Gloucestershire

Saturday 13th March: The further intrepid adventures of Woody, Andy and myself continued with an away day in Gloucestershire, during which we battled bladders, discussed cheese rolling and avoided manic pigeons whilst enjoying a tour of Gloucester, Stroud and Cheltenham...

An early start sees me head off to Stourbridge (via Smethwick) where Mr Wood is waiting. Tickets purchased, we hop on the Worcester train and are relieved to find that Andy has made it, despite the best efforts of late running 404s and Rowley Regis ticket office trying to throw a spanner in the works. At Foregate Street we are concerned that the Paddington train is running late, but our Gloucester train is held at Shrub Hill so that we don't miss our connection - Gloucestershire here we come!

The ride down to Gloucester was new rail territory for me, offering a glimpse of Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, a boring halt-type station that didn't inspire me much. Gloucester Station itself was quite disappointing, with the main building resembling a 1960s style white office block that seemed completely devoid of charm. We alight on the somewhat detached platform 1 and ponder the blackened appearance of platform 4 opposite, whilst platform 2 had the main facilities but little character - altogether not the greatest of first impressions.

Our first target is the bus station, handily located just across the road. Again the facility seemed quite dated, but proved a useful photo location even if the buses were obscured by stumps and railings when pulling into their bays. The main local operator is Stagecoach whilst Cotswold Green add a bit of independent interest, and connections are available to places such as Ross-on-Wye, Forest Green and (courtesy of Red Diamond) Malvern Link.

Our route of choice is the 14 to Stroud, a cracking ride with a little Optare Solo guiding us through Quedgeley and Stonehouse then into the Cotswold countryside. I particularly liked The Stanleys, a collection of picturesque villages with old fashioned pubs, narrow lanes and some great scenery. A bit of banter always makes for an enjoyable journey, but our conversations here were particularly bizarre and included the topic of cheese-rolling - Woody thought I was having him on until a fellow passenger joined the debate! With Andy's bladder holding out comfortably, we arrive at Stroud terminus outside the Merrywalks shopping centre and get a selection of photos as Mark recognises an old Merry Hill minibus.

Stroud is my kind of place, a busy little town with hints of charm and history. The Old Painswick Inn immediately caught my eye, with the Subscription Rooms and town clock also providing appealing landmarks. Woody's Wetherspoon's radar leads us safely to the Lord John on Russell Street where we sample our first pint of the day, mine being some Derail Ale from the Box Steam Brewery in Wiltshire. Far from being derailed though, the drink leads neatly on to some more rail exploration, Stroud Station being just round the back of the pub and lending itself to a selection of photos with its totem sign and frontage offering the character I was craving earlier.

Pressing onwards, we somehow avoided getting lost in the Merrywalks shops to emerge at the bus stops, where Woody's favourite minibus was still in attendance. We catch the 93 back to Gloucester, with Andy seizing the chance to rev up his latest D9 driving re-enactment (giving Mark a few bruises in the process), whilst I extract Woody's revenge with a sneaky photo of Andy's bald spot! The scenery is again superb and the bus immaculate, a far cry from what we're used to back home.

Gloucester then, and its lunch time. The Wetherspoon's radar is out again, this time finding The Regal just a few yards from the bus station. A pint of Bateman's Hooker goes down a treat - the beer is brewed specially to coincide with the Six Nations rugby. Unfortunately the food aspect wasn't so enjoyable, we had to wait ages for our order to arrive and when it did it was incomplete. Needless to say we weren't impressed.

Luckily the delay hadn't scuppered our plan completely, and we just about managed to catch our next bus. This was the 94 to Cheltenham, branded as Stagecoach Gold with an appropriate livery and a hint of luxury leather on board. We enjoy this added comfort with a quick ride up through Longlevens and Churchdown before alighting on the Promenade. Racing Post banners seemed to be out in force in the lead up to the Cheltenham Festival.

Cheltenham itself was a delight to explore, with its distinctive regency architecture adding a sense of occasion to our visit. From the Promenade we head round to the Royal Well Bus Station, a neat crescent where a selection of coaches and minbuses were on layover, including a couple of Swanbrook examples. The lure of another pint then leads us to the Cotswold pub where Andy and I sample some Old Father Timer courtesy of Wadworths of Devizes whilst Mr Wood takes care of the customary Cheers photo. Andy then has us worried as he disappears into Clintons Cards on a Mother's Day mission - thankfully he made it safely onto the 10 for the return ride to Gloucester.

We finish off an excellent day with a closing pint in the Water Poet, Gloucester's other Wetherspoon's and one I actually much preferred to the Regal. News filters through that Wolves have won 2-1 at Turf Moor Burnley, an important three points in the quest for Premier League survival. Gloucester Station then provides a final flurry of photos as I investigate platform 4 and sneak a shot of the Cardiff train - some nice memories that meant I left actually quite liking the station, even if it resembles something I'd expect to find at the back end of a hospital rather than as the gateway to a historic city. The Malvern train departs at 17:38 and we interchange at Worcester for our connections home, a reflective ride as we look forward to future outings.

So there it was, a great introduction to Gloucestershire with Mr Wood's plan delivering the goods yet again. It was possibly our finest outing to date, enjoyable from start to finish with the usual combination of buses, beer and banter. Now we've got our bearings I think a return visit to the county may well be in order, with Swindon, Tewkesbury or even Ross-on-Wye all within range for future investigation, but for now I'm content to say cheers to a day very well done.