I've never learnt how to drive a car. Partly laziness, partly because as a teenager I was a bit of…read morean eco-warrior. Years later, less of an eco-warrior but low on funds, I am still at the mercy of public transport . When you live in the UK that's a pretty depressing thought, made even more depressing when you're waiting at trains stations like Filton Abbey Wood. FAW is possibly one of the worst train stations in the country. And I should know. I had to wait there every week days for six months. The station was built in 1996 by the Ministry of Defence to take its workers from their shiny offices to their homes in Wales or central Bristol. In 2006 it was voted Britain's 647th most used station, making it one of the busiest un-staffed stations in the country. You'd think that this would mean that it'd be one of the best. It isn't. With no seats, no toilets, no cover and no working ticket machines it ranks as one of the worst. The icing on the cake is that the one screen that shows the train times works intermittently so sometimes it can be a guessing game as to when your train will arrive. Avoid at all costs!

The most depressing and dire station to have to wait about on in the entire country, in my humble…read moreopinion. Massively horrid and empty, it's as if aliens have removed all the rest of humanity from the planet and you're there, stuck forever alone, on Filton Abbey Wood Station.. To be strictly fair, it was purpose-built for one reason only, and that was for commuter transport to the vast MOD office complxes there. Maybe the fact that it was built by the MOD in 1996 accounts for the bleak, utilitarian design. It's a three-track station, and has covered shelters on each platform, but apart from that - No refreshments, no waiting room, no toilets, no station staff (There is a portacabin that is allegedly manned for a couple of hours in an afternoon), no ticket office, no lost luggage office, etc etc. There is one public payphone but it's sometimes out of order, has no phone book and smells of wee. There's no taxi rank handy either, or bus terminus. If you end up there for any reason be sure to have someone waiting with a car. If you have to change trains there and will be waiting for any length of time be sure to have snacks, fully-charged cellphone, and hope you don't need a bathroom in a hurry! I'd give it no stars at all, except it is a functional station and serves the purpose of decanting employees of the MOD every morning and evening.

Bristol Parkway station is located at the intersection of the lines from London (Paddington) to…read moreSouth Wales and the main line from Bristol to Birmingham, providing a major interchange between the two. It was one of the first 'Parkway' stations to be built, in 1972, to attract car users to trains by providing ample car parking at locations with good road links, close to urban areas. This site was chosen both because of the interchange it offered, and because of its proximity to the M4 and M32, just north of Bristol. When opened, shelter was fairly meagre, with 'bus stop' shelters on the platforms and a small waiting room and ticket office by the entrance to the car park. Because of its exposed and windy position, additional long platform shelters were erected, but it still had a reputation for being a cold place to wait for a train. Over the years, substantial suburbs have developed around Stoke Gifford, and in 2001, a new and much larger station building, with a dramatic curved roofline, was built in recognition of its growing importance. In 2007 an additional platform was constructed on the London-bound (north) side, to provide additional capacity. The station is now used by over 1.75 million passengers a year, with in excess of half a million passengers changing trains here. The station now has heated waiting shelters on the platforms, and the main building has a small shop, cafe and ticket office. Other facilities include a taxi rank, payphones, cash points and bus stops for local bus services (including to Frenchay hospital and Bristol city centre). The station has level access (via lifts to the platforms). The station is served by all long distance trains on the London-South Wales main line and the cross-Country main line from the South-West to Birmingham and the North. It is also served by local services from Gloucester, Westbury and Weston-super-Mare.

This is a great, modern, functional station on the North side of Bristol. It's close to the M4/M5…read moreintersection, so it's a far better place to collect someone from than Bristol Temple Meads (in the centre of the city) if you're located to the north of the city. However, there are a few things to be aware of: 1. Parking is £5 a day. The payment meters are awkward to operate, and if you don't pay you will get clamped & fined. 2. The car park gets full by 9:30am most days, and if you park outside an official space, you will get clamped (even if you've paid for a ticket). 3. Traffic in the area is hellish at peak hours. Journeys from the motorway to the station can take in excess of 45 mins between 7:30 - 9:00 and 16:00 - 18:00 for the 2 mile journey. The station is fairly new with good facilities: clean toilets, a small newsagent, a coffee shop and a sandwich shop. There are also lifts to all platforms for the disabled.

Parks in New York weigh a lot. In London, a lot too. But how much does Bristol Park Weigh? Find out…read morehere. This was one of the amazing new stations that they came up with in the seventies to avoid traffic in urban areas. Anything with the name Parkway was one of those and there are lots all over the country. This is actually the first of its kind and it does a great job. It predated every other Parkway station. Good job England! It's one of the three busiest stations in the west of England despite being a Parkway, so obviously it was a genius plan. It's in the far north end of Bristol so it serves all the people that live outside Bristol that come into work here. Temple Meads in the centre is the big one in the area but this one is good too.

Despite being housed in a relatively modern building, Bristol Parkway is a rather depressing little…read morestation. The last time I took a train to Parkway for a meeting at nearby Aztec West, I ended up having to spend nearly an hour at the station on my return home because my train had been cancelled. First impressions from the outside aren't too bad, with plenty of parking spaces and a modern-looking station entrance that promises good facilities. Inside, however, everything seems a bit grubby and neglected. The cafe area is hopeless - it mingles in with a general indoor waiting area, it's dirty and littered with food wrappers, and it serves pretty rubbish snacks and drinks. Worse still, those occupying the grim seats look gloomy, tired and slightly annoyed (probably because many people seem to end up here longer than they'd choose to be). And, finally, the platforms often get crowded and rather claustrophobic. All in all, an experience I'd rather avoid if I can.

Upon arriving in London, we decided to hop on the train to Bristol instead of renting a car -- and…read morewe're so glad we did! The train stations were a breeze to navigate, tickets were very affordable, and the ride itself was smooth and scenic. Staff and locals couldn't have been kinder, always ready to point us in the right direction with a smile. If you're traveling in the UK, skip the stress of driving and take the train -- it's an absolute win!

Used in the TV show Boy Meads World, for all of those train travelers who treat their bodies like a…read moreTemple. This is a large station that services Bristol (but not literally), and is the hub of the entire Southwest UK when it comes trains. It's a haunting old station and one which we've been to on many occasions. Functionally, it's been modernized a lot in recent years during the resurgence of Bristol, but it's as grand as ever. It's actually the oldest station in the country and also the largest. Literally, in the UK. It started serving trains on the last day of August in 1840 and it connects to London Paddington. It was designed by Brunel. Who then did a lot of other railway things. But this was his first mission and he did it well.

A small station with a fast main line service to London and the west of England. It has trains to…read moreWeymouth and Bristol so is an interchange. There is a ticket office and excellent toutist information is displayed in the waiting room.There is a coffee kiosk and taxis ard available here. It serves a wide area of south Somerset and there is a car park.

I prefer Clifton Up, but what goes Clifton Up must come Clifton Down…read more Clifton Down is an urban built-up station in the heart of burby neighbourhoods of Bristol that has two platforms and serves quite a lot of people. It's almost exactly 4 miles from Temple Meads and is on the line to Avonmouth. The Clifton suspension bridge is amazing and the Clifton railway station will get you fairly near there. It's a lovely little part of Bristol and has a lovely little station. There are lots of gorges and what not around these parts and I definitely enjoy visiting all the stations - this one is one of my favourites.

Slightly bigger and grander than it's brothers on the Severn Beach line (with the obvious exception…read moreof Temple Meads), this is a main station on that line. It's mostly a pick up point for commuters into the centre of Bristol, as well as the odd lazy student. Worth noting that there's no ticket office or electronic ticket machine, you'll have to buy on board. The station takes its names from the nearby large park, and there's a tunnel underneath this park that the line emerges out from before coming to Clifton Down station. Having such a long tunnel for what is hardly the busiest of stations probably costs something extortionate, but it means you can get a train across hilly East Bristol. The Victorian buildings attached to the station are listed and its worth a visit just to have a look at them. Their listed status hasn't stopped them turning one of the buildings into an Australian pub, which is a bit of a crime in my opinion. But then I suppose it means you can have a quick pint before getting on the train. A bit too big for the quiet little line it serves Clifton Down Station is worth a visit for a nose around, as well as a means of getting to Temple Meads.

Just outside Coleford, Perrygrove railway offers a ride on a narrow-gauge railway and more…read more On entry we were greeted by friendly staff who explained the timetable and handed out a quiz sheet to each of our children together with a key that opens the appropriate prize box once you've finished. The aim of our time at the place was to explore the whole site finding shapes and pictures to answer the clues on the sheet. They provided two different sets of questions, depending on whether you want to just take the train or wish to wander through the wooded area. Next to the entrance there's a miniature 'village' inside that the kids can explore. There's a reasonable amount of scope for them to play hide-and-seek, crawl and run about, spy on Mum and Dad sitting in the cafe and invent other games to play. The railway journey takes you to the top of a hill and you have plenty to look out for on the way. There are a several places where you can get off and explore and there's no limit to how long you spend doing so; you can get on and off as much as you like. At the to of the hill there's a small covered childrens playframe built to a very high standard. From here a series of narrow paths lead down through the wooded area back to the main 'station' at the entrance. I'd suggest that if you have a pushchair, you might struggle pushing it along these paths unless it is one that has large wheels. Once you've finished wandering about outside collecting answers to the questions on the quiz, you return to the main building and enter a miniature 'village' to find your prize. The prizes are obtained by identifying the correct locker to open with your key. Inside you'll find some sweets and some 'party-bag' gifts. The cafe provides basic hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and simple heated-up food. There was also a small selection of items for sale; postcards, toy trains etc. It is spacious and you can just about see the trains coming and going. Prices were reasonable. We found Perrygrove a good place to spend a 2-3 hours and a good choice on a rainy day as well as with good weather.

Unlike the initial journey from which should have been Portsmouth Hard, Hampshire, which found out…read morewas cancelled the day before when arrived to pick our pre-paid tickets & catch the train (Sun), no problems on the return journey on the Mon (3 Apr). We found out that the departure from The Hard was canceeld & it would be starting from Fareham, Hampshire. I did mention to the Ticket Man on the train when he was checking tickets, he did apologise for the issue. Which I thought was good of him, hence the stars. There was a refreshment Trolley.

Five stars for the cafe; two stars for the station. The chef in the cafe was charming, friendly and…read moresang while crafting my sausage and egg bap. Was boiling over with laughter, loved his friendliness. The train station is closed on the weekends for rail work, which means it takes twice as long to get anywhere on the bus. Purchased the bus tickets from the train staff inside, who kept directing a group of us to talk to the bus coordinator, and the bus coordinator was not available/missing...poor show!

I don't like to come here by proxy, I always come here in Parson…read more Parson Street is one of the many alternative Railway stations for Bristol and it's a nice little station that gets a decent amount of traffic. Bristol has quite a few stations serving the area and they all do a good job, but Temple Meads is still my favourite even though Parson street is cute. It has two tracks, two platforms and serves a nice little neighbourhood on the western super mare line. It's only two miles from Temple Meads so it's close to the heart of Bristol. It's very close to Bedminster as well.

Actually located in Bedminster (which confusingly, Bedminster station is not!), this is a basic…read moreunstaffed halt served by local trains from Bristol to Weston-super-Mare and Taunton. It serves the suburbs of Bedminster, an adjacent area of light industry and is 10-15 minutes' walk from Bristol City FC's ground at Ashton Gate. Opened by the Great Western Railway in 1927 as 'Parson Street Halt', it was rebuilt with four tracks and two island platforms in 1933, and the 'Halt' suffix was dropped. By the 1970s the service frequency had (like adjacent Bedminster) fallen to just a handful of trains in each rush hour. Subsequent rationalisation meant that only the centre tracks were used, and the station acquired a faint air of desolation, with the ticket office on the bridge removed. But things have improved enormously in recent years, and it now benefits from a half hourly service during weekdays, reducing to hourly in the evening. Passenger numbers have more than quadrupled since 2003 as a result. (Which just goes to show that people will use trains if the service is good enough). Facilities are as basic as they could be: a shelter on each platform and a train indicator. There is no level access on any part of the station - the way in is via 31 steps from the adjacent bridge which carries Parson Street over the railway.