Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire

The double track climbs out of Westbury, past Dilton Marsh, into the cutting near the village of Upton Scudamore, and on towards Warminster. In the 1980s and 90s the attraction of this location to me was the prospect of heavy freight trains climbing up the bank from Westbury, possibly with a banker on the rear. The cutting is in a lovely location, really quiet with just the birds to keep company and a convenient road bridge to stand on, nice and wide and room for your car. When I first started visiting here the vegetation in the cutting was kept under control, with just grass on the banks, so affording a good view in either direction. The last time I was here though it was a different scene, with the cutting grown in quite badly, which is a shame.