Tunnel reopens to walkers for 60th anniversary

Volunteers have been preparing the Heathfield Tunnel to reopen for one weekend

An East Sussex tunnel which was last used by passenger trains 60 years ago will be reopened to pedestrians for one weekend.

Volunteers have spent thousands of hours restoring the 256 yard (242m) Heathfield Tunnel to open to the public on 13, 14 and 15 June from 10:00 to 17:00 BST.

The tunnel was once part of the now disused Cuckoo Line, running from Polegate to Eridge via Heathfield, which was fully opened in 1880 and closed to passengers in 1965.

The reopening is part of Spa Valley Railway's Cuckoo Line gala, marking 60 years since the rail line was shut to passenger trains following a recommendation by the British Railways Board.

The last passenger train to run through the Heathfield Tunnel on 12 June 1965 was a BR Standard 4MT 80144.

The tunnel remained open to freight trains until 1968 and was closed to pedestrians in 2015.

The train line's name came from a tradition at the Heathfield Fair where the "first cuckoo of Spring would be released", says Spa Valley Railway.

In the 1990s, the Polegate to Heathfield portion on the track was turned into the 10.4-mile Cuckoo Trail, jointly owned by Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council.

The last steam train to run on the Cuckoo line in June 1965

Six steam and diesel locomotives once used on the Cuckoo Line will run from Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge via Groombridge as part of the celebrations.

A spokesperson for Spa Valley Railway said: "This is as close as we're probably going to get to recreating the Cuckoo Line."