Newnham railway station

Newnham or Newnham on Severn is a village in west Gloucestershire, England. It lies in the Royal Forest of Dean, on the west bank of the River Severn, approximately 10 miles south-west of Gloucester and three miles southeast of Cinderford. It is on the A48 road between Gloucester and Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. The village has a parish council. A parish church was established in the 14th century (although there had been a chapel of ease since 1018), and in 1366 a new church building was built on the high ground of the village as the old one faced erosion from the river. The new building has itself been damaged by a gunpowder explosion in 1644 during the English Civil War and a fire in 1881, but is still in use. The Ancient Romans built three roads through the location, where they forded the River Severn. The Anglo-Saxons established a permanent settlement, the Normans built a motte-and-bailey fortification for defence, and in medieval times it became a major port with links around Great Britain and Ireland. In 1171, Henry II of England staged an invasion of Ireland from Newnham. One account claimed that he set sail with 400 ships and 5,000 men, which suggests its importance as a port. For a time Newnham was the most successful Gloucestershire town west of the Severn. Its role as a port and trading hub declined, however, rapidly with the 1827 opening of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. In 1810, an early attempt at a Severn tunnel began construction just south of Newnham. Work was abandoned after flooding in 1812. Matron Eva Luckes of The London Hospital lived in Newnham.The scenic Gloucester to Newport railway line goes through a tunnel here. Newnham railway station opened in 1851 and closed in 1964.

Ruddle Road Halt railway station was a minor station on the Gloucester-Newport Railway on the outskirts of Newnham, Gloucestershire. It was also the start of a branch line to Cinderford New station and Mitcheldean Road station on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway. It closed in 1917 and has since been demolished. The track remains in use on the Gloucester to Newport line. The branch to Cinderford closed in 1967 and has since been returned to agriculture and built on.

Lightship 2000 (Welsh: Goleulong 2000) was a restored old red lightvessel with a cafe and chapel on board situated in Cardiff Bay. During the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay, the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation called together the churches in Cardiff to discuss the role of Christianity in the Bay. Lightship 2000 was the result of these discussions.

Bullo Cross Halt railway station is a disused railway station opened by the former Bullo Pill Railway, later known as the (Great Western Railway) Forest of Dean Branch.

Littledean Camp is in fact a castle overlooking the village of Littledean in Gloucestershire, England, notable for its unique early Norman design. Originally known as "Littledean Roman Camp" or just "Roman Camp" whilst once thought to have had Roman origins (as reflected in older Ordnance Survey maps), 20th century archaeology has shown that the castle was built in the 11th century following the Norman invasion of 1066. The castle was positioned on high ground overlooking the Severn valley and the town of Littledean. In addition to protecting the local villages, the castle was probably intended to operate with the castles at Glasshouse Woods and Howle Hill Camp as a screen to protect the city of Gloucester from military threats from Wales.Today, only the outer wall earthworks remain and be clearly seen. Trees are growing throughout the remains of the Castle, and due to its listing as a scheduled monument, the site is not maintained. However, the collection of trees that cover the earthworks stand out from the surrounding fields, allowing this hilltop site (elevation ~600m) to be clearly seen from many miles away.The castle itself is circular and relatively small, some 60 ft in diameter, with an inner and an outer bailey, the latter protected by a very tall vallum wall. The outer wall has surviving earthworks 12 ft high; originally it would have been 15 ft tall. Uniquely for a castle of this period the outer wall has a motte integrated into the design, rather than located at the centre of the castle; this was probably designed to act as a combination of look-out tower and keep. The entrance to the castle was from the south.Littledean castle was not occupied for long and by the time of the Anarchy in the middle of the 12th century had already been abandoned for several years, being referred to as the "Old Castle of Dean".

The Severn tunnel of 1810 was an unsuccessful plan for a tramroad tunnel beneath the River Severn. The tunnel was to cross the river at Arlingham Passage, at a location between Newnham on Severn and Bullo Pill on the west bank, to the promontory near Arlingham on the east.The intention was to take coal from the expanding Forest of Dean collieries. The proprietors of the Bullo Pill Railway Co. had already, in September 1809, completed the Haie Hill tunnel. They acquired the rights to an existing ferry crossing at Newnham Ferry and began construction of the tunnel, from the West bank. This tunnel was to carry road traffic and horse-drawn coal wagons on the tramroad. The bore was to be 13 ft high and 12 ft wide. This tramroad would have been built to match that already constructed onshore, as a four-foot gauge plateway with L-section cast iron rails. Work began and the tunnel was extended well under the river. On Friday 13 November 1812 water broke into the tunnel. The tunnel was immediately flooded, and the workmen all managed to escape. Unlike the flooding of the later Severn Tunnel, this flooding was too much for the rudimentary pumps of the day and so work was abandoned.In 1845, the engineer James Walker prepared a report, River Severn and South Wales Railway, on Brunel's plans for railway bridges across the River Severn. These bridges were to cross from nearby on the Arlingham promontory. Walker's report formed evidence for why the bridge plans were rejected, mostly on the grounds of their effect on shipping. A comment in the report though considered the tunnel plans to be sound and for the rock strata at this location to be amenable to tunneling. This positive report was sufficient to cause Brunel to again consider the crossing the river, this time by tunnel, and he is thought to have consulted with Vignoles on the subject. Brunel would later consider a bridge with a massive 1,100 ft span at this same point. Some masonry work, including a portion of tunnel lining, can still be seen in a field near Bullo today.

Pope's Hill is a hill and a small village situated in the east of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire within the parish of Littledean. The hill is 12 miles south west of Gloucester and 3 miles east of Cinderford. The small village of Flaxley lies in the valley to the immediate north. Pope's Hill is said to have got its name from Mary Pope, who used to reside in Flaxley Abbey in the 18th century and walked over the hill as a young girl. She is buried in Flaxley churchyard. A principal road runs over the hill starting from the A4151 just east of Littledean and rejoins the A4151 further east at the Greyhound Inn. The A4151 runs along the southern flank of the hill. A steep section of road on the Flaxley side, Joey's Pitch, is notorious for being impassable in ice and snow. There are numerous other small roads and tracks linking the houses and smallholdings which are scattered across the hill. Rising to the west is Chestnuts Enclosure, an area of Forestry Commission woodland, and to the north, Welshbury Hill which has Iron Age workings. The Greyhound Inn was a popular pub beside the busy main road until its closure in 2016 following a robbery and subsequent fire. It was noted for its large concrete and plaster model dinosaur in the pub garden (known as "Horace") Built by local craftsman Bill Taylor whilst refurbishing the pub interior. The White House Hotel is located at the summit. Pope's Hill offers extensive views of the Severn Vale, Gloucester, Cheltenham, as far north as Bredon Hill and as far south as the hills above Bath. The entire Cotswold Edge is also visible, and May Hill dominates the view to the north. A small chapel close to the Greyhound Inn is now a private house.

Littledean Hall (grid reference SO672130) is a country house in the village of Littledean, Gloucestershire, England. It has been described as one of the most haunted houses in England and is thought to be the oldest house in the United Kingdom which is still occupied. Saxon and Celtic remains have been uncovered in the cellars. Part of the house is designated an SSSI as it is a proven breeding roost for the Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum).

Littledean is a village in the Forest of Dean, west Gloucestershire, England. The village has a long history and formerly had the status of a town. Littledean Hall was originally a Saxon hall, although it has been rebuilt and the current house dates back to 1612. The remains of a Roman temple are situated in the grounds. Neither the hall or Roman remains are open to the public. Collectively, the villages and the surrounding wood (Forest of Dean) were mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Dene, and appear as Dena in 1130.

Flaxley is a small settlement and former civil parish, now in the parish of Blaisdon, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. It is located in between the larger villages of Westbury-on-Severn and Mitcheldean. In 1931 the parish had a population of 87.

Blaize Bailey is a small hamlet and viewpoint on the eastern edge of the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, England. The viewpoint was constructed using stone from a disused railway bridge at nearby Fetter Hill. It overlooks a horseshoe bend in the River Severn and, on a fine day, it is possible to see Gloucester Cathedral, Newnham on Severn and the Cotswold Hills.

Flaxley Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in England, now a Grade I listed manor and private residence, near the village of Flaxley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It is the former seat of the Crawley-Boevey Baronets.