Work is under way to deliver an improved walking and cycling route to a popular heritage railway line running south of Midsomer Norton from one of the neighbouring villages.

The Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust has been running heritage services since 1996 on a small section of track running towards the nearby village of Chilcompton.

Chilcompton residents wishing to reach Midsomer Norton on foot currently have to navigate steep steps up from Fry’s Well onto the former trackbed and then follow a narrow public right up to Tunnel Lane before continuing further north into the town.

But this journey could get much easier by Christmas after Greenways and Cycle Routes began work on a new, wider ‘greenway’ which could eventually run all the way from the village to the heritage railway line.

The first phase of what has been dubbed the ‘Chilcompton and Norton Radstock Greenway’ will cover 800 metres, running between Fry’s Well and Tunnel Lane and largely following the route of the existing public right of way.

Work officially got under way in early-September, with details being published on laminated flyers posted near the Chilcompton end of the route.

A spokesperson for Greenways and Cycle Routes said: “The path will run at a high level along the boundary of the old railway as far as possible.

“At the Fry’s Well end, the existing very steep steps will be replaced with a much gentler staircase, incorporating a wheeling ramp for bicycles.

“The existing popular walk along the trackbed of the old railway will remain open throughout the work, except for just one or two days during construction of the Fry’s Well steps.

“Once this section of path is in place our attention will turn to opening a second phase from Tunnel Lane through to join the existing path beside the Somerset and Dorset Railway through to Midsomer Norton.

“In the meantime, cyclists can continue to join Tunnel Lane and Silver Street to join the existing railway path to Radstock.”

Further details about the scheme can be found by visiting www.greenwaysandcycleroutes.org.

Greenways and Cycle Route has been instrumental in delivering numerous active travel projects across Somerset, including new sections of the Strawberry Line (which was recently voted the UK’s favourite path).

The Chilcompton and Norton Radstock Greenway, like the Strawberry Line, will eventually form part of the wider Somerset Circle, which once completed would provide a 76-mile traffic-free circuit which would link the north Somerset coast (including Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon), Bristol, Bath, the Mendip Hills and Shepton Mallet.

The Chilcompton section will eventually join up with the Windsor Hill Greenway (which runs along the former railway line north of Shepton Mallet) and the Colliers Way which runs through to Radstock and on towards Bath (with a spur running off towards Frome).

The Railway Trust has been active on the station site since March 1996 when the Somerset & Dorset Trackbed Trust signed a lease to start restoration of the station building and goods shed.