After our various travels to our accommodation we all got to know one another (although some people had come from the previous Options holiday in the Isle of Man). We settled into our rooms and after our meal we relaxed watching TV before heading to bed.
After breakfast, we travelled to Cheltenham racecourse. We are going on the GWR Steam Railway and are boarding at the racecourse station. The line goes to Gotherington, Winchcombe and Toddington. We stepped off at Toddington station to have a look around and to eat our pinic lunch. Then we travelled to Broadway and then back to the Cheltenham racecourse station. Later we had our evening meal at The Tavern pub in the nearby village of Kemble (which happens to be next to the Kemble British Rail station).
Today we visited The Dean Forest Railway in the Forest of Dean and rode on a diesel train. We had a picnic on the train and visited the shop. It has quite a good shop with a lot of Steam Train memorabilia and it was a chance to buy some gifts or souvenirs. We enjoyed a meal out and later we watched the Football World Cup as England were playing Croatia, unfortunately England lost. Some of the group decided to watch a Harry Potter film and some took a short walk to the pub.
Today was our Drive a Train Day! We travelled to The Swindon and Cricklade Railway in nearby Wiltshire. We had a chance to each take a turn to drive a diesel train, it really was a great experience! We then visited the museum and had a picnic lunch. Then we went to the nearby Outlet Village, there is also a steam museum within the Outlet Village and lots of shops and food outlets. We opted for Fish and Chips for tea, then back to The Barn to do our packing for tomorrow.
Time to go home and Heather wanted to stay longer!
Our visit to The GWR
