Editing Churchdown (section)

== Transport and travel ==
Churchdown has long benefited from a convenient location along routes between larger settlements.  The [[Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad]]<ref>The Gloucester & Cheltenham Railway and the Leckhampton Quarry Tramroads.  Locomotion Papers Number Forty-Three.  D. E. Bick, Oakwood Press, 1968.</ref> brought prosperity to the northern (St John's) end of the village. This was succeeded by a road between Cheltenham and Gloucester along a similar route (called Cheltenham Road East as it traverses Churchdown), which was once part of the main trunk road from [[London]] to [[Fishguard]].  This road now provides access to Cheltenham and Gloucester, and also to the [[M5 motorway|M5]] via the ''Golden Valley Bypass'' section of the [[A40 road|A40]].  There are some [[Cycling infrastructure|Segregated Bicycle Paths]] but there are sections which do not connect with each other and have poor design.

=== Rail ===
From 1874 until 1964 Churchdown was served by a [[Churchdown railway station]] on the main line between [[Birmingham]] and [[Bristol]]. There are some remains of the station itself next to what is now Station Close, but only through rail traffic continues today on the [[Cross Country Route]] for example.
[[File:Travelling from Gloucester to Cheltenham - geograph.org.uk - 898248.jpg|thumb|Travelling by train from [[Gloucester railway station|Gloucester]] to [[Cheltenham Spa railway station|Cheltenham Spa]] and not calling at the currently closed [[Churchdown railway station]].]]

=== Air ===
Churchdown is adjacent to [[Gloucestershire Airport]], still known locally as ''Staverton''. Light aircraft are a regular feature in the skies above the village, and occasionally military aircraft past and present. For the last ten years, the airport is regularly used as a helicopter training base for police and military purposes.

===Bus===
Local bus services are operated by [[Stagecoach West]]. Three services pass through Churchdown: The 94 between Cheltenham and Gloucester passes through on Cheltenham Road east, every 10 minutes. There are also the 97/98 routes, which also run between Cheltenham and Gloucester, but take a different, longer route between the two towns. In the village, the 97 runs via Parton Road and the 98 via Pirton Lane.