a blog about train travel: London Paddington

Over the weekend I travelled to my girlfriend's house in Worcestershire. Ordinarily I take a direct train from London Paddington through Oxford and the Cotswolds which takes around 2 and a half hours. However owing to engineering works I was forced to take a couple of different routes. On Thursday I departed Paddington on the 16.45 Swansea bound Great Western service.

I took this train as far as Swindon station where I changed trains for the 17.54 service to Cheltenham Spa. Despite this being another Great Western service the train had Arriva livery.

The Great Western service on arrival at Swindon

17.54 service ready to depart Swindon to Cheltenham Spa

The train passed through Wiltshire and into Gloucestershire and arrived into Gloucester station where I was making my second change.

Diesel engines at Gloucester station

Gloucester station from Platform 1

I crossed the tracks to platform 4 where I was to catch my next train. This picture above shows a London Paddington bound service on the right and a London Midland train arriving on the left, which was to be the 19.10 service to Worcester Foregate Street, that I was about to take into Worcester Shrub Hill.

19.10 London Midland service for Worcester Foregate Street

Whilst waiting for the train to depart I noticed these murals (pictured below) on platform 4, the first depicting a Great Western train and the second commemorating 100 years of the Severn tunnel. Despite having taken trains from this platform at Gloucester many times in the past I had never noticed these before.

Arrival at Worcester Shrub Hill

I travelled back to London on Tuesday afternoon, this time taking a different route via Bristol Parkway. I left Worcester Foregate Street on the 15.02 train bound for Weymouth, arriving at Bristol Parkway at around 16.20. This gave me ten minutes or so to wait before catching the 16.32 train on to London Paddington which had originated in Cardiff. The station was built on the edge of Bristol in the '70s and is pretty uninspiring, especially compared with Temple Meads station in the centre on the city.