River Cary & Railway
The tour begins at the mini roundabout, where North Street meets Behind Berry. As you look down the hill enter the small grass area via the gate.
From here there is a beautiful view of the valley with the River Cary gently flowing at the bottom. The viaduct crosses the river, in spectacular fashion – with five arches, each with a 50-foot span. This was built to allow the Castle Cary to Taunton railway line to go through Somerton, therefore reducing the length of the route from Paddington to Plymouth by 21 miles. A bill for the new main line of the Great Western Railway was authorised in 1898, and the first passenger traffic commenced on 1st July 1906.
To the left of the viaduct are the fisheries. These were opened in 1989, and provide the opportunity for fishing for brown and rainbow trout.
If you follow the line of the river to the right, there is a small bridge, over which runs the B3151. This bridge was strengthened and straightened in 1998 to cope with the increased amount of traffic. Behind this bridge is a junction leading to Castle Cary, it was at this point that the old Toll House used to stand. In fact this site has history dating back even further. This is supposedly where executions from the jail in the town took place many years ago.