FRESHFORD

This lovely village seems almost untouched by time. The waters of its "fresh ford" combined with purity of its air led wealthy Bath residents in the nineteenth century to send their laundry to be done in the village (by rail, of course).

The Parish Council's own website is a good source of information about the village and how to get around www.freshfordvillage.com



From the station go up the hill, and turn right to explore the village, or left to reach the historic Inn at Freshford, a Freehouse serving Box Hill Brewery Ales and good food. The community-run Galleries Shop and Cafe (www.galleriesshop.co.uk) is another alternative for refreshments, especially before or after a walk into the surrounding countryside. Iford Manor with its romantic garden designed by Harold Peto is not far away. For a 3.5 mile circular walking route connecting this with Freshford and Avoncliff see the Two Valleys Walk on www.crossguns.net



The old Ealing comedy "The Titfield Thuderbolt" was filmed partly in and around the village, and today's villagers have maintained some of that determined community spirit with respect to the railways. They have re-established the beautiful station gardens, with shrubs donated by village residents and plants grown from seed by local schoolchildren, in tribute to the original gardens originally created by the Vaisey sisters. More recently, they tracked down the old Victorian "running-in" board that had ended up in a private collection in Devon, and its rescue and restoration involved considerable determination and ingenuity from local people. It was reinstalled in the summer of 2010, and unveiled by the Parish Council and the Friends of Freshford at a celebratory event.