When Romiley was announced as Best Kept Station 2025 at the Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards Evening in February, there was a brief pause before the applause gathered pace. The Friends of Romiley Station had come along proud of their year’s work, but not anticipating the top accolade.
‘We were completely taken aback,’ says Angie Clark, secretary of the group, when
I arrive a few weeks later on the Marple-bound platform at the station. Mark Barker, chair of Cheshire Best Kept Stations, has joined me, keen to see for himself what had earned the distinction.
‘Come on,’ Angie says with a smile. ‘We’ll give you the grand tour.’
Romiley sits on two active routes: the Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield and the branch to Rose Hill Marple, which forks off further along the line at Marple Wharf Junction. It is, today, both a through station and a junction point within the network.
Even in early spring, the care is evident. Planters are neat, displays are carefully arranged and the station is tidy.
Angie leads us first to the Queen’s Jubilee Garden. Created in 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, it transformed a steep, derelict plot between the Marple-bound platform and the station car park, once jokingly known as the Hill of Doom, into a managed garden space.
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At the time, contractor Buckingham was extending the station platforms and carrying out extensive repairs to the station bridge, including the replacement of all its timbers. The construction company had been using the land at the foot of the embankment for storage and site access. In conversation with the site team, the Friends learned that during major projects, the company was sometimes able, where time permitted, to contribute practical support to local community initiatives. The Jubilee Garden was already underway and the opportunity was seized.
Buckingham freely undertook the heavy groundwork, enabling the volunteers to complete the scheme. Old bridge timbers were repurposed to form a substantial border, ballast was supplied and laid in place, the interpretive board was installed and finally, the large-scale planters were positioned, supplied by Europlanters Ltd, a local manufacturing company.
The Romiley and Marple Lions Club offered practical support and the wider community became involved.
Four primary schools: Bredbury Green Primary, Greave Primary, Romiley Primary and St Christopher’s RC Primary School, played their part, with pupils opening the garden during the Jubilee celebrations.
‘It wasn’t just about marking the Jubilee,’ says Jan Farrell, part of the Friends’ station team. ‘It was about leaving something better behind and building local relationships in the process.’
We return to the platform and pause at the Station Master’s Garden, carefully maintained and clearly valued. Nearby, quite separately, Fairies’ Wonderland is signposted to its Enchanted Wood, Fairy Glen, Bredbury and Emerald City, adding a playful touch alongside the more formal planting.
Looking across to the Manchester-bound platform, we see a painting of the canal by the Romiley Women’s Institute, installed to cover disused windows and serving as a reminder that the Peak Forest Canal, within walking distance of the station, is part of the same transport story.
The Friends group was formed in 2015 and celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. What began as modest tidying has developed into structured improvement projects delivered in partnership with Northern and Network Rail. The group has also published a fantastic 28-page full-colour walks booklet, encouraging visitors to explore the village, canal and surrounding countryside. It is well worth picking up a copy and discovering Romiley on foot.
Beside the station building, one of the Hope Valley line’s distinctive
19th-century structures, Alf Clark, joins us. A retired railwayman, he brings practical understanding of how the station fits into the wider network.
‘Romiley opened on August 5, 1862,’ he explains, ‘when the line from Hyde was extended south to Romiley and on to Compstall (for Marple). The branch towards Rose Hill followed a few years later.’
Built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, the station became part of what evolved into today’s Hope Valley route, securing its place as a cross-Pennine link.
Romiley Station retains significant elements of its original Victorian buildings – solid stone, practical proportions and an unusually deep stairwell linking the Marple-bound platform to the underpass below.
‘It’s a rather unusual design,’ Mark observes, as we stand at the head of the steps. ‘That deep stairwell gives the station real character.’
As we make our way down from the Marple-bound platform into the underpass, three previously boarded windows along the stairwell catch the eye. Working with Northern and approved contractors, the Friends replaced them with toughened etched glass. Two incorporate the historic railway crests of the companies responsible for building the station and line. The central panel provides interpretation, completing the display.
‘We wanted something practical and lasting,’ Angie explains, ‘to brighten the space and acknowledge the heritage.’
From the underpass, we cross and begin climbing the stairs to the Manchester-bound platform. That stairwell has also become a canvas for community display. During VJ Day commemorations, hundreds of paper cranes were suspended there as part of the Origami Crane Project, creating a riot of colour and movement before later being included in a local exhibition and sent on to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. For a previous First World War commemoration, the same space was filled with cascading poppies.
‘It brought in schools and families,’ says Angie. ‘People who might not usually engage with the station.’
After walking both platforms, we step across the road to Life Café, based within the Romiley Life Centre, a St Chad’s Church initiative. Alf volunteers at the café as well as at the station, another small but telling example of how closely village life and railway life are intertwined here.
The centre provides training and employment opportunities alongside its menu and is clearly valued locally. Over lunch, I opt for the seafood platter, which was really very good, and the room fills steadily with families, walkers and regular customers.
‘The café keeps everything connected,’ Angie says.
Romiley’s railway connections extend beyond the platforms. The nearby Methodist church has its own established model railway club, while its model railway exhibition, held each September, attracts visitors from across the region and raises significant funds for Action for Children.
You may remember the charity as the National Children’s Home.
Local businesses reflect the railway’s continuing presence in village life. Platform One, the pub next door to the station, provides a station bar with food, and the nearby Indian restaurant Bukharaa Street Zaika, which serves, would you believe it, a Railway Lamb Curry! Each references the line and the station in its own way.
Back at the station, environmental considerations are evident too. Bird and bat boxes have been installed along buildings and boundaries and a bug hotel has been added as part of the station’s biodiversity work. There are plans to create a peace garden on the crumbling ground to the south of the building on the Marple-bound platform, continuing the steady evolution of the station’s green spaces.
Maintenance is constant – pruning, repainting, monitoring and litter clearance. ‘We try to stay ahead,’ Jan says.
As we return to the Manchester-bound platform for our train home, commuters gather and the next service approaches.
Mark looks along the platform. ‘This is what Community Rail at its best looks like,’ he says. ‘It respects its history, it serves its community and it is clearly cared for.’
I glance back along the platform, past the gardens, the painting and the volunteers in quiet conversation.
‘Today, although we are in historic Cheshire,’ I say, ‘Romiley certainly loves Cheshire and this station is a Cheshire Best.’
STATION FACT FILE
Romiley Station is a junction on the Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield (Hope Valley) Line via New Mills Central and Chinley and also on the Manchester to Rose Hill via Hyde Line.
On weekdays, there is an hourly service between Manchester and Sheffield and an additional hourly service to New Mills Central. Weekday trains on the Rose Hill line run at alternate 30- and 60-minute intervals.
On Sundays, the Manchester to Sheffield service is reduced to every other hour. There are no services to Rose Hill and no additional services to New Mills Central.
Romiley has won eight awards at Cheshire Best Kept Stations.
It was named Cheshire’s Best Kept Station in 2025.
northernrailway.co.uk; semcorp.org.uk; bestkeptstations.org.uk
HOP OFF TO EXPLORE
Chadkirk Chapel and Country Park – a 60-acre rural retreat with 16th-century chapel, Victorian walled garden and nature reserve. A 15-minute walk from the station. chadkirkchapel.org
Peak Forest Canal – a 10-minute walk from the station. Part of the 97-mile Cheshire Ring. The 1.5-mile walk to Marple Aqueduct is well worthwhile, perhaps returning by train from Marple Station. canalrivertrust.org.uk
Walks around Romiley – pick up the Friends’ 28-page full-colour walks booklet at the station or online, describing seven walks starting from the station. bestkeptstations.org.uk/station/romiley
The Romiley Methodist Church Model Railway Exhibition – this year’s exhibition is on Saturday, September 12, starting at 10.30am. Admission free, but donations to Action for Children appreciated. bestkeptstations.org.uk/station/romiley
PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK
Romiley Life Centre
Café – a community café with excellent food and drink, including children’s and gluten-free menus. Open daily except Sunday.romileylifecentre.co.uk
Bukharaa Street Zaika – excellent Indian cuisine, including the Railway Lamb Curry. Open daily from 5pm, and also from 11.30am to 3.30pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. bukharaa.co.uk
Platform One – Romiley’s station bar with good food and beers. Opens 12pm but closed on Monday. Platform One Romiley
If you would like to volunteer at your local railway station, visit bestkeptstations.org.uk
Cheshire Best Kept Stations and Cheshire Life are grateful for the support of our local rail companies:
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