I guess other parts of the country operate a similar service, but for some reason (probably because…read moremy Nan was such a massive fan) I associate this with Birmingham. Basically, Ring and Ride provides a door-to-door accessible minibus service for people of all ages who find it difficult to use ordinary public transport. It's mostly used by the elderly and by children with disabilities - and whilst it's generally used as a way of getting people who would otherwise struggle to the shops or school say, it can be used for all sorts of other things too - my Nan used to take it to the pub for example. To book a journey you will need to contact the special booking line - you'll need to be registered to do this but all the instructions you'll need (and more) are available from their website. There is a small cost - especially if you are accompanying someone and not registered yourself and be warned that journeys can take a long time - you'll be sharing the vehicle with others and they may all have different destinations - but in a way this is all part of the fun and its no more stressful than your average number 11 journey!

Aston Railway Station is on Lichfield Road, it is one of two main railway stations which serves…read moreVilla Park which is home to Aston Villa FC, unlike Witton which is slightly closer to the stadium it does have step-free access and it is only a 10 minute or so walk to the ground which makes it easy to get to from Villa Park as the club have funded their own few tweaks making the station resemble the club it represents - Aston Villa crest added to station signage - A guided walkway to the stadium with large Aston Villa signs It is a pretty small station, it is run by West Midlands Railway who run all the services which go in and out of here. Services from here mainly go into Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Valley, yet some services do go into Walsall and even Wolverhampton. It is a shame Aston doesn't have West Midlands Metro services, which The Hawthornes does but with it only being a short train journey anyway with frequent services around every ten minutes back into Birmingham,t that is okay. The station has a small partially sheltered waiting room. As a category E station which is the lowest category station which is partially staffed (I presume it is only staffed on Aston Villa matchdays?), it is pretty small and only does have two platforms. Communication from the station is pretty poor. There was a lift issue meaning the issue from platform 1 was marked as out of order but for some bizarre reason other than it being posted on the West Midlands Trains railway no one was aware of the issue and they were still sending disabled passengers to the station to get stranded - both Birmingham New Street (major train station nearby) and the rail company staf were unaware which is pretty abysmal which means until further notice it is impossible for disabled customers to get a route via train to a train station near Villa Park, having to go through the difficult process of arranging a taxi. Being unable to use steps, I had to do this and West Midlands Trains made it so much harder compared to Northern Rail and co when there was a similar issue at Manchester Victoria, closer to home. A very basic station, yet with poor facilities and communication it is only good for providing access to Villa Park via railway and that location is the only reason for an extra star. 2*

If you're travelling out of New Street towards Lichfield or Walsall, assuming you've sped through…read morethe sorry state of Duddeston station, the first stop you'll come to is Aston. I've used Aston quite a bit over the years, when either going to Villa Park (a 10-15 minute walk away) or changing trains. Perhaps owing to its proximity to a popular destination, Aston station has been kept neat and tidy and is one of the more modern stations on the line. It even has a warm waiting room on both platforms should you be waiting on a cold day. The ticket office is located in the waiting room on the out-of-town bound platform. As this is where the line splits for Lichfield and Walsall and every local service stops here, the station is very well-served whichever direction you're travelling in.