Cheshire Best Kept Stations

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Latest news from Friends of Goostrey Station ….

Our MP supports Friends of Goostrey Station …

What a lovely surprise!  FoGS members were delighted when our local MP Sarah Russell came to our stall during her visit to Goostrey Rose Day. With the two latest awards from Cheshire Best Kept Stations on show and a host of photos, she soon realised what a successful group we are.

A week later, Sarah met FoGS member Louise Willis at the Palace of Westminster and they were able to talk to MD of Northern Tricia Williams.  Guests at the parliamentary reception were addressed by Rail Minister Lord Hendy and by Helena Dollimore MP. Both talked about the benefits of enlisting volunteers to make railway stations part of the community.  It was poignant that the event was held on 7/7, the anniversary of the London bombings which obviously had particular significance for anyone involved in the transport sector. Earlier in the day, Lord Hendy had attended a service to commemorate the victims.

The invitation was the result of FoGS success in the Community Rail Awards last March. We scored top marks in the category It’s Your Station and received a platinum award. FoGS also won a bronze award for our photo captioned Keeping Up Appearances.  During the afternoon Louise was thrilled to see this photo in a rolling loop which showcased the work of Community Rail.

The reception was a celebration of the valuable work delivered all year round by Community Rail. It’s a growing movement with 75 rail partnerships and over a thousand volunteer groups. It’s uniquely placed to support a new era of rail that is focussed on passengers and local issues but it’s also aligned with social, environmental and economic objectives. Community Rail is helping to transform station buildings into community assets. It’s working to remove barriers to rail travel for marginalised groups. And it’s promoting integrated and sustainable transport.

Everyone will have an opportunity to find out more about FoGS and Community Rail during Goosfest.  Drop into Goostrey Station between 10 and 1 on Saturday 27 September. Go inside the restored station building, learn about our future plans and help us to bury a time capsule. This is part of a national celebration of the 200th anniversary of the start of the modern railway.

Exciting News for our Cheshire Best Kept Stations ….

We have some exciting news to share!

If you’re heading to your local supermarket, be sure to pick up the July edition of Cheshire Life.

The front cover says it all:

“Action stations – Our railway series departs at Delamere.”

This is the first in a bi-monthly series of articles celebrating Community Rail at our Cheshire stations — our very own Cheshire Best Kept Stations!

Written by our Founder and President, John Hulme BEM, the series shines a light on the people and stories behind our stations.
John says:

“It’s been a great privilege to write for Cheshire Life, but none of this would be possible without the hard work of the station groups and the dedication of our rail staff to the stations.
Without your care, I wouldn’t have stories to tell.
We begin with Delamere on the Mid Cheshire Line – winners of the Cheshire West and Chester Award 2024.
It may be a small village station, but it has a remarkable story.
Thanks to the support of the Cheshire Life photographer, Kirsty Thompson, we’ve captured some fantastic images to bring it to life.”

👉 Click here to take a sneak peek at the six-page spread.

Coming up in the series:

  • September edition: Nantwich Railway Station – our 2024 Overall Winner
  • November edition: Altrincham Interchange– marking Remembrance and stories from the Great War

We’d love you to pick up a copy, have a read, and let us know what you think.

And if you have a story to share about your Cheshire station — we’d love to hear from you!

The magazine is available at supermarkets and newsagents across Cheshire, North Wales, and what many still call “Old Cheshire” – Warrington, Wirral, and Stockport.

If you’re outside the area, why not grab a copy when passing through a Cheshire station with a newsstand?

Or better still — subscribe!

Subscriber benefits:

  • Just over £3 per copy with a 12-month plan
  • Use code LOVE25 at checkout to get a £10 voucher (redeemable at Amazon, M&S, John Lewis, Waitrose and more)
  • Home delivery, plus exclusive invites to Cheshire Life events and newsletters
  • Access to the digital edition on smartphone, tablet and desktop
  • Explore 100’s of previous issues to browse and share
  • Subscriptions starting now will receive the September edition (and possibly August, depending on timing)

👉 Click here for full subscription details.

We’re very grateful to Joanne Goodwin, the editor of Cheshire Life, for inviting us to contribute to Cheshire’s top monthly magazine.

And finally — please help spread the word by sharing this exciting news on your own social media channels.

Goostrey Station are celebrating again! ….

Spring 2025 saw FoGS receiving more awards for our work to improve Goostrey station.

In February, we won the Community Engagement Award from Cheshire Best Kept Stations (CBKS) and so we have a tenth totem to display at the station.

This award recognised the variety of ways in which FoGS are involved with local people.

For example, we ran a stall at Rose Day and we contributed to Goostrey Parish Archive’s transport exhibition during Goosfest. We also helped Jodrell Side WI with their project to create a coronation wall-hanging.  And Debbie Goldsmith regularly leads workshops for children at Goostrey Art Studio and in towns like Crewe and Bury.

We were successful in the CBKS photo competition too.  ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ received enough votes from our supporters to secure second place.

In March, FoGS were invited to attend the 20th Community Rail Awards in Newcastle-on-Tyne, where we were competing against 75 Community Rail Partnerships and over 1000 volunteer groups.

Just over 50% of the 227 entries were shortlisted, including all four that FoGS submitted.

Through public voting we were placed third for our photo.  And we achieved enough points in the category It’s Your Station to be in the top 4 out of 40 volunteer groups, so we received a platinum certificate (unfortunately it wasn’t made of metal – just paper!).

 

Best Kept Station Awards are featured in Cheshire Life

The 2022 Best Kept Station Awards are featured in a six-page spread in July 2023’s edition of Cheshire Life ….

The July 2023 edition of Cheshire Life featured a six-page spread including details of all the winning stations.

Cheshire Best Kept Stations Chair Mark Barker said:

” We sent a press release covering our Annual Awards Evening and the magazine’s editor Joanne Goodwin rang to follow it up.

“I briefed her on what station adoptions were and their work, and gave her some background on the winners.

“The Cheshire Life team got in touch with some of the winners and took more photos to supplement those provided by CBKS.”

“The result is a superb six page spread showcasing the fine work being fine by volunteers and CRPs on Cheshire’s stations. Cheshire is a stronghold of CRPs, with four crossing the county. This publicity had brought their work to a new influential audience.”

Click here to read this special edition of Cheshire Life

And, do not forget to nominate your station for one of our Special 2023 Nominated Categories.

Who knows which publication your station may appear in next?