Green ways to reach Berwick-upon-Tweed Walled Town

Starting from Bristol (but it could quite easily have been London - see note at end) a trip by public transport to the strongest fortified town in the British Isles - Berwick-upon Tweed - makes a fine short break. With the Border Country and/or Northumberland it can be the centre for a wonderful longer holiday or stop off on the way to Scotland.  Lowry loved Berwick for holidays and painted many views of the town. Berwick-upon Tweed  is a member of European Walled Towns for friendship and professional co-operation and was previously a member of Walled Towns Friendship Circle (see DMB Walled Towns Research Pages). 
Berwick is on three Sustrans Cycle Routes 1, 68 and 76 and is the centre of a network of bus services.
Photos and a note on rail travel follow.

Grey day - green ride to Chepstow

Happy New Year but what to do on a grey day in January?
Well from Bristol you can take an X14 bus (FREE on an English Diamond Concessionary pass) over the sea to Wales Monday to Saturday every daytime hour. See Traveline South West for the strange route and stop variations of the two operators - Stagecoach in South Wales and First Bristol - each takes about one hour.

Why and whither to Hither Green?

An answer after travelling towards Hither Green (well actually to Waterloo and Central London) on Wednesday 8th August 2012.
In brief: IT IS ACTUALLY CHEAPER TO BUY RAIL TICKETS TO OBSCURE STATIONS IN LONDON SUBURBS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF LONDON FROM WHENCE YOU COME, THAN TO BUY TICKETS TO 'YOUR' LONDON TERMINAL.
So a return ticket to Hither Green at the height of the Olympics, admittedly via the slow Salisbury route cost a Senior rail card holder £20.40; a similar return to Waterloo was about £25 and to Paddington about £30 - all advance tickets available two or three days before travel and  arriving in London after 11.00 and getting back to Bristol after 22.00.
Experiment on the First Great Western website.

Recent trips from Bristol to be reported

Photo selection from recent days out - details to be reported in due course

One night trip to Pembrokeshire coast

Staying in Bristol - the Henleaze Lake

Westbury Park Strollers 7th October 2012 day out

Further details in due  course for Westbury Park Strollers

Day Out from Bristol to Stourhead NT Sat. 19th May 2012

STOURHEAD with BRISTOL'S HIGH CROSS 19th May  Stourhead -- National Trust arranged by  dnembruce@btinternet.com  18th Century Italian Park and Gardens  and BRISTOL’S HIGH CROSS then Palladian Mansion A day out with the Bristol Civic Society on Saturday 19th May. An Opportunity to go round  Italian Gardens at Stourhead Mansion  at the peak of the spring and the rhododendrons

Greenish way to Tenby Walled Town

Starting from Bristol (but it could quite easily have been London - see note at end) a trip by public transport to the walled town of Tenby makes a fine short break and with Pembrokeshire a wonderful longer holiday or stop off on the way to Ireland. Tenby is the founder member of Walled Towns Friendship Circle (now European WalledTowns) and home of Peter Osborne MBE Life President. DMB Research pages are at http://www.walledtownsresearch.org

Once within Wales train fares in advance can be  very inexpensive to West Wales. The art is to find a cheap ticket to Cardiff and then onwards (sometimes even on the same train: see note at foot of post).