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Coach Trip to Weston Super Mare

S

Susan D

master brummie
As a child in the 1950s, I was taken on holiday to Weston Super Mare each year by coach from Digbeth coach station. I am sure that hundreds of other Birmingham families did the same. I would be intrigued to know if anyone can tell me the exact route the coach took, the towns it went through, where the breaks were and how long it took altogether. This was of course, in the days before motorways existed. I do recall there was a stop at Bristol (at a bus station I think) before the final push.

Thanks.
 
Lots of reminiscences in these threads;

Birmingham on Sea

I suspect some of you in the Forum are around my age and reckon a good many must have been down to Weston as kids and since. Coming from down that way meself, thought you might get a memory or two from these postcard pics from my childhood days. (I can find some from a bit further back for your...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

They took us to the sea

this is wonderful to watch..what a treat for the children who were not that well off..this has been posted before but a long time ago...worth mentioning again i think.. lyn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miP88I10MVo
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

When Did You First See The Sea?

Hi All, When I was growing uo prewar holidays were a rare experience for the working class family. I did not have a holiday until I was about 10 when I was taken on a weekend coach trip to Blackpool Illuminations. The following year 1938 I was lucky enough to go to a scout camp at...
birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
I too did the Weston day trip in the mid sixties with Stockland Coaches, Erdington, and have often wonder what the route was.

I would imagine the coach took the A38. This goes to Bristol then on to Bridgwater, passing near to Weston.
 
Bridgwater is after Weston Super Mare, you are correct the coach followed the A38 to Bristol, would have gone through Bristol (there was no ring road or bypass) and then the A371 to Weston, the latter is a route that still exists today if you do not want to use the motorway. Not much better now than it was in the 1950s. When we travelled by Stockland to Minehead (on the night of the Lynmouth flood), with a drop off at WSM, we stopped for a break just after Cheltenham (at a transport café) and then just outside Bristol, but it was night, dark and very very wet and I was not familiar with the area so I can't help with the location. We were dropped off at Watchet while the coach continued to the South West, ultimate destination unknown. This seemed to be a regular Friday night summer run, there were coaches leaving for other South Western destinations.

Bob
 
Our family was another that did day trips to WSM in 1950's. We usually went by Eatonways picking up from by the Chestnuts in Garretts Green. I remember going through the town centres of Worcester & Gloucester, past the England Glory matches factory then over Filton Down and through Bristol, under the IKB suspension bridge, wonderful sight! Don't remember stopping points on the way down but we must have done so as coaches didn't have loos in those days. Coming home we stopped for refreshment near Bromsgrove either at The Swan or The Robin Hood, but sometimes at Holt Fleet, not sure how we got there as no where near the A38. Drivers seemed to have a free hand.
 
I drove part time for Stocklands from 1966 to 1969, worked as a PSV mechanic for them from 1964 to mid 1967. I would have done the Weston and Cheddar day excursions but for the life of me can't remember where we stopped or the route we used. My favourite was the Friday night South Devon trip when I was always delighted to see my name on the routing board in the garage.
 
devonjim said:
Our family was another that did day trips to WSM in 1950's. We usually went by Eatonways picking up from by the Chestnuts in Garretts Green. I remember going through the town centres of Worcester & Gloucester, past the England Glory matches factory then over Filton Down and through Bristol, under the IKB suspension bridge, wonderful sight! Don't remember stopping points on the way down but we must have done so as coaches didn't have loos in those days. Coming home we stopped for refreshment near Bromsgrove either at The Swan or The Robin Hood, but sometimes at Holt Fleet, not sure how we got there as no where near the A38. Drivers seemed to have a free hand.
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Thank you devonjim. That's a useful start. I do remember one stop in the countryside where there was a goat tethered on the roadside. You don't get that at a Welcome Break.
 
devonjim said:
Our family was another that did day trips to WSM in 1950's. We usually went by Eatonways picking up from by the Chestnuts in Garretts Green. I remember going through the town centres of Worcester & Gloucester, past the England Glory matches factory then over Filton Down and through Bristol, under the IKB suspension bridge, wonderful sight! Don't remember stopping points on the way down but we must have done so as coaches didn't have loos in those days. Coming home we stopped for refreshment near Bromsgrove either at The Swan or The Robin Hood, but sometimes at Holt Fleet, not sure how we got there as no where near the A38. Drivers seemed to have a free hand.
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In the days before deregulation you were only allowed to stay on the route that your employer had registered for, this would have applied to all regular services such as the overnight scheduled ones. The traffic Commissioner would have granted the licences and woe betide you if you went off route.
 
Late 50s, early 60s, I remember the Birmingham coaches' first stop being at a big cafe on the west side of the A38 on the south side of Tewkesbury, next to what is now the Gupshill Manor pub. Think the cafe building might still be there - part of the pub now? We even stopped there when, as a family, we started going to Weston by car. Dad couldn't drive much further than Tewkesbury without stopping for his first cup of tea!
 
devonjim said:
Our family was another that did day trips to WSM in 1950's. We usually went by Eatonways picking up from by the Chestnuts in Garretts Green. I remember going through the town centres of Worcester & Gloucester, past the England Glory matches factory then over Filton Down and through Bristol, under the IKB suspension bridge, wonderful sight! Don't remember stopping points on the way down but we must have done so as coaches didn't have loos in those days. Coming home we stopped for refreshment near Bromsgrove either at The Swan or The Robin Hood, but sometimes at Holt Fleet, not sure how we got there as no where near the A38. Drivers seemed to have a free hand.
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Although we never did the trip to Weston in a coach (Except for a school trip from Mapledene Rd. school) we went in the family car, a Morris 8, on at least one occasion using a similar route to the one tha you describe. I particularly remember following the river Avon and passing under the Clifton Suspension Bridge on the way there and then, on the return journey, by the time we reached the Moreland's factory it would be dark and the neon display for England's Glory matches would seem to light up the sky. Thanks for bringing those memories back.
 
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The day trip to Weston was a must as a kid. They were still doing the day train excursion to Weston when I first started work.
 
We went to Weston by coach a couple of times to the fantastic Illuminated carnivals in the Autumn, We were picked up near our house in Redditch at 5 pm thinking we would be there in two hours. but no o_O it took 4 hours as it went all round Pershore, Evesham and the back of beyond etc picking up passengers before finally joining the M5. Coming back we were last off at 2AM and had to sit most of the way with a know all loud mouth a couple of seats behind and finally he got off and several others said thank goodness for that.

For anyone not aware of these amazing carnivals here is a link to last years: it takes 2 hours to go past and most of the massive floats have to tow a huge generator to power not only the lights but all the motors spinning and moving parts of the float, you will see one big float has had a power failure but they still have to carry on

 
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Weston-super-Mare in 1959, or card received that year, and I was there. However, didn't go by coach but cycled there. It was in April and the Easter Holidays. Went with a friend starting in Hall Green and had two stops down, Cheltenham and Bristol YHAs. Then 3 days in Weston. Saw a film "Operation Amsterdam" which was only shown again last week. We cycled back via Bath and Stow on the Wold YHA and then back to Birmingham. I was 16.5 years old at the time. The days of youth and fitness. I had visited the Winter Gardens several times before with parents and grandparents.
 
farmerdave said:
Weston-super-Mare in 1959, or card received that year, and I was there. However, didn't go by coach but cycled there. It was in April and the Easter Holidays. Went with a friend starting in Hall Green and had two stops down, Cheltenham and Bristol YHAs. Then 3 days in Weston. Saw a film "Operation Amsterdam" which was only shown again last week. We cycled back via Bath and Stow on the Wold YHA and then back to Birmingham. I was 16.5 years old at the time. The days of youth and fitness. I had visited the Winter Gardens several times before with parents and grandparents.
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I was there at the same time, cycled there with a stop in Bristol at the YHA and then onto WSM, we stopped at the YHA I think in Street or outside of WSM a little bit.
 
In the '50s our family used to travel by coach to North Devon and I'm reasonably sure the coach took a break at Black and White Coaches at Cheltenham. North Devon's further on than Weston super Mare of course so the breaks may have been different.
 
Clive F said:
In the '50s our family used to travel by coach to North Devon and I'm reasonably sure the coach took a break at Black and White Coaches at Cheltenham. North Devon's further on than Weston super Mare of course so the breaks may have been different.
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Clive, farmerdave & I cycled there so our breaks I am sure were different :)
 
farmerdave said:
Weston-super-Mare in 1959, or card received that year, and I was there. However, didn't go by coach but cycled there. It was in April and the Easter Holidays. Went with a friend starting in Hall Green and had two stops down, Cheltenham and Bristol YHAs. Then 3 days in Weston. Saw a film "Operation Amsterdam" which was only shown again last week. We cycled back via Bath and Stow on the Wold YHA and then back to Birmingham. I was 16.5 years old at the time. The days of youth and fitness. I had visited the Winter Gardens several times before with parents and grandparents.
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Funny how we never add that half now. :)
 
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