During the spate of railway closures in the 1960s, it was usual for the track to be recovered within a couple of years, leaving just a ribbon of ballast to become progressively more overgrown through the succeeding decades. However, for some reason the line from Blodwell to Nantmawr (near Oswestry) did not get a visit from the scarp man. Instead the track became engulfed with lush Welsh vegetation. Such was the extent of the growth, that when I visited the line on 2 August 1987, some sections were completely impenetrable, with full grown trees growing through the ballast between the sleepers! This is one of the more open sections near Nantmawr. In recent years the line has been cleared and reopened as the Tanat Valley Light Railway.