After leaving Bristol Craft Beer Festival it was the railway station of Clifton Down that was the most convenient to depart from. I was heading to Newport as accommodation in Bristol was too expensive and the savings on hotel prices by staying in Wales more than made up for the rail fare, so a handy bit of financial prudence. The entrance to the railway station is a little tucked away in a car park, it’s not the grandest of approaches that I’ve ever seen.
The frontage is a little better.
The railway station opened in 1874 as part of the Clifton Extension Railway with the preceding station being Sea Mills and the following station being Redland. The railway station was particularly useful for the nearby Bristol Zoological Gardens and that formed a helpful part of its traffic during its history, although the zoo closed in 2022.
The railway station buildings that were here have now been closed for passengers, but there is access from the other side and it’s now used as a pub named Steam.
The train arrived several minutes early and, as usual, I was standing at the wrong end of the platform. This is one of my more consistent railway skills. I also had to stand, as the station has not burdened itself with providing much seating on this platform, presumably to keep passengers alert and characterful.
On board the train that took me to Bristol Temple Meads.
And the delights of Bristol Temple Meads. I didn’t have long to make the connection so I couldn’t meander around for long and I’ve taken enough photos of this railway station before. I like the GWR benches though.
I’m 6’0″ and for the many people taller than me, these seats just don’t have enough space. But, there are power outlets, so that will just have to do as I don’t want to sound like I’m always complaining but that ship (well train) may have already left the platform….
After leaving the tunnel, we were safely sweeping through Wales.
I was staying overnight in Newport but had to leave again early in the morning, so I didn’t get chance to have a little look at Newport Castle. Next time….
And this is Wales. It was then only a two minute walk to Travelodge, which is very handily located for the railway station. Everything was on time which gave me a limited time to enjoy Newport, but the early start meant that I could head to God’s own city of Bath.