Dore and Totley – Hope Valley Line
Dore & Totley is the first stop out of Sheffield Station on the scenic Hope Valley Line between Sheffield and Manchester but is situated in the suburbs of the city. The stunning scenery of the Peak District National Park is not far away though and begins when the train emerges from the very long Totley Tunnel and stops at Grindleford Station.
Places of interest near Dore & Totley Station include walks through the ancient Ecclesall Woods north of the station; the Abbeydale Sports Club and Abbeydale Golf Club; and the magnificent Beauchief Abbey which dates back to the 12th Century.
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is a rather special heritage museum. Catch a glimpse of life at home and at work at a rural scythe and steelworks dating back to the 18th century. Abbeydale Works was once a producer of agricultural tools and the largest water-powered industrial site on the River Sheaf. It is now a group of Grade I and Grade II listed buildings and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
See the Manager’s House and Worker’s Cottage, waterwheels, workshops, tilt hammers, a grinding hull, steam engine and the last complete surviving crucible steel furnace in the UK!
Train services at Dore & Totley Station
Dore & Totley is a busy commuter station in the morning and evening peak periods. In addition to the hourly Hope Valley Line stopping train service provided by Northern Trains, some trains operated by TransPennine Express also call at the station in the early morning and evening.
Some examples of Off-Peak Day Return fares are £3.40 to Sheffield and £19.50 to Manchester.
Passenger facilities at Dore & Totley Station
There is just one platform at Dore & Totley which is used by trains running in both directions, i.e. towards Sheffield and towards Manchester. There is level step-free access for wheelchairs onto the platform from the car park.
Although the original station building still stands, it is now a restaurant and the station is not staffed. Passengers should buy their tickets from the ticket machine which is located on the platform under the canopy. The canopy provides protection for passengers from bad weather and there is also a small waiting shelter.
There are securing hoops for bicycles on the platform and the nearest bus stops are located on the main road.
There are frequent buses to/from the centre of Sheffield. Noteworthy is the TM Travel Service 218 which stops outside the station and connects Sheffield with the impressive Chatsworth House Estate and Bakewell in the Peak District National Park seven days a week.
Network Rail have a major investment project in hand to improve the railway tracks at Dore Junction and to provide a second platform at Dore & Totley Station for use by Manchester-bound passengers. It is hoped that this work will commence in 2021 and be completed in 2023. It will make a considerable difference to the station.
Friends of Dore & Totley Station
There is an active station friends group at the station who campaign hard to get better train services and passenger facilities for the station. They have established good working relationships with all the railway companies and local stakeholders interested in the development of the station and have achieved much in recent years.
The group initiated the project to get a canopy installed over the platform to protect waiting passengers from bad weather. With the help of several rail industry partners this was installed in 2019 by Northern Trains and the opening ceremony was performed by the Mayor of Sheffield City Region.
Around the station the group have put up information boards for visitors and garden planters on the platform. A park bench with a large garden planter attached was donated to the Friends by Abbeydale Rotary Club and makes a comfortable place to sit and wait for your train.
If you are feeling energetic and like moorland scenery plus a bit of railway history then look out for the “Over & Under Walk” organised occasionally by the Friends Group.
From the starting point at the station, the walk takes you up onto the Peak District moors where you follow the line of ventilation shafts for the mighty Totley Tunnel a long way beneath your feet. Then descending from the moors to Grindleford Station, a well deserved cuppa can be enjoyed at the station cafe whilst you wait for the train to take you back to Dore & Totley with a significant part of your journey time being taken up in the darkness of the tunnel.
More information about the group can be found at: www.fodats.net and www.facebook.com/groups/FoDaTS
