Читать книгу Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain - Julian Holland - Страница 22

The first section of Brunel’s broad-gauge Bristol & Exeter Railway opened from Bristol to Taunton in 1842 and until the opening of the cut-off line through Castle Cary and Langport in 1906 was the only railway route between London (Paddington) and the southwest. The original route via Bristol was nicknamed the ‘Great Way Round’ (using the initials of the Great Western Railway) that had taken over the B&ER in 1876. Broad-gauge trains ceased to run in 1892 when the whole route was converted to standard gauge.

Today’s trains head eastward out of Taunton’s busy main-line station and soon pass Cogload Junction, where there is a flyover for trains to and from the Castle Cary line. The first intermediate station on this trip is at Bridgwater and from here the main line heads north in a straight line for 13 miles across the Somerset Levels through Highbridge & Burnham station to Uphill Junction. Here, local stopping trains diverge to take the longer single-track loop line via the resort of Weston-super-Mare before rejoining the main line at Worle Junction. They then head inland through a gap in the Mendip Hills through Worle, Yatton, Nailsea & Backwell and Parson Street stations before ending their journey at the imposing overall-roofed 13-platform Bristol Temple Meads station. Brunel’s original train shed, once the terminus of his broad-gauge line from Paddington, still survives and is currently used as a car park. A good bus service connects the station with Bristol’s many attractions including the new city-centre shopping mall, historic docks, zoo and Clifton Gorge with its magnificent suspension bridge.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Bristol Zoo; Clifton Suspension Bridge; boat trips; ‘SS Great Britain’; Bristol Harbour Railway; Cabot Tower; Bristol Cathedral; St Nicholas Church Museum; Bristol Harbour Festival (end July/early August); International Balloon Festival (August); Industrial Museum; Museum & Art Gallery; Banksy street art; 17th-century Llandoger Trow pub; jazz and blues at the 18th-century The Old Duke pub

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

3 per hour (Mon-Sat)

2 per hour (Sun)

45 MILES 32 MINUTES (DIRECT) / 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

Overlooked by the colourful terraced house of Clifton, Brunel’s restored ‘SS Great Britain’ is a major tourist attraction in Bristol.