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Location notes
Awre Level Crossing is on the main Gloucester to Newport line about 15 miles west of Gloucester. The crossing is an automatic barrier with good views of line.
Railway type and traffic
A typical few hours will see First Great Western DMUs pass on hourly Cardiff to Nottingham Services and Local Arriva service DMUs running between Cheltenham and Cardiff. Also FGW HSTs from London.
Heavy DB Schenker class 66 freights pass mainly on steel and scrap trains; but also daily heavy class 60 tank trains pass on Westerleigh petroleum trains. These are routed via Gloucester if they are travelling from Wales as the only access into the Westerleigh branch is from the down line into Bristol
Heavy DB Schenker class 66 freights pass mainly on steel and scrap trains; but also daily heavy class 60 tank trains pass on Westerleigh petroleum trains. These are routed via Gloucester if they are travelling from Wales as the only access into the Westerleigh branch is from the down line into Bristol
Environment
Very rural but no shelter, aside from the trees. So if it rains you will get wet without a car!
Road directions
From either Chepstow or Gloucester follow the A48 to Blakeney follow the signposts towards Awre village. The road is narrow and windy so take care, but keep following for about three miles and eventually you will come to the crossing.
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Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire map co-ordinates
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Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire map co-ordinates
Parking
Easy to park at the crossing without being a danger or obstruction. You can go for hours with only seeing one or two passing cars.
Public transport
Definitely not a location if you have not a car!
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Amenities
Back of beyond! No facilities nearby. But back on A48 there are garages with shops; also Lydney about 10-15 mins away has pubs, chip shops and major supermarkets.
Accommodation
Lydney or Chepstow would be the nearest places to find accommodation.
Sun Compass
Sun Compass using Suncalc by brought to you by Vladimir Agafonkin:
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Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire
Streetmap links
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire general view map
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire
Googly map
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire general view map
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Awre Level Crossing, Gloucestershire
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Railway Gen Group
Photographic notes
Good light. Excellent view of line from the crossing or footpath nearby looking towards Gloucester. The view towards Lydney slightly more restricted. The line curves and trains can come at you very fast round a bend. But you do get advance warning as the crossing operates.
An added bonus is down from road crossing. In next field is a footpath leading over line via a stile. This is unusual as the exit stile is not directly opposite. You can legally walk down the line to the exit style which is located a fair distance from the entry style back towards the signal box and road crossing. Possibly some good photographic opportunities here.
Watch the foot crossing up from the road crossing described. Even though its staggered and unusual as mentioned, its watched by a pair of CCTV cameras from Lydney box. I saw at least one photographer who trespassed and loitered from it get spotted causing trains to be stopped in both directions; even one train was instructed to stop completely and the driver tell the photographer to leave the line. This was followed up by a mobile network rail patrol.
Best only to take shots at the crossing stiles and not at the large expanses of ground beyond. Also the gate from behind the signal box to the crossing is not the path. The right away cuts across the track joining fields either side of the line. The box is covered by CCTV so any attempt to cut behind it to the path may have you misidentified as a vandal, trespasser or metal thief. Walk legally by using the path through the field over the road crossing on the left on the Awre Village side.
An added bonus is down from road crossing. In next field is a footpath leading over line via a stile. This is unusual as the exit stile is not directly opposite. You can legally walk down the line to the exit style which is located a fair distance from the entry style back towards the signal box and road crossing. Possibly some good photographic opportunities here.
Watch the foot crossing up from the road crossing described. Even though its staggered and unusual as mentioned, its watched by a pair of CCTV cameras from Lydney box. I saw at least one photographer who trespassed and loitered from it get spotted causing trains to be stopped in both directions; even one train was instructed to stop completely and the driver tell the photographer to leave the line. This was followed up by a mobile network rail patrol.
Best only to take shots at the crossing stiles and not at the large expanses of ground beyond. Also the gate from behind the signal box to the crossing is not the path. The right away cuts across the track joining fields either side of the line. The box is covered by CCTV so any attempt to cut behind it to the path may have you misidentified as a vandal, trespasser or metal thief. Walk legally by using the path through the field over the road crossing on the left on the Awre Village side.
General views - All photographs © Jonathan Cale unless otherwise stated
Fig 1 - Looking north
Fig 2 - Looking east
Fig 3 - Looking north
A view of the footpath shot.
Disclaimer
All information contained within this is site is © Trainspots. The images used on this site remain the property of the original photographer, as credited at the top of the page, and are used with their kind permission.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
