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The Age of Steam (July Itinerary) - 4 Day Extended Tour - (Tour No. STEM01) |
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DAY ONE - WEDNESDAY Then to Didcot which is holding a Steam Day, we'll enjoy the smell, sound and smoke of the steam engines and see the activities of a steam locomotive depot, including engines being coaled, watered and maybe turned on the turntable. There will the opportunity to ride on the 1930's trains during our visit. http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
Once in Birmingham we'll visit the The Tyseley Collection of Locomotives
- comprises three GWR Castle class engines, an LMS Jubilee, GWR Hall,
three GWR pannier tanks, a range of industrial engines and several visiting
locos. www.vintagetrains.co.uk/brm.htm This afternoon we travel back to the birth place of the industrial revolution and the modern economy. Highlights here will not only include the famed iron bridge itself but Blists Hill, a Victorian town, where you can soak up the atmosphere of this historic ironworking town. If time, there'll also be a visit to the Coalport China Museum and ending our day up in Coalbrookdale at the museum of iron and the original owner's great houses. This afternoon our great experience is travelling on the Severn Valley
Railway from Bridgenorth, Shropshire's gem of a market town. The Seven
Valley Railway recreates for you an age when people had time to stop
and look. Each of its six stations is an architectural delight surrounded
by carefully tended gardens. From carriage window you'll glimpse the
ancient Wyre Valley Forest, pass the picturesque riverside town of Bewdley
with its quayside and Georgian houses, pass the timeless village of
Arley to the terminus at Kidderminster. We continue our journey into the Cotswold's county of Gloucester and to the Gloucestershire Steam railway and the last of our steam train rides (this subject to timetables. Alternatively, we'll ride the Forest of Dean steam train). This 13 mile round trip provides a superb way of seeing the Cotswolds Hills. It also takes you through one of the longest tunnels on a preserved railway - the Greet Tunnel, 693 yards long! We'll drive the short distance to Swindon, and our final tour highlight - 'STEAM', the Museum of the Great Western Railway. Set in a restored Grade II listed building parts of which date back to the 1840s, this brand new museum celebrates the story of the men and women who worked on the GWR for seven generations. When the GWR Works closed on 27th March 1986 it was the end of an era; an era that lasted 143 years and made Swindon one of the most important industrial towns in the world. For over a decade, machines stood idle, tools lay undisturbed. Now transformed into a state of the art multi-million pound museum with famous locomotives, real rolling stock and superb displays of the stories of the people who made 'God's Wonderful Railway'. http://www.swindonweb.com/steam Long-suffering partners may enjoy the alternative highlight of the factory shopping outlets where well-known brand fashions are available at wonderfully inexpensive prices. Of course, having put up with trains for a few days , you'll deserve some serious shopping! We arrive back into London by approximately 18.00. This has been four
days to remember with unforgettable experiences for all. |
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We'll
continue our drive north through Oxford, 'city of the Dreaming Spires'
to Stratford upon Avon.
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