We knew we had a long drive ahead of us to
the Gloucester and Warwickshire Steam Railway so we tried to
leave in good time. As we drove, it became apparent that we
were likely not going to make it. About half an hour out
from the railway, "Siri" noted the arrival time would be
12:41pm. As the train was due to depart at 12:45pm, I gave
up the idea of catching it and went to sleep. (Fortunately,
Satoshi was driving!). The next thing I knew, we were almost
there and had two minutes to spare. Satoshi ran ahead,
managed to purchase the tickets, and we boarded the train
with at least 25 seconds to spare. Considering it was a 160
minute drive (including delays because of roadworks and a
couple of wrong turns), I thought that was really amazing!!
The
Gloucester and
Warwickshire Steam Railway runs about 14 miles between
Broadway and Cheltenham. The volunteers operating the train
were all very friendly and helpful and the scenery was
lovely. Each of the stations had been restored carefully or,
in the case of Broadway, completely rebuilt (based on
original plans). The stations all had gardens and items of
railway memorabilia. The whole journey was a great
experience!
As is evident from the video, the
train no longer stops at Gotherington Station. A railway
enthusiast bought the old station building and
transformed it into his "dream" home. All the railway
paraphernalia seen above belongs to him.
After the train ride, we checked
into our accommodation and then drove to the home of our
friends James and Caroline. It was lovely to catch up
with them again. They went to a lot of trouble to cook
dinner for us and we were made to feel most welcome.
After dinner, we played a game of Carcassonne and then
Tumult Royale, both of which were fun!
A robin in the garden at
James's and Caroline's house
A "selfie" at the end of a very happy evening.