Rescuing the gardens

Dealing with decades of neglect

We began work on the garden in 2005, clearing brambles, nettles, thistles, ground elder and couch grass etc for a whole year. and cleaning the graffiti on the ramp wall with help from the local Police (Community offenders did this work).

The planting began with shrub roses on the lower terrace and a yew hedge along the edge of the platform garden which is visible from Warwick Old Road below. Over the years the lawn was rejuvenated with hand picking of plantain etc.; the yew hedge has been trained (!) complete with pampas grass smoke and the occasional passenger.

The derelict lamp hut was fully restored and serves as the gardeners’ tool-shed

and the broken walls of the coal compound were taken down brick by brick and rebuilt professionally by a local builder.  It houses wheelbarrows and water butts.

The planters on both platforms were built in 2014 by Friends of the station and are maintained by the local Soroptimists.