Couple spent 20 years making railway station garden

A couple who have spent 20 years building a community garden at their local railway station have said they hope it will be named as the Best in Britain.

Hindley Station in Wigan has been nominated in an annual "World Cup" of stations competition run by train operating companies.

Sheila and Sandy Davidson have been planting trees, flowers and shrubs alongside the platforms for two decades.

"We just came down almost 20 years ago and decided to plant a few bulbs on the Manchester-bound platform," said 80-year-old Sheila from the Friends of Hindley Station. "Everybody in the area is wonderful, they all support us and we get so much help from people on social media who donate things for the garden."

Sheila added: "It's putting Hindley on the map, so to even get in the World Cup of stations is such an honour, but we really would like to win."

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operating companies, organises the competition every year, with passengers voting for the winner.

Ashington railway station in Northumberland won the award last year after passenger services returned to the town in 2024 following an absence of 60 years.

Hindley station opened in 1848 and is situated between Bolton and Wigan, with regular direct services across the north of England.

There is a disused platform and two large railway embankments, which provided room for the Friends of Hindley Station to create their community garden.

The railway line was recently electrified and work is currently under way to install two new passenger lifts at Hindley, along with a new pedestrian footbridge.

Sheila's 84-year-old husband Sandy Davidson said: "Basically, I follow my wife's simple instructions and I drive across the area to collect plants from people who donate!

"Very often, as the trains are approaching, the drivers will sound their horn and wave because we've got to know them over the years."

The couple, who have been married for 59 years, are helped by a small group of volunteers including local businesses whose employees provide their time for free.

The Friends of Hindley Station have planted fuchsia, hydrangeas, pansies, Himalayan nutmeg, sunflowers, roses and shrubs which have matured over the last 20 years.

The group also plants vegetables, including onions, in raised beds on the platforms.

Volunteers also work with the Thrive Community Interest Company to tackle social isolation by helping people with additional needs gain the confidence to travel by train.

The station's gardens also celebrate the area's industrial heritage, with a sculpture of a former coal mine which operated on the nearby Ladies Lane.

The Ladies Lane colliery in Hindley was sunk in the 1850s and coal from the mine was transported using wagons on the Lancashire & Yorkshire railway line.

The colliery employed hundreds of miners in Hindley before it closed in 1910.