Valley

Without wishing to be too picky, Valley doesn’t really give the impression of sitting in a valley but more the edge of a coastal plain. The station is on the double-track Chester to Holyhead main line and is the last stop before the terminus, though by no means all trains call there. The solid and unyielding stone building on the up side was opened in 1849. A Beeching closure in 1966, it was reopened in 1982. The Grade II-listed signalbox is adjacent to the level crossing on the road that leads to the nearby village centre, which sits at a junction of the A5.

Nearby is the RSPB Valley Wetlands reserve, which would be a quiet haven were in not for the fact that its right next door to RAF Valley. The resident birds, including Cetti’s warbler, which we heard skulking in the reedbeds, are obviously very tolerant of the occasional loud noises from the fighter jets [we were told that they were Hawks], as well as the less imposing training aircraft that are also based here. The noise made by the jets on take-off is certainly impressively loud. The village of Valley also has an excellent bistro called Catch 22.

The station is managed by Transport for Wales. Trains linking Holyhead with a number of destinations, including Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff, stop at Valley relatively infrequently. The west bound platform has modern shelters that have replaced the original stone buildings, which were removed during the period of closure. On the up platform, all the doors and windows in the original structure are sealed, leaving it all looking a bit desolate, but at least the station still functions.