Vintage Steam 4th to 11th September 2020
Friday 4th September
Everyone arrived, enjoyed a cuppa and got to know each other. We had a tour of our holiday home, then we unpacked our things and settled in. Later we enjoyed a delicious takeaway meal of fish and chips for our tea.
Saturday 5th September
Today we visited Gloucester Quay and The National Waterways Museum, within the Gloucester docks. It is the most inland port in the country and home to all the historic dock buildings, cool cafes and a fantastic museum. The museum explains all about the 200-year-old history of the docks and canals. We also enjoyed a walk around the monthly market and sat outside a café watching the world go by. We enjoyed our drink and the sunshine in the Canal Boat Café at the docks.
Sunday 6th September
This morning had involved a visit to the local church for Chris and John, they went with Wendy and the ladies. Jonathan’s morning started the day with what he called a ‘spiffing fry up for breakfast!’. We then drove to The Forest of Dean to board a steam train at Norchard Station, travelling to Lydney Junction and Parkend Station. We met three lovely dogs, Rocky, Domino and Clive. There was a chance to have a picnic, while at the station, which we collected from the train station café. We all enjoyed looking around the gift shop which was in a train carriage. Some bought some model cars. Once we had driven back to the barn, we organised our evening meal which was a lovely roast chicken dinner.
Monday 7th September
Today’s entry by Jonathan: We drove to The British Motor Museum. We met up with Jade’s fiancé, he was a good chap. There were many cars and motors to look at, the first was a dark green Bedford Austin 7 mini. There were lots of sport cars, M.G.’s, Morris Minors and lots of jaguars, my favourite was the Aston Martin from the film James Bond, in Casino Royale. We saw Doc Martyn’s car from the Back to The Future film, Del boy’s and Rodney’s three-wheeler and a Land Rover 101 car. The cars were grouped by the era they were made, dating back from 1896. My second favourite car is The Rolls Royce Phantom. We enjoyed lunch in the café, it was an excellent day!
Tuesday 8th September
We took the steam train from Toddington Station to Cheltenham Junction. The views of the Cotswold countryside were beautiful. We enjoyed a picnic on the train. While we sat enjoying a cuppa at the station the steam coming out of the train was so loud it made us jump! Later, in the evening we went to play Tenpin Bowling in Swindon. While there we enjoyed burgers and drinks and then went on to play a game. Everyone said they had a great night.
Wednesday 9th September
Today we visited the delightful village of Bourton on the Water. While there we went into The Motoring Museum and Toy Collection. Jonathan thought the museum was brilliant, we saw the car from the TV series “Brum”. Some of the old toys brought back memories of his childhood, he had the same pedal tractor when he was young. The little gift shop was nice and a chance to buy a souvenir model car. We also sat out on the green and ordered a takeaway from a café along with cake and ice cream. It was lovely watching the river and the ducks and taking in the picturesque houses of the village.
Thursday 10th September
We travelled to the ‘Cotswold Country Park’ today where there is an inland beach along with a large lake for water activities. It is set in beautiful countryside. We enjoyed our picnic lunch next to the lake, watching the swans, kayakers, boats and people doing paddle boarding on the lake. It was great to spend our last day together as one group. We enjoyed our ice creams and Jonathan had a paddle in the water, at the beach. It was agreed it had been a great holiday and Jonathan wants to come back next year. In the evening we ate out at The Catherine Wheel pub in the village of Bibury where we had great food.
Friday 11th September
After our late breakfast together, everyone said goodbye and made their way home. Everyone said they enjoyed their holiday.