This project is to create an engaging, educational, and child-friendly illustrated timeline of the Mid Hants Railway affectionately known as the Watercress Line. HAT is contributing £500 to the project cost. Designed in the popular Horrible Histories style, this resource will bring the dramatic, humorous, and often surprising past of the railway to life for younger audiences to be displayed on the railway working with a Hampshire based community illustrator specialising in community engagement, the line will also work with a specialist costumed interpreter to bring the history and stories of the railway to life using archives and collections to create a engaging music video in the horrible histories style to bring the railways stories, archives and collections to a new audience
Much of the railway’s story remains inaccessible or unappealing to younger generations due to overly formal or text-heavy interpretation for adults. By creating a timeline and accompanying archive-based education and learning resources such as a chronological timeline board game and music film filled with cartoons, quirky facts, jokes, and dramatic storytelling, the aim is to spark curiosity and historical understanding in children aged 7–12. The Horrible Histories format has been proven to captivate this demographic by making history feel rebellious, funny, and relatable.
The Mid Hants Railway, known as the Watercress Line, is a heritage railway operated and maintained primarily by volunteers, dedicated to preserving Hampshire’s rich railway history. Their ten-mile line runs between Alresford and Alton, serving as both a living museum and a community heritage site.
Core objectives are to conserve and restore historical railway infrastructure and rolling stock, and to educate the public about Hampshire’s industrial and social history through immersive experiences. The railway was once vital in transporting watercress from the local area to London markets—hence our name—and the Heritage railway remains committed to sharing this unique aspect of local heritage.