I dropped all my colouring pencils. I'm still missing one. Where did the Redland?…read more The town of Redland is an entertaining little station for a tiny little part of Bristol. When I was traveling extensively around England when I came down to the Southwest in the Bristol area this is one of the stations which I visited a few times. Just 3 miles from Bristol Temple Meads is this lovely little station with a lovely little old building in a nice little Suburban neighborhood. It's really cute for sure.

Small and quaint, this serves just one track, with trains coming in from Montpelier and Clifton…read moreDown. With no attendants, it feels like a little village station in the middle of nowhere. The lack of travellers contributes to the feeling too, with school kids seeming to make the up the majority of the footfall. A lot of the time all you've got is the birds for company. It's on the Severn Beach line, and you can get connections to the rest of the network at Temple Meads which is only a ten minutes away if you take the train from here. Unfortunately this line has annoyingly infrequent trains (twice an hour, if that). However, it is very pretty, with views of Avonmouth and various historic parts of the Bristol along the way. As I said, it's unstaffed and amenities are pretty thin on the ground. There is no ticket office, so you'll have to buy on the train (and can do so without the worry of a penalty fare). There isn't anything really, in fact, apart from a timetables board and some cycle racks. It would be a bit much to ask anything more of such a small station anyway.

Not to be confused with Montperrier, which is where they drink fizzy expensive water on a mountain…read more Montpelier is a little suburb of Bristol and it has a nice little railway station that fits into the suburbs perfectly. I visited most of the stations in the Bristol area and surrounding countryside when I was doing my extensive traveling here and because I love visiting Rail stations. It's a cute example of a little British station with an amazing urban flair. This tiny little station is especially amazing because of its little Station House on the only platform which is covered in murals and graffiti and that makes it extremely unusual and notable and honestly gives it so much flavour that it's probably one of my favourites in the country.

This is such a fun dinky little train station to use. It's not that easy to find and, once there,…read moreit feels very unlikely that a train will ever arrive! It's usually very quiet, and there's no ticket machine or information booth, or anything to help you at all, bar a small notice advertising potential changes to the timetable - but not the current timetable! It's all very surreal: just one track serving both directions. Make sure you aim for a specific train when using this line; check on the First Great Western website for the Temple Meads-Severn Beach line. With two trains an hour in each direction, it really is a very bad idea to turn up and hope for the best! And be warned: there is no service at all on Sundays! You pay the fare (£2 single for the whole line) once you're on the train. When it's really busy, it's unlikely the conductor will get round everyone with the ancient little ticket machine, so, though I hate to say it so baldly, you can often ride this train for nothing. At rush hour times, morning and evening, quite a few people use this line for commuting around Bristol and I would recommend leaving it to them at those times of day.

The East cremate their dead, whereas the Westbury…read more Westbury is kind of a haunting town on the Plains and I've always liked it here, and it's a perfect little English town which essentially is quintessential Southwestern rural England. It has its own little train station, yet it's a major hub for the whole nation, and I've only been here once but I definitely liked it. It is a major junction for Wiltshire though and has direct connections to Reading Taunton Penzance London-Paddington Cardiff Portsmouth Swindon Bristol (Temple Meads) Weymouth and London-Waterloo. It also has an amazing Station Cafe and could only score 5 stars.

To-day, Westbury is a moderately important junction station, where the Bristol-Southampton and…read moreBristol-Weymouth services cross the West of England main line from Paddington to Plymouth. It's all a far cry from former times: the station was opened in 1848, on a line from Chippenham, with services being extended to Warminster in 1851, Weymouth and Bath in 1857 and Salisbury in 1856. It continued as a country junction until 1900, when it was rebuilt in its present form as the first part of the new through route from London to Plymouth via Castle Cary. Through services began in 1906, and so began Westbury's golden age as a major junction station. It didn't last long: in 1933, a bypass line was built around the station to the south, for non-stop London-Plymouth expresses. The introduction of High Speed Trains in 1980s brought more decline, as the London-Paignton trains were routed via Bristol, the engine depot closed, staffing at the station was reduced, and the old platform one was closed. To-day, Westbury is expanding rapidly as a dormitory town for Bath and Bristol, and commuter traffic is increasing as a result, to some 300,000 passengers a year. There is an intermittent main-line service to London and Taunton, but the main services are the half-hourly Bristol-Portsmouth trains, and the two-hourly Weymouth service. Additional local services to Bristol are laid on at rush hour, and there are three direct trains a day to London via Salisbury. It can all seem quite busy again at certain times of the day. Station facilities remain basic, however, even if the fine buildings from 1900 have survived: but a new buffet and new toilets are being built, and there is a small waiting room, though ticket office hours remain limited. Most trains use the island platform (2 and 3), although platform 1 remains open for some services. The station has recently been made accessible for wheelchair users and other passengers with disabilities.

Lots to do down there really good place for the family only thing that let's it down is the priceread more

Obviously it's seen better days, and there are plans afoot to improve it as I write, but still not…read moreto be missed if you're visiting Weston! The best thing about it is the fact that there are excellent views back over the town and coastline. There's an amusement arcade, basic cafe and ice cream kiosk at the far end, and there's also a little colourful 'train' for children (or, indeed, anyone) which trundles along the full length in season. Apparently (but I don't know why) this pier was chosen this year (2011) as the National Piers Society Pier of the Year! It also won an outstanding achievement award last year - the only pier to win this award twice!

As the name implies, this serves the well-known Somerset holiday resort of Weston-super-Mare…read more The station itself is on a loop off the main Bristol-Taunton-Exeter main line, thanks to the backward nature of its residents in the 1840s, who resisted proposals for the route of the original main line to run closer to the town. Instead, on 14 June 1841, Weston was connected to the main line by a branch, just over a mile long, and worked initially by horse-drawn carriages. Horse traction remained until 1851, by which time the town had begun to regret being on the end of a branch. This was rectified in 1884 with the construction of the present loop and a handsome station built in the local stone, with large glass canopies over two through platforms and a bay platform. A separate station for summer excursion trains was built just to the north, but closed in 1964. The loop line was singled in 1972, which has since become something of a bottleneck. The station now has a regular service of trains from Weston to Bristol Parkway and from Taunton to Cardiff, providing a half-hourly service to Bristol and an hourly service south to Taunton. This is supplemented by a handful of trains to and from London, and a small number of Cross-Country trains from Plymouth or Paignton to Newcastle. Cross-Country would like to operate more services to Weston, but the timetable is constrained by the single track. The station buffet has been turned into a pub, named 'Off the Rails', known for its changing selection of real ales and cider, and it also does food. There are entrances both to the station approach and the platform, so it's easy to pop in for a pint while you are waiting! The station has level access throughout, a taxi rank, cycle storage and a large car park. Regular buses call here for other parts of the town and surrounding villages: details on http://www.travelinesw.com .

The staff are always helpful, which is painfully necessary when you have a pushchair, need to cross…read morethe bridge to the second platform and there are stairs and no lift. The station is clean and has a decent sized waiting room. Both platforms are covered so no waiting in the rain.

This is the pub Start the Bus wishes it was! But never will be because it is run by a greedy,…read morecooperate, money grabbing chain of pubs and bars that squeezes every single penny out of the customer in return for a manufactured sense of an original experience. The Mother's Ruin on the other hand is that brilliant, special night out that you can only have at this pub! They have about three bands play here a week and entry is pretty much always free! None of this £3 here or there, which you know is only going towards paying the bouncer. The drinks are fantastically cheap, like £2 a pint cheap, and they clearly care about good music. The place is understated and perfectly decorated with basically nothing but pictures of the musicians they love. It's interestingly laid out as well over two or three floors with the stage on the top floor, but you can still hear the band playing throughout the whole pub. The staff are lovely and friendly and this is a proper music pub for people who are sick of being ripped off to hear great live music.

They were out of ale (the pump spluttered and died when trying to pour me a pint) and cider (the…read morelast 2 customers served had apparently emptied the barrel prior to my arrival). I settled for a bottled Cider, which was a rather nice organic offering from Westons. Not sure quite what this pub wants to be, but also not quite sure what to think of it (beyond the running out of my key beverages, which is why I have to give it 2). It is shabby, but not in a bad way in my opinion. I do like the name too!

Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the…read moreSevern Estuary. It was described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in 2001. The pier was built during the 1860s to attract tourists and provide a ferry port for rail passengers to South Wales. The pier is 312 m (1,024 ft) long and consists of eight spans supported by steel rails covered by wooden decking, with a pavilion on the pier head. The pier opened in 1869 and served as an embarkation point for paddle steamer excursions for almost 100 years. Two of the spans collapsed during stress testing in 1970 and demolition was proposed, but local fund raising and heritage grants allowed the pier to be dismantled for restoration and reassembled. It reopened in 1989, and ten years later was awarded the Pier of the Year from the National Piers Society, and a Civic Trust Award. The pier now offers a landing stage for steamers and is a popular attraction for tourists and anglers.

Awesome! Great views of Wales any time of the year, through wind, rain and shine. Not to mention…read morethe Edwardian town of Clevedon with its history and charm.

When a friend of mine came down for the weekend from London I wanted to make sure I gave him the…read morebest Bristol experience I could. I wanted to show him the best restaurants, shops, bars and sights. Then I realised, I didn't actually KNOW that much about the city. Easiest way to get to Corn Street? Sure! Good place for a coffee and a chinwag? No problem! Where did Bristol's name come from? Ooh... erm? So as soon as he stepped off the 10:14 from Paddington we caught the City Sightseeing Bus and were prepared to learn anything and everything about my favourite city. The round tour, providing you don't make any stops, lasts around an hour and costs just £10 for a 24 hour ticket. But with over 20 scheduled stops, if you have time it's definitely worth making the most of your money and jumping off and on when it takes your fancy. Some of my highlights of the journey are the stunning views of Clifton Bridge, the local tour guide giving your fun facts along the way and a surprise ride past the Aardman studios. It's well worth the money - much cheaper than taxis for the day - and really interesting, even for locals. And just so you know Bristol = Bridg Stow = Bridge Assembly... Place where people assemble by bridge. I think?

Has it ever occurred to you that when you're on a city break, you make every effort to see every…read morecorner of your chosen destination, but in your home city, there are loads of tourist attractions you've been ignoring for years? I'd like to pretend that this was my motivation when I compulsively jumped on City Sightseeing tour bus a few years back, but the truth is that we'd just walked out of Temple Meads still feeling a tad pissed after a hard night out in Cardiff and thought it would be a novel way to get to a pub in Clifton. Having said that, they offer cheap singles so why not go to your destination on an open top bus with a crap commentary than growing suicidal and being ripped off on the First Bus equivalent? They also do a £10 hop-on, hop-off pass that's valid for 24 hours. It stops at such notable places as @Bristol, the SS Great Britain and Park Street, offering up such juicy information as exactly how many days of the year cars are allowed to park on the Downs (I'm afraid I can't remember the exact answer). We live in a beautiful and interesting city, so it's time you went and explored it in more detail!