From The Editor Page 2 West Country Visit

West Country Visit

One of the advantages of being the Region Chairman is that you get invited to join the branches on their events and trips. This year Janine and I joined Chiltern Branch on their much delayed, because of Covid, visit to the west country, over the weekend of the17th to 19th of September. The coach was leaving Watford at 7:15 on Friday morning so there was no way we could get there in time to catch it, as we live in Chelmsford in Essex. We decided to drive down to the West Country the night before and stop at Burnham on Sea. We stayed in a hotel where I used to stay when I was working in the area. The building and rooms have been modernised but the food was as good as I remember. Friday September 17th 2021. After checking out of the hotel we a drove around Highbridge and then set off for the Grand Western Canal at Tiverton, arriving before the coach was due. Getting out of our car, at the carpark by the canal, we literally bumped into the National Chairman, Paul Rogers. He was on his way home from Cornwall and had decided to stop as there were problems on the motorway and had parked his car right next to ours! Arriving early gave us a chance to do some sightseeing and have a look around the visitors centre. Then, after we had lunch at the tea rooms, we walked back through the car park to wait for the coach to arrive.

The Grand Western Canal is on an embankment at this point with limekilns along the side making a wall for the carpark. This is the base of the Tiverton boat company. Having met up with the Chiltern Branch members we walked with them up the steps to join the horse drawn boat the “Tivertonian” for a two and a half hours cruise along the canal. For this trip the “Tivertonian” was pulled by a lovely 13yr old Shire horse, named Ross. At the half way point of the trip, we stopped. The boat winded and tied up onto the jetty. We alighted for 20 minutes to have a look round and to walk up to the bridge to get a better look back to take photos. The other horse handler Lauran, talked to us about the horses. We stroked Ross and told him how hard working he had been this afternoon, pulling us and the boat along. She also told us that when a horse had finished work for the day, he ran around and around in his field galloping for joy. We passed under several bridges and at each one, there was a notice stuck on the wall addressed to cyclists, asking them to dismount, as they came up close to Ross, as the horse wouldn’t be able to stop. They all, very obediently dismounted from their cycles to let Ross through.

West Country Visit (cont)

Then everyone had returned to the boat, heralded by a “times up” bell being rung by Richard. He was telling us about the history of the Grand Western Canal. He then said that in 20 minutes time, he would ask us all to be quiet for a while, about 15 minutes and to see what exactly we could hear. So, we did this and about 5 minutes before the time was up, we heard a second set of hoofs clomping on the tow path and a tuneful whistling song. It sounded like Walk on, walk on.

Eventually, we returned to the starting point, where we disembarked and said Goodbye to Rikko, the little collie lying on top of the boat. We went back to our car and then tried to follow the coach back to our hotel, but we inevitability lost track of it halfway through. Eventually we found the hotel, The Castle Hotel in the middle of Taunton. Our room had a view over the Castle Green, now alas, mostly a car park. After drinks with the members of the Chiltern Branch, we sat down to our three-course meal in the sumptuous dining room, with decorated wall panels. After the meal, our organiser told us there had been a slight change of plan and that next day, the coach would be leaving at 8am for the steam train ride to Minehead. . Saturday September 18th 2021 we were up at 6am, breakfasted at 7am and on the coach at 8am. It took about half an hour to get to Bishops Lydeard station, on the West Somerset Railway where we boarded the 9 o’clock train for Minehead. The train made up of historic coaches was pulled by an old GWR steam locomotive. Another change of plan, the level crossing between Dunstar and Minehead had failed and trains were terminating at Dunster so the final part of the journey, was completed by vintage double decker bus.

After a drink of a coffee, we had a quick look round Minehead, to try and find some sun glasses and a hat for Janine, as she had left her others at the hotel. We bought them and the sun promptly went in! We joined the others in a tour round the Engine shed and workshops. We spent the rest of the day exploring the town and, we wandered down to the rocky beach area, where we watched the waves rolling out and the sunshine beating down. Really rather pleasant! Then we returned to the railway station and waited for the red London bus to take us to Dunsten railway station to join our train for the return journey to Bishops Lydead. Then we to joined our coach to take us back to our hotel in Taunton.

West Country Visit (cont)

The West Somerset Railway, a 22 mile country branch line of the old Great Western Railway is full of fascination. It passes along the edge of the Quantocks, through unspoilt villages and farms nestling in leafy lanes, the cliffs and coast of the Bristol Channel to the sea at Minehead. There are ten stations along the line. Many decorated in historical advertisements, Heathfield had adverts for Jaegar Pure wool, National Provincial Bank, and News of the World, “the best Sunday Paper”. The station also had a lamp room, and a golden lamppost and porters in traditional dress. Sunday September 19th 2021, Ray Alexander, the Chairman of the West Country Branch, who was to be our guide for the day met us outside the hotel. He started the day by leading us on a walking tour through the centre of Taunton to the River Tome, then along the bank to Firepool Lock, the start of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. After looking around the Lock and for signs of the Grand Weston Tugboat canal we crossed over the Tome and re-joined the coach. The coach took us to Creech St Michael, down very narrow winding lanes, to allow us to re-join the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal near the point where the disused Chard Tub boat canal started. How the driver got the coach there not far short of miraculous!

After visiting the junction of these canals, we headed to Langport on the River Parrot. At Langport we stopped for tea and coffee and were joined by one of the local councillors. We then walked along the river to Huish Bridge to admire the new improvements to the river carried out by the council, much of it with EU money. The coach then whisked us off to Bridgwater where we had lunch at the “Admirals Landing” overlooking Bridgewater Dock. The dock looked very forlorn now with rows of abandoned jetties left empty in a dispute between Canal & River Trust and the council over the lease of the dock. We walked around the dock looking at the unique heritage of the area, which includes a bascule bridge supposedly designed by I.K. Brunel, until it was time to return to the “Admirals Landing” for tea and then setting off home.

Paul & Janie Strudwick