Today Neil and I took the unusual step of having a day off working in the garden. Instead we had a day out on the West Somerset Railway with a trip from Bishops Lydeard, just outside Taunton, to Minehead on the north Devon coast. Yes it was grey and overcast, and we hadn’t exactly picked the best day to go, but we decided to go for it all the same.
Flowers at Bishops Lydeard
I admired the lovely flowers everywhere at the station as we waited for the steam train to arrive.
Neil admiring one of the steam engines
The train gently chuffed it’s way through the various stations and across the countryside for an hour and a quarter before arriving in Minehead. This was a typical English seaside town with the normal assortment of amusement arcades and novelty gift shops, although out of season not that busy. The tide was in when we first arrived at the beach.
Looking towards the harbour at Minehead
We took a leisurely stroll along the prom to the harbour where we found a quiet pub that served food, and treated ourselves to fish and chips. It was very reasonably priced and delicious.
Boats in the harbour at Minehead
We strolled back and on the way passed an old car parked in the front of a hotel. It was a vintage Rover in excellent condition.
Vintage Rover
We sat in one of the many shelters along the sea front just watching the world go by.
Us sat by the sea front
There were some really gorgeous flower beds in colours of red, white and blue, which had been planted for the jubilee.
patriotic flower bed
Making our way back to the train station we could see the smoke from the steam engine coming into the platform.
steam train arriving in Minehead
They shunted the engine up and down the track to latch onto the other end of the train to drive us back to Bishops Lydeard.
steam engines at Minehead
The early afternoon train rambled back along the track to Bishops Lydeard and the sun came out as we were chuffing along. With the rhythm of the train and and warmth of the sun, the effect was quite soporific. We arrived back home early evening to a nice cup of tea. All in all a great day out and thoroughly recommended.
