Friday 20th August 2021 and I'm on Inside Track's 'Western Flyer' 4 day break in Bristol. An 06:47 departure from Wilmslow on a Transport for Wales class 175 DMU gets me to Newport in South Wales to connect with a GWR 'Castle' set (an HST with fewer coaches) to the lovely Bristol Temple Meads station; my first time through the Severn Tunnel!
The GWR 'Castle' arrives at Temple Meads
First port of call is Bristol Docks, to see Brunel's 'Great Britain'. That's Nigel of our group strolling past.
The ship is in a dry dock with a glass screen at water level with water running over it. So one can can go underneath to view the hull.
Brunel's propeller design was amazingly efficient. Not much less so than today's propellers.
A view forward from the stern
The engine is an inverted V4 'simple' (i.e. non compound) steam unit with condensing, and reduction drive. This is a replica engine made of lightweight parts (to reduce stress on the hull) and driven by an electric motor.
She's a handsome vessel! What a genius Brunel was. The Great Western Railway, the Clifton Suspension Bridge across the Avon Gorge, Bristol docks, and much, much more all from his fertile mind.
That's supposed to be a Unicorn (though I can't see Brunel being stupid enough to vote Brexit!) but it has temporarily lost its horn. How appropriate!
Next on the agenda was a Bristol Harbour tour on this. Complete with a bar! It is an Inside Track holiday after all!
Our Skipper on the left, Dean, our coach driver, on the right enjoying a Coke!
Stephen, our tour guide, enjoys a pint from the 'bar' (the bar is that blue bucket containing tins, bottles, and ice).
Dockside cranes
On the way back to the hotel Stephen suggested a train ride to Avonmouth, so we were dropped off at Temple Meads for the trip along the Avon, and at Avonmouth Dean and his coach met us and took us to our hotel, the Hilton Double Tree at Aztec West, Bristol.
Next day was wet! Our coach at Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley, in the rain.
The rain continued as we proceeded to Coleford in the Forest of Dean to ride on the Perrygrove Railway. The loco is an Exmoor, seen from our train as it runs-round at the top terminus of the line.
After this, the coach took us to Norchard for a complete end-to-end ride on the Dean Forest railway.
Sunday dawned sunny! First stop was Warmley Signal Box on the former Bath to Bristol railway, now a cycle track. More white levers here than in my box at Consall.
A former signalman who worked this box before it closed in the '60s gave us a most interesting talk on his time here.
There used to be level crossing gates here, with no traffic lights. Now there is a pedestrian crossing with lights for the cyclists to use,
Here we are just down the road from Warmley at the Avon Valley railway
My fellow CVR volunteers will recognise this Polish tank loco at the Avon Valley railway
Further south, beyond Bath, we find ourselves on the trackbed of one of the most loved 'Beeching cut' railways, the Somerset & Dorset, at Midsomer Norton. But this is no 9F!
Midsomer Norton 'box. The S&D ran from Bath Green Park to Bournemouth West over the Mendips and was always a thorn in the side of the mighty GWR. When it came under BR Western Region control, Swindon got their revenge; they cut services so it became an obvious Beeching target.
Its most famous train was the Pines Express between Manchester and Bournemouth, a train that continued beyond Bath on the line to Bristol past Warmley 'box. All that remains today of the S&D line is a mile or so of recently restored track from here up to Chilcompton summit.
On our way to the highlight of the day, we have a brief stop in Cheddar Gorge
The highlight was the Helicopter Museum at Weston Super Mare. More specifically, a ride in this helicopter! This ride was an unexpected bonus from Inside Track, not on our schedule! Wonderful!
Lifting off and powering away from the museum
Approaching the bay at Weston. Flat Holme island in the distance, the coast of South Wales beyond that.
I got the front seat, next to the pilot, so we could talk 'flying' as I enjoyed the view!
Bristol Lulsgate airport is on top of that hill!
Back at the Helicopter Museum. We will fly a circuit through 180 degrees to land just beyond, and heading towards, the far building.
Short final
Touchdown!
On our final day (Monday) we visited Aerospace Bristol, an aviation museum on the site of the former Filton Airfield, where all the BA Concordes were built.
Concorde G-BOAF, the last to be built and the last to fly, is displayed here. Unlike at Manchester where I was a tour guide on identical Concorde G-BOAC for nearly 14 years there are no tours on AE. Some of our party wanted to know more than the sparse information on offer, so I conducted an impromptu Concorde Technical Tour underneath AE ! Some tourists not in our party tagged along and there were lots of interested questions. I enjoyed it. And more to the point, so did they!
From Filton our coach took us to Temple Meads for our journeys home. Another GWR 'Castle' (comprising two power cars and a mere three coaches) took me to Newport, and a rammed 175 took me back to Wilmslow.
What a superb few days! And in a few more days, I'm off on another Inside Track jaunt, this time to Scotland.
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