Trains, Boats and Planes

Trains...

ASHTON COURT MINIATURE STEAM RAILWAY
Ashton Court Estate, Bristol, near the golf course car park. Zone A. In steam on BHMs and on some (but not all) Sundays in 2008 - see website for full timetable. Trains run from 12noon-5.15pm weather permitting, tickets 50p for one circuit of the track, £2 for five tickets. Ffi: www.bristolmodelengineers.co.uk • Great fun - sit astride a little carriage as the man hunches at the throttle of a miniature steam or diesel loco and hauls you over a few hundred yards of oversized train-set, courtesy of the enthusiasts of the Bristol Society of Model & Experimental Engineers. A delight for kids, and quite a few adults as well.

AVON VALLEY RAILWAY
Bitton Station, nr Keynsham BS30 6HD. Zone A. £5.50 adult/£4.50 over-60s/£4 ages 3-16/£15 family, all tickets provide unlimited travel on day of issue; note that prices for special events may vary. Ffi: 0117 932 7296/932 5538, www.avonvalleyrailway.org • Small and friendly local steam railway, lovingly preserved and run by enthusiasts. You get a five-mile ride along an old Midland Railway line, with lots of former mainline and industrial steam and diesel locos and rolling stock to be seen at the station. Also a busy programme of special events, including days with Thomas the Tank Engine and the annual bus rally where vintage buses, including some of those beautiful old green Bristol buses, turn up. For train times and details of special events, call the 24hr talking timetable on 0117 932 7296 or see website. This also gives details of the days - usually weekends - when the railway is also running very nice boat trips (separate fares - £4 adult/3 over-60/£2.50 child) along the Avon Valley. If you don’t fancy a ride but just want to see the trains, entrance to the station is free, though you can get a 20p souvenir platform ticket if you want.

BRISTOL HARBOUR RAILWAY
Bristol Harbour . Zone A. Fares range from 60p to £2, under-6s free. Ffi: www.bristol.gov.uk/museums • The steam trains which used to run from outside the old Industrial Museum (currently closed for turning into the new Museum of Bristol) and along the docks to the ss Great Britain will be running on various days over the summer season, only it’ll be from Brunel’s Buttery this summer while the building work is going on at the old place. Trains are due to run on: 3, 4, 5, 12, 13 & 26 May; 7, 8, 21& 22 June; 2, 3, 23, 24 & 25 Aug; 13 & 14 Sept; 25 & 26 Oct; 1 & 2 Nov and run every 40 minutes between 11am and 5pm.

DEAN FOREST RAILWAY
Norchard, nr Lydney, Glos GL15 6HD. Zone C. Usual fare for unlimited train travel on day of issue £9 adult/£8 senior/£5 child/£26 family, prices may vary for special events. Ffi: 01594 843423 (24hr info line), www.deanforestrailway.co.uk • Magical little preserved steam railway in the middle of the Forest of Dean - well worth combining with a walk/cycle in the forest. Restored line running from its HQ at Norchard to Lydney Junction - get out at the end and have a wander round Lydney if you like. There are quite a few working engines (and a massive-looking graveyard of locos and rolling stock undergoing restoration). Excellent souvenir shop and museum. Phone or check website for timetable, fares and details of its lively diary of events for kids and other special days.

EAST SOMERSET RAILWAY
Cranmore Station, nr Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 4QP. Zone B. Day Rover tickets £6.50 adult/£5.50 senior/£4.50 ages 3-16/£19 family, note that fares are higher for certain special events, including Thomas the Tank Engine Days. Ffi and timetable details: 01749 880417, www.eastsomersetrailway.com • It used to be called the "Strawberry Line" - two-and-a-half miles (five-mile round trip) through some pleasant Mendip scenery, with some steep gradients. Also has loco shed, museum, shop, restaurant, model shop, play area and pets corner. Call or see website for ticket prices and timetable, and details of special summer events. One of the most popular attractions are the "driver for a fiver" days where overgrown boys of all sizes get to drive a steam loco, although it's not for very far.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE WARWICKSHIRE RAILWAY
Toddington, Glos GL54 5DT. Zone D. Full round trip tickets £10 adult/£8.50 senior/£6 ages 5-15/family £27. Ffi and timetable details: 01242 621405, www.gwsr.com • Ten miles of steam railway line with three stations, the main one at Toddington, plus smaller stations at Winchcombe and Cheltenham Racecourse. Scheduled trips hauled by steam and diesel locos, and a very popular ‘Cotswold Festival of Steam’ in late May and early June. There’s also a (separate) narrow-gauge railway next to Toddington station running services at peak times in the season.

PAST TIME RAIL
Ffi: 01543 411971, www.past-timerail.co.uk • Firm running a range of specialist excursions around the country throughout the year. Many go from or stop at Bristol and Bath's stations, and many are steam-hauled. Lots of West Country excursions, including the popular 'Eden Flyer', several trips to the Lost Gardens of Heligan and, on most Saturdays and/or Sundays in July and August, the hugely popular steam-hauled Torbay Express, from Bristol to the English Riviera. There isn't enough room here to rave about how much you ought to take the Torbay Express; it's a fabulous experience that feels like spending a day back in some 1930s or 50s never-never land of lost innocence and seaside holidays. These outings are not especially cheap - an adult ticket for the Torbay Express is £55 this year - so maybe you can do it as a special birthday treat or something. Trips usually feature the option to travel 'Premier Dining Class' where you get very well fed while you watch the countryside go by.

PATHFINDER TOURS
Zone A. Ffi: 01453 835414/834477, www.pathfindertours.co.uk • See above. Gloucestershire-based firm who organise tours and excursions by rail every year. These range from three- or four-day scenic breaks in the Scottish Highlands to popular trips to Cornwall's Eden Project and other day-trips, many of them to West Country destinations from Bristol's Parkway and/or Temple Meads, and some of them steam-hauled. Phone or check website for full details of tours.

THE RAILWAY TOURING COMPANY
Zone A. Ffi: 01553 661500, www.railwaytouring.co.uk • See above again... Another firm offering steam-hauled rail excursions all over the UK. Often runs the popular 'Devonian' trip from Paddington to Plymouth and back, stopping at Bristol. Phone or see website for brochure.

STEAM: MUSEUM OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY
Kemble Drive , Great Western Way, Swindon SN2 2TA. Zone D. Open daily 10am-5pm, admission £6 adult/£4 senior, student, ages 5-16/£16 2 adults + 2 children/£19 2 adults + 3 children. Ffi: 01793 466646, www.swindon.gov.uk/steam • Well, if you want the biggest possible dose of steam nostalgia you need the National Railway Museum in York, but this place is pretty damn good. The whole town of Swindon basically owes its existence - allegedly a result of a random decision by Isambard Kingdom Brunel - to the Great Western Railway, where it became home to the company's carriage and locomotive factories. STEAM - housed in part of the original complex - tells the story of one of the most famous railways in the world and the men and women who worked on it. Get up close with a load of famous GWR locomotives, explore hands-on displays and discover more about Brunel and his world-beating railway system. There's a big programme of fun/educational events and activities through the summer. Easy enough to visit from Bristol/Bath area as you can always, er, go by train - the museum's about a 10-15min walk from Swindon station. If you buy your STEAM ticket at the same time as you get your First Great Western Railway ticket, you get a 20% discount.

WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY
Zone D. Ffi: 01643 704996, www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk • For serious steam railway lovers, this is the absolute business. One of the biggest and best-preserved railways in Britain running for 20 miles, through some fabulous countryside and along the Somerset coast, complete with 10 restored stations and bags of golden-age-of-steam atmosphere. So, unlike a lot of preserved lines which only run for a few miles, a trip from one end of this to t’other actually feels like a proper train journey. Well, almost. It goes from Bishops Lydeard (TA4 3BX) near Taunton to Minehead (TA24 5BG) and, given all the rural and coastal stops along the way, can easily make half-a-dozen days out all by itself. The former fishing port of Watchet is well worth stopping to look around, and Minehead is a nice old seaside town with bags of character (and home to the vast Butlins complex). The Minehead station also has a small railway museum. The stop before Minehead is Dunster, a quaint village overlooked by the imposing National Trust-run castle (see Houses, Gardens & Castles section). Like all these railways, the West Somerset has an elaborate timetable and fare structure and loads of regular and one-off special events (the train-borne fish & chip suppers and murder mystery evenings are especially popular), so phone or see website for details.

And boats...

BATH BOATING STATION
Forester Rd , Bathwick, Bath BA2 6QE. Zone A. Open daily 10am-6pm from Easter-30 Sept. Ffi: 01225 312900, www.bathboating.co.uk • Right then, you know how in old stories, old movies or at posh universities, folks spend lazy sun-dappled afternoons messing about in boats, possibly wooing or being wooed? This is the only place round these parts you can do that sort of thing, and very nice it is, too. Lovely old Victorian boat-house where you can hire yourself a small vessel (traditional wooden punts, skiffs and canoes) by the hour (£7 per adult for the first hour, £2 per hour extra, £15 all day; cheaper prices for students, children & seniors - though it may increase later in the season) or day, and explore the river. Choose a fine day, pack the rug and hamper, and picnic in style. If you're taking a punt, make sure you do their brief tuition session first; if you've never punted before, you really, really, really do need a lesson. Trust us on this one.

BRISTOL CHANNEL CRUISES
Zone A. Ffi: 0845 130 4647 (office hours), www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk • OK, obviously we want you to try (almost) everything in this here guide, but if we were to choose a Top Five Things You Must Do Before You Leave The West Country (Or Die), then a summer's day on the Waverley or Balmoral would be near, or at, the top. Balmoral is a former Scottish loch steamer, while the Waverley, built in 1947 to replace a previous ship lost at Dunkirk, is the last sea-going paddle-steamer in the world, restored to her original 1940s appearance inside and out a few years ago. Through the summer season they sail regularly to and from Bristol, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Minehead, Ilfracombe and Penarth, and occasionally other Bristol Channel ports as well. Cruises vary in length from a whole day (e.g. to visit the fascinating, amazing, astonishing (etc) Lundy Island) to a few hours, so you can pick whichever duration will best suit. Both ships have restaurants and bars, and plenty of room to sit down and enjoy the view. Couple of handy hints: if you're averse to excited children, go on a term-time weekday. If you're averse to excited drunks, don't go on any trip that will be stopping to pick up passengers anywhere on a Friday or Saturday evening. Full timetable (and tickets) available online or via the number above.

BRISTOL FERRY BOAT CO
Zone A. Ffi: 0117 927 3416, www.bristolferry.com • Operates a waterbus service from various stops around Bristol Docks every day (and all year round) that’s popular both with tourists and commuters. Scheduled service runs from Hotwells to Temple Meads and back, with several stops along the way, including Castle Park, Welsh Back, city centre, ss Great Britain, etc. Since the council sees the ferry as one way of keeping cars off the roads, and subsidises them a wee bit, fares at commuting times can be as little as £1. Outside of the rush hours, it becomes popular with sightseers. A Round Trip Ticket for a 40- or 60-minute circular tour of the docks is £4.90 adult/£3.30 child/£14 family. Or you might want to try a Multi-Stop Ticket (£7 adult/£5 child/£20 family) which allows you to hop on and off and on again. Whether you’re a visitor or lifetime resident, it’s a nice adventure and a good way of seeing the city from a different perspective.

BRISTOL PACKET
Zone A. Ffi: 0117 926 8157, www.bristolpacket.co.uk • A fine and much-loved Bristol institution, the Bristol Packet offers scheduled tours of the docks (complete with excellent commentary) every weekend and daily during the school hols. These leave Wapping Wharf at 11, 11.45, 12.30, 2, 2.45 and 3.30, also stopping to pick up from near Pero's Bridge 15 mins later. Prices are £4.75 adult/£4.25 senior/£2.75 child. The firm also does river trips along the Avon gorge, day trips to Bath and to the Chequers Inn at Hanham. It's probably best known, though, for its wonderful excursions along the river to Beese's Tea Gardens, a nice old-fashioned treat, provided the weather's good. Also available for private party hire, including booze cruises - good prospect for birthday/office party. See website for full timetable.

BRUNEL'S SS GREAT BRITAIN
See Museums section.

JUBILEE NARROWBOAT
Zone A. Ffi: 01749 850169, www.bath-narrowboat-trips.co.uk • The Bath & Bristol branch of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust run scheduled trips through some of the nicest countryside (and over some spectacular aqueducts) on their narrowboat the Jubilee on the stretch from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon. From 23 Mar to 26 Oct, the boat runs regular trips on Sundays and BHMs, adult prices £7 (cruise to Avoncliff and back) or £6 (Claverton and back) with appropriate reductions for seniors and children (under-5s free). It's all done by volunteers and all profits go to the K&A Trust, so give it a go. The Jubilee is also available for private hire, corporate team-building, etc.

MATTHEW CRUISES
Zone A. Ffi: 0117 927 3416, www.matthew.co.uk • In the 1990s, a replica was built in Bristol of the stout little caravel that John Cabot and his insanely brave crew of oak-hearted Bristolians sailed on their voyage of discovery in 1497. She's now usually to be found moored next to the ss Great Britain and runs a busy schedule of harbour cruises over the summer season (as well as some rather more adventurous trips into proper sea). Prices vary according to the occasion, but the adult fare usually ranges from £7 to £10 depending on the occasion, with appropriate concessionary reductions. See website or phone for full programme.

NATIONAL WATERWAYS MUSEUM
Llanthony Warehouse, Gloucester Docks GL1 2EH. Zone D. Due to open daily 10am-5pm (shorter hours in winter) from May, admission (inc boat trip) £8.50 adult/£6.50 senior/£5.95 child/£25 family/under-5s free. Ffi: 01452 318200, www.nwm.org.uk • It’s a big museum of canals in Gloucester docks and, as this guide went to press, it was closed and undergoing a major refurb. When it opens again, expect a state-of-the art museum telling you the story of how Britain’s canal transport system was built, how people lived and worked on the canals, plus spaces devoted to the wildlife that can be found on waterways today. The museum also maintains a couple of boats which offer cruises along the Gloucester-Sharpness Canal as part of your admission ticket. Of course, you can always take a boat trip separately if you don’t want to visit the museum (£4.75 adult/£4 conc/£3.50 age 5-16/£15 family). Phone or see website for timetable details and opening date for museum.

PULTENEY CRUISERS
From Pulteney Weir, beside Pulteney Bridge, Bath. Zone A. Ffi: 01225 312900, www.bathboating.com • Stately 60-minute river cruises with live commentary up the Avon to Bathampton aboard one of three boats which leave the Pulteney Bridge landing stage. Sailings at the busiest times of the summer season are every 20 minutes, with less frequent departures in spring and autumn from about 10am, with last sailing at 4pm. Prices are currently £7 adult and £3 for under-13s though they might increase in mid-summer.

STEEP HOLM
Zone C. Ffi: 01934 522125, www.steepholm.org • Steep Holm is that big island that sticks out of the Bristol Channel like an oversized whale. And it's not that easy to get onto it. There are, however, boats going there from Weston-super-Mare on a number of occasions between April and October, though the full timetable hadn't been finalised as this guide went to press. Departure times depend on tide times and can be cancelled in the event of really bad weather, but if all goes to plan, you get between five and six hours on the island, time enough to explore - Steep Holm is a bird sanctuary (look out for herring gulls, black-backed gulls and cormorants) and home to lots of rare plant species. It's got 19th-century fortifications to look at as well (built in a long-forgotten scare when they thought the French might invade us) and the ruins of a medieval priory. The island is owned and managed by the Kenneth Allsop Trust, a charity which took over the island and named in memory of the broadcaster and naturalist. The trips are hugely popular, so if you fancy it, book now. Prices not confirmed as we went to press, but likely to be in the ballpark of £24-£25 per adult with ages 5-16 half price. No under-5s are allowed due to safety and life-jacket regulations.

And planes...

THE BRISTOL AERO COLLECTION
Kemble Airfield, nr Cirencester, Glos GL7 6BA. Zone D. 2008 times and prices TBC, but probably open 10am-3.20pm Sun & Mon only (Mon only in winter), £4 adult/£3 senior/£2 ages 4-12/£10 family. Ffi: 01285 771204, www.bristolaero.com • Small but growing collection of military and civil aircraft, missiles, satellites, rockets, engines, buses and other transport relics built in Bristol down the years, lovingly collected, tended and restored by enthusiasts. This place has grown from a ragbag collection of old bits of machinery a few years ago to today's serious record of Bristol's one-time pre-eminence in road and air travel (and the dedication and determination of these folks, many of whom once worked in the industry). While it’s still a bit rough around the edges, it’s guaranteed to send a few shivers down the spine of any true-blue Bristolian. FWIW, the Days Out Guide’s favourite bits aren’t any of the missiles or aircraft, but the 1979 Bristol bus (pure nostalgia!) and a genuine 1895 Bristol tram, which is being restored after spending decades as someone’s garden shed. The Bristol Aero Collection is run by the same people as Concorde at Filton (see below) and eventually the plan is to bring everything together in a single big Bristol transport museum on a site near Cribbs Causeway.

CONCORDE AT FILTON
Filton, Bristol. Zone A. Tours Wed-Sun 9.45am, 11.30am, 1.15pm, 3pm from Apr-Oct (winter season tours are 10.15am, 12noon, 1.45pm), tickets £12.50 adult/£10 student, senior/£7 under-14s/£32.50 2 adults +2 children/£42.50 extended family (2 adult + 2 senior + 2 children). NB: children under 5 not allowed on site. Ffi and booking: 0870 3000 578, www.concordeatfilton.org.uk • Filton is the temporary home to the last Concorde to fly into Bristol back in 2003. Eventually, Concorde 216 will be the centrepiece of a much bigger museum of Bristol aviation, but for now you can come and visit, look her over and spend some time sitting in the passenger cabin where (with a bit of imagination) you can go on an almost-virtual flight thanks to the old mach meter display telling you what speed you're travelling at, how high you are etc. There's also the visitor centre to tell you about the history of this marvellous aircraft, designed, engineered and made in Bristol (well, some French people were involved as well, apparently). There are all sorts of fabulous things to find out about her - how she would fly faster than a bullet and how if you saw a subsonic aircraft out of a Concorde window, it would appear to be flying backwards. The heat generated by supersonic flight could cause Concorde's fuselage to expand by up to 30cm, opening a specially designed gap in the cockpit between the flight engineer's instrument panel and a bulkhead which would then close up again when she slowed down. The flight engineer's cap is now stuck firmly in the closed gap. For safety and security reasons, visits are by guided tour in groups of up to 24 only, with tours lasting about an hour and a half. They have to be booked in advance and meet at different locations on different days. Apart from the joys of seeing Concorde up close, it's dead interesting for the minibus ride through the Filton complex just to get some idea of how utterly vast the place is.

FLEET AIR ARM MUSEUM
RNAS Yeovilton, nr Ilchester, Somerset BA22 8HT. Zone D. Open daily 10am-5.30pm (last admission to Carrier exhibition 4.15pm) to end of Oct, open 10am-4.30pm Wed-Sun only in winter, admission £10.50 adult/£8.50 senior/£7.50 ages 5-16/£32 family. Ffi: 01935 840565, www.fleetairarm.com • The Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton is home to one of the best aviation museums in the UK, if not the world. It stretches over six acres (most of it undercover), with dozens of aircraft tracing the complete history of British naval aviation, and a whole lot more. There are quite a few planes here that you won't see anywhere else in the world. Displays take you from an excellent interactive bit showing you how aircraft actually get up in the air and stay up in the air and thence to the First and Second World Wars via Korea and the Cold War and on to the Falklands conflict. You also get to walk through Concorde 002, have a simulated helicopter flight and experience life on an aircraft carrier from the 1970s/80s era, as well as play with all sorts of simulators and interactive exhibits. Plus restaurant, cafe and picnic area, and outdoor adventure playground. A brilliant day out for anyone who's even just a bit interested in aeroplanes. The added bonus is that it's next door to a working naval airfield, and if you're lucky you just might get to see helicopters doing their stuff.

THE HELICOPTER MUSEUM
Locking Moor Rd, Weston-super-Mare BS24 8PP. Zone B. Open Wed-Sun 10am-5.30pm from Apr to end Oct, open daily during school Easter & Summer hols, admission £5.50 adult/£4.50 senior, disabled, student/£3.50 ages 5-16/£15.50 family (2+2)/£17.50 family (2+3). Ffi: 01934 635227, www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk • The world's largest dedicated collection of whirlybirds features over 60 civil and military machines from Britain, the USA and Europe, as well as several from the former Warsaw Pact countries, with more new acquisitions coming in all the time. Stars of the show include two former royal helicopters of the Queen’s Flight and an East German Mi-24 ‘Hind’ gunship, possibly the meanest-looking most badass piece of military hardware ever dreamed up. It's also a major centre for helicopter conservation and restoration and puts on frequent behind-the-scenes tours and events for serious enthusiasts. For regular punters there are also lots of special events through the year, including the famous 'open cockpit days' where you can sit at the controls of some machines. Also offers helicopter 'air experience flights' (posh name for a spin round Weston in a helicopter, but why not?) on certain days and educational activities for kids during the school hols. FWIW the Days Out Guide’s favourite exhibit is a bomb with a telephone number on it that you’re supposed to ring if you find it because the RAF will want it back.

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