I took the bus out to Portishead a couple of days ago, and then walked to Pill to see progress. The photos are in this BRC post, for those who may be interested:

https://bristolrailcampaign.org.uk/portishead-railway-january-2026-update/

 

A really nice report and that may well have sparked my own interest to do something very similar in the Spring/Summer.  It's the X4 bus, isn't it?

 
Yes, the X4. Quite frequent, and usually a Yutong electric jobby!

 

Corking stuff, I'm fully intending to make use of that service to go and have the occasional nose around there too.  Reminds me a bit of my visits to the Filton Bank during the redoubling.

 
Worth pointing out that the last couple of hundred metres of Sheepway as you approach old Portbury Station from Portishead are really nasty to walk along, with some blind bends and fairly fast traffic. Most motorists I met were very courteous, but one of two were on me before either party had much chance to react.

 

Worth pointing out indeed and I'll definitely take that into account in my planning....a train would be a preferable future transport option to an ambulance.

 
Possibly splitting this off into a new topic - if the idea takes off - but could we recent posters here possibly meet up to explore the restoration of the Portishead Line together?

I am retired, with no particular calendar or timetable constraints, and I would welcome the opportunity to meet up with any others from the Coffee Shop forum for 'a bit of a jolly', just exploring the Portishead area.

If anyone is interested, please reply here initially: we'll see what potential there might be for such a meeting.

CfN.

 
As a regular user of the X4. I would advise getting off at Portbury footbridge and observing the terrain from there. The top of the road bridge is the highest point for miles around apart from the Portbury footbridge which crosses the M5. How many of you know that the M5 swept away the old Portbury Methodist chapel which had a 1840 broad gauge railway carriage in use as a Sunday school room, which I understand is in store at the NRM in York awaiting restoration. I did a geography degree dissertation on the effect of the M5 on the village of Portbury way back in 1972 !!

 

I'm up for that.

I did my trip solo because I wanted good weather for taking photos, and sunny days are far and few at the moment. But I'd be very happy to join in a Coffee Shop adventure!

 
As several members of the Coffee Shop forum have expressed support for the idea, I've now split these recent posts off into this new topic here.

Please do suggest any preferences as to days and / or dates for such an adventure!  CfN. 

 
Not near the railway (now) and a long time since it's been an arm of Bristol Corporation, the Royal Inn's position relative to Portishead's bus network... does it rather indicate that *that* needs a reboot in order to serve the town more comprehensively? Perhaps the new station will catalyse this.

Mark

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7139472

 

That was when the re-opening of the Portishead Line to passengers was 'just three years away'.

CfN.

 
Quoting from a related topic on the Coffee Shop forum:

 
I'll set the wheels in motion, so to speak - or give the Right Away: how about Monday 20 April?

Bus timetable for X4 is available at https://www.firstbus.co.uk/api/timetables/pdf?opco=3&service=X4&day=mf&print=pdf

I will suggest a mid-morning outward excursion, with lunch taken somewhere along the route (probably in Portishead).

Any takers?  CfN. 

 
Will have to see what I can do with work and childcare but I might come along to Bristol.

 
I would love to but have an NHS bloodletting thingy at 12:12

 
The weather forecast for Monday 20 April is good: no rain, partly sunny, temperature around 13^oc. CfN. 

 
Do we have a plan 'A' for this activity please?

Mark

 
Yes, Mark. 

Looking at the timetable for the X4, it runs every twenty minutes from the Bristol Bus Station.  It stops in Pill, handy for the railway station there, and on Station Road in Sheepway - handy for what used to be the railway station there.

I therefore suggest starting the excursion from Bristol Bus Station on the 10:00.  That gets to the Anchor Inn in Pill at 10:25, enabling an exploration on foot there before resuming the X4 service onwards to Sheepway, and then Portishead at around lunchtime.

Return journey is very flexible - every twenty minutes.

 
I enjoyed the walk from the Sheepway bridge through the nature reserve (and a housing estate) to the site of the new station at Portishead, keeping to the right side of the line. 

Well, I did it the other way round, but you know what I mean!

 

I'll be carrying (maybe wearing) my own orange hi-viz vest - if any Coffee Shop forum members here would like to join me on this exploration, from Bristol Bus Station.

 
Sorry, only just picked this up. I’m not free tomorrow, sadly, so won’t be able to join you. Look forward to your report!

 
*fx: searches this bus for orange hi-viz vests.

Mark

 
Pill has provoded a variety of experiences but at the moment I'm trying to leave the place, so far unsuccessfully.

Mark

 
I was at Portbury footbridge at 1037 awaiting the 1000 from Bristol bus station, but no-one got off, so I came home again...I now see it was my mistake for not reading the instructions clearly enough. Apologies and sorry I missed you all, in the hope it was more than three men and  a dog....Rather more interestingly, I saw 2 Roro car carriers cross off Portishead  (Cross?  at the speed they were going I think both masters were furious!) and discovered using marinetraffic,com, that the outgoing one was bound for Port Said in Egypt. From Port Zed to Port Said!!

 
By portishead it was one guy and a pork pie! Currently awIting an X10 to Yatton. This is a bit 'Mornington Crescent, the bus edition'...

Mark

 
Yay! Severn Beach!

Mark

 
Chris, hope you didn't miss this as a result of a mishap. Sometimes it's good when someone merely catalyses such an adventure.

Mark

 
Yes, I'm sorry I missed out on that adventure, but we did have a mishap at home here.

Reaching into the airing cupboard to get a towel for my shower, I discovered that the towels at the back were all soaking wet.  Investigation revealed that the gas combi-boiler, mounted on the wall above the shelving, was leaking.  Bowls were placed, soggy towels were hung up outside to dry, and we have a plumber arriving this afternoon to investigate the cause of this outage of water.

CfN.

 
The terrible panoramic photo below, with a distorted splayed foreground - it shows the site of the old station looking west towards Portishead from the station road bridge. The former about-to-be-demolished station house on the left, a bit of the bridge parapet in the foreground, and on the right, remains of the old steps to the up platform.

The new station will be on the same site, initially a single platform (at the left of the photo) and an additional line through the station, while the existing line away from the 'live' platform face carries the freight services, with pointwork east of the station site before the two lines run parallel for some distance before diverging.

The station house is due to come down in May. In the meantime, yesterday, there was a work site at the south end of the building that I assumed to be preparatory works for that, but it emerged that it was contractors for the national grid who were augering a new hole into the ground in preparation to replace the tall wooden pole that carried a number of services to various houses - including the station house itself, with an even larger one that they already had on site on the back of their wagon parked round the corner. The site of this pole will be within the site of the new drop off area for the station so it's not impossible that it will be one of the shortest lived electrical installations in the UK.

Plans and more for Pill station to be found on the North Somerset Council planning web site https://planning.n-somerset.gov.uk - and an application reference is 24/P/0749/DCW .

Mark

 

Drat: sorry it changed your plans. If it turns out to have been the condensate pipe, please send it my regards. Hope it's not got to more than the towels.

Mark

 
Our excellent local plumber has visited, investigated and diagnosed the problem: failure of a plastic component, which needs replacement. He will source one tomorrow and return to fit it: good news, it's just a £20 or £30 cost for the item.  Meanwhile, on his advice, we have placed an even larger bowl underneath the boiler to collect the flipping dripping water. 

CfN. 

 
Actually, I thought our local tame (professionally qualified) plumber was, as ever, very conservative in his pricing, at about £20, plus a bit for labour.  Bearing in mind that the latest headline figure for the re-opening of the Portishead line to passengers is now projected to cost just some £200,000,000.

I can personally recommend him to anyone in the Nailsea & Backwell area who may need a plumber.