About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website
About SideTracked Events
Thursday 10 August 2023 marks the 16th anniversary of the SideTracked Series, so a special week long celebration, kicking off on Sunday 6th August will run through to Saturday 12th August 2023.
Everyone who attends this event will be able to add a special âIâve attended Ridgmont SideTracked 16th Anniversary eventâ badge to their Geocaching profile. There will also be a generic 16th anniversary event badge available from 6th August.
About This Event
This event will be held in the former Ladies Waiting Room and the Jack Turner Room of Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre between 10.00am and 12.00pm, and the outside courtyard. A breakfast, lunch and cake menu is available, though there is no obligation to purchase. It would be very helpful though, if you are planning on eating, to indicate on your âwill attendâ log.
While here, visit the original Victorian Booking Office with its historical displays and discover more about the Marston Vale Line. âBrassâ rubbings of ten stations along the Marston Vale Line can be discovered around the Heritage Centre for children, or those young at heart.
Ridgmont Station
Ridgmont Station dates back to 1846 when it was built as one of the railway stations along the Marston Vale Line. At the request of the 7th Duke of Bedford it was built in a Gothic Rival style along with three other stations along the line that were within the Woburn Estate.
At the stations busiest period it served the London Brickworks, which was said to be the second largest brickworks in the world. The brickworks and Bedford Arms, which stood opposite, have since been demolished and replaced with the Marston Gate Distribution Centre. The station now stands as the only reminder of that industrial period.
The Marston Vale line
The Marston Vale line is located between Bletchley and Bedford in England, a surviving remnant of the former Varsity line between Oxford and Cambridge, most of which was closed in the late 1960s. There are plans for the line to be adopted and upgraded as part of East West Rail, a project underway to re-establish the OxfordâCambridge route. In November 2022 however, Vivarail, the manufacturers and maintainers of the Class 230 trains being used, entered administration, and consequently London Northwestern Railway introduced a rail replacement bus service from December last year. The replacement Class 150 DMU trains have now been purchased and LNR hope that they will enter service in autumn 2023. The line is sponsored by the Marston Vale community rail partnership.