Wales's quietest railway station to get a visitor book

Now Sugar Loaf Halt in Powys is getting a visitor's book, in the hope of capturing some love for the little station.

Seeing only 150 passengers a year for the past half decade, the book could take 25 years to fill its 3,500 entries.

By contrast, Arriva Trains Wales, which manages the station, says Cardiff Central, the busiest station in Wales, would see the book fill up in just a morning if all passengers were to sign it.

Geraint Morgan, community relations manager for Arriva Trains Wales, said: “We were approached by Peter Joyce our station adopter who asked if we’d consider placing a visitor’s book at the station.

"Initially, due to the harsh weather, the station can be exposed so we were unsure whether the book would last very long.

"However, we have found a means of protecting the book and look forward to visitor’s leaving comments about their visit. It's a great little station and we're proud to provided services there."

Sugar Loaf Halt was built in 1868 to accommodate a small number of railway workers' cottages, taking their children to school in Llanwrtyd. The station is cut into the rock and accessibly from a gravel path off the A483.

It closed in 1965 but reopened in 1984 primarily for walkers and cyclists heading to the nearby Sugar Loaf Hill, which is separate to the more famous Sugar Loaf Mountain in Monmouthshire.

As well as being Wales' least used station, it is also the fourth least used in the UK.

Sugar Loaf Halt features in the book Tiny Stations by Dixe Wills, who also worked with Paul Merton on his Channel 4 series Secret Stations last year, which saw the actor and comedian visit a number of small request stop stations around the UK including some on the Heart of Wales Line and in Carmarthenshire.