Shippea Hill station: Least visited site joins challenge

Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe asked people to join them at Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire

More than 20 people travelled to the UK's least visited railway station to meet a couple attempting a train challenge with a difference.

Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe asked people to join them at Shippea Hill, Cambridgeshire as they try to visit 2,563 stations in three months.

Shippea Hill is a request stop with just two trains a day and was used just 12 times in the last financial year.

Geoff has previously set records for visiting all London's tube stations.

Geoff and Vicki decided to embark on the trip across the country to "capture the true status of Britain's railways today".

They are hoping to donate their video and photo footage to the National Railway Museum and London Transport Museum.

Geoff and Vicki decided to embark on the trip across the country to "capture the true status of Britain's railways today"

The journey has been made possible by donations from the public. They raised about £38,500 through an online fundraising page.

"We have a lot of love for public transport and this is just a bigger version of it [visiting all the tube stations]," said Geoff.

"The idea just grew and grew and now we are actually doing it."

He said they were stopping at every station but not always getting off.

If they got off the train at each station it would probably tell them more than 10 months, they added.

The couple were due to explore the Norfolk and Suffolk train lines on Sunday before heading back to London. So far they have visited about 850 stations.

Shippea Hill station is perfect for people who love the great outdoors

The couple have been documenting their challenge on their Twitter and Facebook pages.

Shippea Hill received a boost in December when former Great British Bake Off finalist Ian Cumming offered mince pies to anyone who disembarked there and attracted 16 people to the station.