Camel Trail

The Camel Trail is a permissive cycleway in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, that provides a recreational route for walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders. As a rail trail, the route has only a slight incline following the River Camel from Padstow to Wenford Bridge via Wadebridge and Bodmin, at a total of 18.3 mi long.

An estimated 400,000 people use the trail each year, generating approximately £3 million year for the local economy.

The trail is jointly managed by Cornwall Council and the Camel Trail Partnership.

Background history
The trail follows the trackbed of two historic rail lines—a section of the North Cornwall Railway between Padstow and Wadebridge, in addition to the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway (B&WR) between Wadebridge and Wenfordbridge along with a short branch toward the former Bodmin North station.

Railway history
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was originally built at a cost of £35,000 following a study commissioned in 1831 by local landowner Sir William Molesworth of Pencarrow. The line was originally used to carry lime-rich sand from the Camel estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. In 1862, the railway started shipping china clay which, became its most reliable trade. Aditionally the line would be used to ship slate from inland quarries to ships in Padstow, and also to transport fish landed in Padstow inland; primarily to London and other cities.

In 1868, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) purchased the B&WR without parliamentary consent. Although an ultra vires purchase, the acquisition would become legalised in 1886. In the interim, the LSWR nonetheless supported the B&WR and sought to connect the isolated railway to its own network via the LSWR-backed North Cornwall Railway. The now LSWR-owned NCR line from Halwill Junction reached Wadebridge station in June 1895, and then Padstow in March 1899.

In 1923, as a part of the railways Grouping Act the lines were taken over by Southern Railway, and then again by British Railways (BR) during nationalisation. Under BR, the lines repeately changed hands between the British Railways Southern Region and the British Railways Western Region, causing management issues. As quarrying and fishing diminished, and lorries reducing delivery by rail, the railway lost much of its freight traffic. Despite this, the line's passenger services remained frequently used by holiday makers and students.

Like much of the British Railways network, over the course of the 1960s the services between Padstow and Bodmin's three stations (Bodmin Road, Bodmin General and Bodmin North) were subjected to closures as a part of the "Beeching Axe"—an attempt by the UK government to increase the profitability and efficiency of British Rail. As a result, passenger services between Bodmin and Padstow were terminated, with the last passenger train running in 1967. Freight services continued between Bodmin Road and Wadebridge until 1978. The last services on the line to close were the china clay freight services from Wenfordbridge to Bodmin in September 1983.

Conversion to trail
With the cessation of Padstow–Wadebridge services, Cornwall County Council purchased the trackbed from British Railways and in 1980 converted the bed to a public trail. Following this, the trackbed of the Wadebridge–Boscarne stretch was also acquired by County Council.

In 1983, Nigel Wiggett opened Bridge Bike Hire in Wadebridge, the first bike hire along the trail and first in the West Country. Since then, more bike hire vendors have been established Wadebridge, and joined by ones in Padstow, Bodmin, and Wendfordbridge.

After the closure of the Wenford's clay freight services, the North Cornwall District Council (NCDC) acquired the Boscarne–Wenfordbridge trackbed for use as a footpath. In 1988, NCDC requested funding to make improvements to the Boscarne–Wenfordbridge stretch so as to intergrate it with the rest of the Camel Trail.

In 1991, the Wadebridge and Egloshayl bypasses were constructed, removing much of the traffic that those passing through Wadebridge along the trail would otherwise have to contend with.

In 2002, the Camel Trail Partnership Trust was established to co-ordinate management of the trail between local town and parish councils along the trail, the NCDC, Cornwall County Council, the Chambers of Commerce of Bodmin, Wadebridge and Padstow, the Environment Agency, English Nature and the Forestry Commission.

In 2006, two further extensions to the trail were completed. The first was from Scarlett’s Well car park in Bodmin, following into the town. The second was from Poley's Bridge near St Breward, to Wenfordbridge through the old clay dries, which was made possible by Imerys donating the land.

In 2009, Cornwall County Council and the NCDC—along with the rest of Cornwall's district councils—were disbanded and replaced with Cornwall Council, which inherited the ownership and responsibilities of the Trail that were held by the County Council and the District Council.

Current trail


As an erstwhile railway turned mix-use trail, the trackbed was built such that trains would have only a moderate incline and smooth turns—characteristics making it suitable as a cycle trail. Only a small part of the trail through Wadebridge is on roads and shared with motor traffic, with the trail also infrequently junctioned by rural backroads.

The trail is managed and maintained by Cornwall Council and the Camel Trail Partnership. The bike hire shops operating along the Camel Trail pay an annual licence fee the council, which is used to help with the trail's maintenance.

The Camel Trail shares the Padstow trailhead with the Saints' Way trail. The Trail also constitutes part of the National Cycle Network's Route 32 and Route 3, as well as The Cornish Way.

Between the Wadebridge and Padstow, the trail passes through the Camel Estuary section of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Further proposals
The then newly created Bodmin and Wenford Railway saught to reopen the Wenford branch to allow for china clay to again be moved from Wenfordbridge by way of rail. A separate company, Bodmin and Wenford Rail Freight Limited, was set up in 1992 but the line was not reopened. There were objections from cyclists as at this point the rail bed had been used for the Camel Trail and the china clay drier closed in 2002.

Following the closure, attempts at potential expansion has since changed to the route from Boscarne Junction towards Wadebridge, although this route also follows the Camel Trail. The Bodmin and Wenford Rail Freight company was renamed as the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway Company Limited in 2004 to facilitate this scheme. Initially referred to as 'The Wadebridge Trailway' it became the 'RailTrail' project in 2008. It was supported by the North Cornwall District Council but only by a single casting vote. There were objections from cyclists, environmentalists and some residents of Wadebridge. A bid for government funding was made in 2020.

In 2020, Scott Mann, Conservative MP for North Cornwall, put forward a concept to link up the Camel Trail with the Tarka Trail, arguing it would increase the economic benefits brought in by the Camel Trail.