WALKERS and cyclists could soon be passing through a 1,080m-long disused rail tunnel at Tidenham as part of a ‘Wander Wye’ path bid to link Tintern to Chepstow.

Detailed plans have been unveiled to make a 3.4km section of the former ‘Wye Valley Greenway’ open for public use from Tidenham’s National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) to the Forestry Commission tracks at Tintern Quarry.

If approved, the path will run along the former Wye Valley Railway through the 143-year-old Tidenham Tunnel, which was still being used by trains up to 1981 to serve the nearby quarry.

It was the last section of the 15-mile Monmouth to Chepstow line to be closed after passenger and then goods trains were withdrawn from the line in 1959 and 1964 respectively.

NDAC owner Darren Bryce, who is one of the main people behind the scheme, said: “The proposed path will create a significant extension to the visitor experience based on NDAC and provide a local resource for walking and cycling.

“The works proposed will be low key in nature with a view to making a stone dust path similar to the existing trails in the Forest of Dean.

“The works will be carefully carried out under the supervision of the project’s ecologist and bat specialist so that the Wye Valley Greenway can become a valued component of the outstanding landscape and woodlands in this area.

“Once completed, the NDAC will manage and maintain the works, including the section through the long Tidenham Tunnel, and will look to an eventual second stage through to Sedbury and the centre of Chepstow.

Tidenham Tunnel is the centrepiece of the Wye Valley Greenway. It provides for a direct, almost level and traffic free route in an otherwise very hilly and daunting area.”

A planning application to develop the path is being submitted to Forest planners, with the rails and sleepers in the tunnel due to be lifted this summer and protected habitats for resident bats provided.

As part of the scheme, the tunnel will be locked at night, and there will be daily safety checks on its condition.

While the tunnel was last used in 1981, stone trains continued to serve Dayhouse Quarry - today’s NDAC – until 1992.

As well, as the tunnel and NDAC, path users will be able to take in Bishton Lane Bridge and Netherhope Arch, Tintern Quarry, Netherhope Halt and the earlier Tidenham Station.

National cycling charity Sustrans earmarked funding to construct a traffic free route from Sedbury to Tintern Station onto Brockweir in 2010, but the scheme had to be dropped because of planning timescale issues.

The new scheme’s backers hope to be able to extend the initial route to Sedbury and Chepstow, via a new direct crossing of the Wye.