Godalming railway station
Encyclopedia
Godalming railway station is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line
Portsmouth Direct Line
The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...

. The station, which opened in 1859 to replace one on a different site of the town, is situated at the edge of the town of Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...

. The current typical off-peak service is two trains per hour in each direction. The original station site, located to the north of the River Wey
River Wey
The River Wey in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is a tributary of the River Thames with two separate branches which join at Tilford. The source of the north branch is at Alton, Hampshire and of the south branch at both Blackdown south of Haslemere, and also close to Gibbet Hill, near Hindhead...

, was closed to passengers on completion of the through line from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

. The spur on which the old station lay was retained as a goods yard until 1969. The site at is now a residential development, the road being called appropriately Old Station Way.

The staff at Godalming have worked hard over the past few years to maintain the station. In 2004 they won Best Miscellaneous Building in the Godalming in Bloom 2004 Competition, in 2005 they won Best Small Station in the South West Trains Station Pride Awards and received a Highly Commended in the National Rail Awards.

In February 2006 Godalming station was renamed "Shere" for three days while filming took place for The Holiday
The Holiday
The Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. Distributed by Columbia Pictures and Universal Studios, it stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, who temporarily exchange homes to...

, a movie starring Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...

, Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...

, Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...

 and Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...

. It was directed by Nancy Meyers
Nancy Meyers
Nancy Jane Meyers is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. She is the writer, producer and director of several big-screen successes, including The Parent Trap , Something's Gotta Give , The Holiday , and It's Complicated...

 and released in December 2006.

In July 2006 the station won the Special Award in the Godalming in Bloom 2006 competition, not only for their display of flowers, but also for the welcoming environment they have created.

In August 2006 they won Best Small Station in the 2006 South West Trains Station Pride Awards.

It also provides a vital link to students attending Godalming College, with a couple of hundred students using the station on weekdays, coming from the south and north. During the late afternoon, around 16:30, when most of the college is leaving, the station is remarkably busy for what is usually a quiet station in the day, exclusing rush hour times.

External links

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