworth Brook is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. It rises near Broad Hinton in Wiltshire in the West Country of England, and flows in a north and then westerly direction, joining the Avon at Great Somerford.

Little Somerford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Malmesbury and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) northeast of Chippenham. The northern boundary of the parish follows approximately the B4040 Malmesbury–Swindon road. The Bristol Avon forms part of the boundary to the west and south, and its tributary the Brinkworth Brook forms part of the southeastern boundary.

Seagry is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southeast of Malmesbury and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) northeast of Chippenham. Its main settlements are the village of Upper Seagry, which was first mentioned in official records under the name Over Seagry (in 1317), and the hamlet of Lower Seagry, which was first documented (1218) as Nether Seagry. The toponym is thought to derive from the Old English for "sedge stream". Sedge is the common name for plants of the family Cyperaceae and stream here may refer to the River Avon, which flows through the area.

Christian Malford is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village lies about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) northeast of the town of Chippenham. The Bristol Avon forms most of the northern and eastern boundaries of the parish. The hamlets of Thornend and Upper Town lie within the parish. The unusual name is evidently a corruption of Christ mal Ford, Old English moel, mal being a mark: "Christ’s mal" is Christ's mark or sign, the cross. Thus the name signified "Cross Ford". Deeds from Glastonbury Abbey cartulary relate to Christmalford Manor: in AD 940 King Edmund granted Christmalford to St Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury. In 1086 the Abbey of Glastonbury remained tenant-in-chief of Cristemeleforee in the ancient Domesday hundred of Sterchelai (Startley). Christian Malford and the other parishes of Startley hundred were amalgamated with additional parishes to form the hundred of Malmesbury.

Christian Malford Halt served the village of Christian Malford, Wiltshire from 1926 to 1965. It was situated on the Great Western Main Line which runs from London to Bristol. The station is located half a mile south of Christian Malford where the railway passes over Station Road. The halt consisted of two timber platforms, each with a wooden shelter. There is no trace of the halt today, although the access path on the up side is still there.

The Dauntsey Vale is a geographical feature in the north of the English county of Wiltshire. It is characterised by a wide, flat, clay floodplain of the upper reaches of the Bristol Avon river, which divides the Cotswolds to the west from the chalk downland of east and south Wiltshire. It is triangular in shape with its north edge running from the town of Royal Wootton Bassett in the east to Malmesbury in the west. This prominent north ridge is the setting for the village of Brinkworth, which at five miles long, claims to be the longest village in England. The western edge of the Vale is the edge of the Cotswolds, running from Malmesbury to Chippenham in the south. This edge is less pronounced than the classic escarpment which forms the western edge of the Cotswolds. It is characterised by a gradual drop in level, but more in the different building materials of the villages. For instance, Stanton St Quintin above the Vale has a distinct Cotswolds feel with the typical honey-coloured building stone and roof slates, while villages just a few miles away to the east like Christian Malford and Sutton Benger have typically thatched homes. The eastern edge of the Vale is more pronounced, with a steep and high hill forming a ridge running from Wootton Bassett in the north to close to Calne in the south. This ridge top provides the location for RAF Lyneham, the home until 2011 of the RAF's Hercules transport planes. It takes its name from the village of Dauntsey in the centre of the Vale.

Rodbourne is a small village in Wiltshire, England, in the civil parish of St Paul Malmesbury Without about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of the town of Malmesbury. The hamlet of Rodbourne Bottom is 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of the village. The Rodbourne Brook, a tributary of the River Avon, flows in a northeasterly direction between Rodbourne and Rodbourne Bottom. Harries Ground, near Rodbourne Bottom, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Sutton Benger is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the town of Chippenham. The parish includes the hamlet of Draycot Cerne.

Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in the flood plain of the upper Bristol Avon. Today, the parish is split by the M4 motorway, with a chain of historic smaller settlements spread either side. Dauntsey Green is north of the motorway, along with Dauntsey Church at the entrance to Dauntsey Park; to the south are Greenman's Lane, Sodom and Dauntsey Lock. Dauntsey Lock is on the former Wilts and Berks Canal (presently being restored), the course of which runs alongside the Bristol-London mainline railway.

St Paul Malmesbury Without is a civil parish surrounding Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. Its main settlements are the village of Corston and the hamlets of Milbourne and Rodbourne (not to be confused with the Rodbourne suburb of Swindon).