Friends of Lowdham and Burton Joyce stations

Friends of Lowdham and Burton Joyce stations We are a group in the community who are Station Adopters. We work with East Midlands Railway to make

One of the successes of the community rail movement has been the formation of groups of station adopters. The Friends of Lowdham and Burton Joyce are now one of the 1,000+ adoption groups which have been formed nationwide. We came together during the pandemic in 2020 to create more pride in our stations and our local communities. Our work has incorporated community gardening, new planters and wate

ring facilities, local information boards and planning for the 175th Anniversary of the Castle Line from Nottingham to Lincoln in Aug 2021. None of this would have been possible without the support of EMR, Community Rail Network, Severn Trent, our local Parish and Borough Councils and local businesses.

04/06/2026

Not everyone went for a walk. Matlock Bath and Matlock were popular with some of the group booking the Steam train from Matlock to Rowsley.
The WI group changed their plans, enjoying a coffee stop at Whatstandwell before continuing by train to Cromford. As well as exploring Cromford, they enjoyed fish and chips, saving their packed lunches for later!

The 9 mile walk started from Ambergate as well …….. in the rain!The group had a steady climb to join the Midshires Way. ...
04/06/2026

The 9 mile walk started from Ambergate as well …….. in the rain!
The group had a steady climb to join the Midshires Way. A wet coffee break was taken by a small pond before carrying on to Whatstandwell. There was a short section along the canal before climbing up again with views of the Derwent Valley to arrive at Cromford Station with 10 minutes to spare.

All the walkers were especially pleased that drinks were served on the return journey. We are hoping to repeat the trip next year, maybe earlier when the bluebells are out and the grass is not so tall.

Walks in the Derwent Valley.A small group decided to walk from Ambergate to Cromford ……. In the rain!We were very impres...
04/06/2026

Walks in the Derwent Valley.

A small group decided to walk from Ambergate to Cromford ……. In the rain!
We were very impressed by the garden that has been created by a station adopter at Ambergate. What an achievement!
The walk was interesting - lots of colour along the way. A refreshment stop at Whatstandwell was welcome and gave us a chance to dry out. We then had excellent soups, scones and crumpets at the famous secondhand bookshop in Cromford. We had time for a quick look around Cromford Mills before the final short hill up to Cromford Station.
Some more great planting at the station to admire before the other walking group joined us.

The rain did not dampen our spirits! About 50 people joined our trip to Matlock. On the way, everyone enjoyed the 3 diff...
04/06/2026

The rain did not dampen our spirits!
About 50 people joined our trip to Matlock. On the way, everyone enjoyed the 3 different cheeses from Hartington Cheese Shop - Peakland White, Hartington Stilton and Hartington Bombadier. There were Miller’s biscuits to accompany them. The slices of Bakewell Tart from the Bakewell Tart Shop were popular too. Both the Hartington Cheese Shop and the Bakewell Tart shop were very helpful and offered us a discount.
Many thanks to EMR who provided the funding for our refreshments and Kaye for sorting out the stop orders which enabled us to go direct from Burton Joyce to Matlock. We also have to thank her for being on the wrong train in the morning as everyone we spoke to preferred having a drink on the journey home. We’ll do this again next year hopefully!

We were asked to help at another ‘Brake Trial’ at the Air and Space Institute in Newark today. It is good to see that ou...
01/06/2026

We were asked to help at another ‘Brake Trial’ at the Air and Space Institute in Newark today. It is good to see that our winning event is not a one-off.

It looks like this will become an annual event involving different schools along the Castle Line. Hopefully the event will inspire more children and perhaps encourage some of them to think about a career in engineering.

The planters at Lowdham are looking better with their summer bedding. The choice of plants have been inspired by some p...
27/05/2026

The planters at Lowdham are looking better with their summer bedding. The choice of plants have been inspired by some planting at RHS Wisley.
The grasses are Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ and have been under planted with Lobelia and Nemesia. Each planter has one Nemesia ‘Wisley Vanilla’ and some mixed Nemesia. Once the Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ we are growing from seed are a bit bigger, they will be added at the front as a trailing plant.
Two of the planters have Heucheras and the other two have Cineraria ‘Silver Dust’. We are trying to include some perennial plants to be more sustainable.
All of the plants apart from the grasses and the Nemesia Wisley Vanilla have been grown from seed or propagated by some of the station adopters.

Lowdham Station house is being repainted. This side is now done.
23/05/2026

Lowdham Station house is being repainted. This side is now done.

Another successful gardening session at BJ station yesterday. The train planter carriages have been planted with marigol...
23/05/2026

Another successful gardening session at BJ station yesterday.

The train planter carriages have been planted with marigolds and ‘Teddy Bear’ sunflowers - all grown from seed by adopters. Hopefully the nasturtiums seeds that have been sown will germinate successfully. The engine has cosmos - again grown from seed. The gladioli will come through later. The heuchera are already flowering.

The chives are in flower in the herb bed and it won’t be long before the sage and lavender will join them. The angelica and lovage are growing well. Lovage leaves make a great soup with potatoes. Keep an eye on the sunflowers which are against the fence. We are hoping for a great display when we are judged for East Midlands in Bloom.

The bed on the Newark platform has lampranthus plants which were propagated by Richard, one of our adopters. The original plant came from The Isles of Scilly. Some surplus bedding osteospermums from one of our adopters have joined them.

The planter by the bike shelter is starting to take shape and some of the plants are already in flower.

The bed behind the fence - Steve and Susan’s garden in memory of two of our adopters - is taking shape. The agapanthus and grasses have been propagated by two of our adopters.

Finally, we wish the two people who were off to Canada a happy holiday. Thank you for your kind comments about the planting and the work we do.

One of our station adopters noticed that someone had left these by the bus stop at Shaftesbury Avenue.
10/05/2026

One of our station adopters noticed that someone had left these by the bus stop at Shaftesbury Avenue.

The train planter looks a lot better with its new coat of paint. It will look even better when it has been replanted for...
10/05/2026

The train planter looks a lot better with its new coat of paint. It will look even better when it has been replanted for the summer.

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Lowdham Station, Station Road
Burton Joyce
NG147DU

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