Brampton Valley Way
The Brampton Valley Way is a fourteen-mile rail trail running south to north, built on the way of the former Northampton to Market Harborough Railway in Northamptonshire. It forms what trail managers, the local council, describe as a linear park.
The railway line was closed in 1981 and the fourteen-mile Northamptonshire section, from the outskirts of Northampton to the southern part of Market Harborough was purchased in 1987 by the two councils in whose jurisdictions it falls, with grant aid from the Countryside Commission. Work began on developing it as a linear park. Management of the complete route is now undertaken by Sustrans and the two councils.
The Brampton Valley Way, from Boughton Crossing in Northampton to Little Bowden Crossing in Market Harborough, was opened in the spring of 1993 and provides recreational access for cyclists and walkers. Further developments to enhance access continue alongside everyday management of the site. The Way forms an offroad section of the Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 6.
There are two former railway tunnels on the route, Kelmarsh (322 yarda) and Oxendon (462 yards). The tunnels are unlit and so can be quite an experience to travel through, although alternative routes over the tunnels are provided.
A section of the Brampton Valley Way runs adjacent to the Northampton & Lamport Railway]]. The railway is separated from the linear park by a stout safety fence. As the railway extends, so the fence will be erected first to protect members of the public from the works. The Midshires Way passes through the Brampton Valley Way.
