Bristol to Dorset for a couple of days with BdyB

For a Young-Old traveller or two, Dorset is an interesting place to go from Bristol. It is not really very accessible so better for a couple of days than a single day out. In the current (extraordinary) warm March weather, it can be a delight and, even in normal weather, a pleasure.
For instance:
Day one
Take the 0841 First Great Western (FGW) Weymouth train,

Bristol to Totnes and Dartmouth

Westbury park Strollers enjoyed this day by train, foot and boat on 2nd October: Please follow links to the blog to see details costs and a report

Great NEWS about Swansea Gower Plus Bus

Discounted Swansea Plus Bus for Senior Rail Card holders. Only £1.50 to get to and from Pennard on the Gower when you buy a rail ticket to Swansea and they can be had for as little as £3.30 from Bristol Parkway.
Perhaps they listened to my plea last summer. Shame that the Gower Explorer is not included!
Anyway I shall try it out on 21st June - Watch this space.

How about.... (1) A day trip to the Gower

A day trip to the Gower from Bristol is easy and cheap without a car: about £15 return to Oxwich:

First Great Western Bristol Parkway to Swansea advance tickets can be as cheap as £3.30 each eachway. Seem to be plenty going out on mid morning trains and back in the late afternoon evening. Currently available at that price less tahn a week ahead and even for tomorrow FIRST CLASS (with free coffee etc.) is offered at about £6-70 each eachway

The buses into the Gower are relatively expensive - no concession for England resident 'young-olds' - about £4-00 each way. Veolia Gower Explorer is good value.

Wouldn't it be great if Wales Tourism could arrange a combined rail-bus ticket to attract English Concession Visitors to the Gower (and rest of Wales) WITHOUT A CAR! 

Cuenca - just one place to visit in May June by train

Cuenca the town on the precipitous cliff (see photo) in deepest, airport distant, Spain is just one of half a dozen places that we checked out by train this year. In less than three weeks we travelled over to Paris (Eurostar) on to Madrid (by Francisco de Goya Sleeper Train) and arriving in lovely Aranquez (World Heritage Site) by mid morning.(see photo). 

We took a day out to visit historic Toledo (World Heritage City)with its grim past but great setting (photo) and then on to Cuenca (another World Heritage City), which is aiming to be Spain's European City of Culture in 2016.... (to be continued) nnnnn

The contrail free sky but...

RIVER AVON within the city limits of Bristol.

Welcome to a contrail free sky over Britain as volcanic dust grounds all aircraft but it can cause some problems...
However few problems for 'greenish' travellers except overcowded long distance and overnight trains etc.
TIPS
A pedestrian place with a cycle could be had last night on the Portsmouth Le Havre ferry for today for £28 and on day boats there are places Harwich-Hook of Holland from Tuesday (£33 with a cycle or £29 without). From Hook of Holland trains East and North can be booked even as far as Helsinki or Moscow ALTHOUGH NIGHT TRAINS ARE HEAVILY BOOKED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. Try German Rail website and booking number in UK 08718808066 or of course Seat61.com.
But it probably a good time to stay closer to home and use the diamond bus pass!

update on 'When it rains...'

sadly the *Michelin Restaurant in Foye has closed. Any recommendations on where now to eat in th rain would be welcome!
When it doesn't rain or even when it does Trebar Gardens near Falmouth are terrific and reachable either by the South West Coast Path (with a little difficulty) or by the 500 bus every couple of hours or so Mon-Sat. Why not Sunday we may ask?