Bridgwater Breeze 23 + 1

A breeze today because it was a bit windy, coming from the north so a tad cold, and also just went the one way, south, and returned to Weston by train from Bridgwater. Went mainly across the Somerset Levels through Mark and Woolavington.
A bit of a landmark as well today, just exceeded a 1000 miles on the renovated Peugot.

The Huntspill

Heading south from Mark, had to cross the Huntspill. This is a drainage channel, 8 miles long that was built in 1940 to supply process water to the Bridgwater Ordnance factory. This was important for the war effort.  There are sluice gates at each end and these can be closed shut, effectively making it a reservoir to assist in the drainage and supply of water to the Somerset Levels. A stretch of the river is designated a National Nature Reserve. This may be the reason a short time before reaching this point I saw an egret taking off from a field alongside the road.

Bridgewater Railway Station

End of the line for me. Not for this station, one that survived the Beeching cuts. The station opened in 1841 and the line now runs from Taunton to Bristol. The station is quite well kept and although the interior has been modernised to a degree, the ticket office has been retained in its original form.

Dave's Diner

Nice station but no buffet!  Luckily next door to the station is this diner, where I had a cup of tea for 80 pence.  Bargain. I was hoping to get a bit more time to explore the town itself but as the station is not too close to the town and the train was about 15 minutes away, thought it best to leave exploring for another occasion.

Platform 2

Not many folk around at 1 o'clock today. Two hours to get here and it will be 15 minutes back. Interestingly, there is a model railway shop on the platform should you need to buy some more rolling stock for your Hornby Dublo.

Enjoyed that one today. 23 miles to Bridgwater and a mile back from Weston Station to home.