Just to throw another spanner in the works, an empty 175 has failed on the up near Ivybridge.   Two long distance eastbound trains being held at Plymouth.

 
Laira's saltwater.

 
Another update, from the BBC:

 

That can happen if another follow up has been posted while you are writing - you press "post" and can (I sometimes do) don't notice that rather than posting, it alerts you to another contribution and asks if you want to post anyway. 


Not sure if the original post specified "for two". Similar generation to you, or outing with a child or a parent?

Like the example so far - I left out Southampton because I find it a bit car infested near the station ...

 
I wrote a post earlier this afternoon that seems to have gone AWOL. So, briefly, thanks for the ideas so far, and don't stop yet!

My request was (and still is) genuinely for ideas for a day trip for two in the near future. However, the search and follow-up raises a number of interesting points, some relevant to the concurrent thread on town centres.

I will post some further thoughts when I have time.

 
Exeter Central for shopping, museum, cathedral, riverside. It's not car friendly.

 

Probably rules out Slough too.

 

A number of years ago I did a walk from N&B to Bristol going through Tyntesfeld, Ashton Court and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  Tyntesfield was accessed by a "back entrance" (stop giggling all of you at the back there) footpath from around the Wraxhall area.  It did involve a bit of roadside walking and a yomp though Nailsea but all in all I quite enjoyed the day out.

 
Nothing on JourneyCheck as at 16:30 but Realtime Trains is flagging a familiar pair:

 
Have you thought about Southampton or Windsor? If you don't mind two changes of train (at Reading and Richmond) and like gardens with a bit more, you might also consider Kew Gardens.

 
He's a liar.....

 

I do not find that very re-assuring.

 
Considering both climate change, and the present very high price of diesel fuel, one might hope that ALL the new trains will be battery, or battery OHLE hybrids.
Whilst there maybe a few routes for which diesel power is more suitable, cascaded diesel units will be available for many years yet. No need to build ANY new diesel units.

 

Level Boarding at last to be specified for new rolling stock!


And there you have it. They won't do this unless it can be shown that it WILL do so

Edit just to clarify quoting

 

Although there is quite a lot of research to show that shopkeepers habitually overestimate the number of customers who come by car:


(from https://ggwash.org/view/96602/survey-most-shopkeepers-shoppers-overestimate-car-use, which has lots of interesting links)

To be honest I think 90% of the High Street problem is online shopping. We buy stuff from Amazon and eBay and the like, not Debenhams or BHS or Woolworths. Town centres are just too big for modern shopping habits. The only options are to major on the visitor destination/experience angle - as JohnM says, "having a pedestrianized high street during most of the day made it magnitudes nicer as a place to shop/loiter" - or to shrink the town centre. Much better to turn town centre buildings over to residential use, where the residents might spend time and money in the town centre, than to build acres of new suburbia where the residents will just drive to Tesco.

 

I am not sure these people have much of a clue; when they say 'removal of diesel traction' do they mean partially or completely? Energisation of around 25% of the existing non-electified network implies the former. One assumes they think the remaining 75% can be served by purely battery- or hydrogen-powered rolling stock. Best of luck with that, it would cost billions.

Or are they thinking the madness that is discontinuous electrification coupled with a large fleet of new battery-electric trains will do the job?

If I was in charge there would be a proper rolling programme of 'full fat' electrification. 

 
Also a potentially important strategy shift in that some or all of the new vehicles may be directly purchased and not leased out by ROSCO's.

 

Slight bias involved?  .  I have visited Nailsea, as friends live there. Would like to visit Tyntesfield again, but there doesn't seem to be a safe walking route between N&B station and the NT site?

 
Thought I would quote the section on Regional fleet (one of 4 types of train, the others being Intercity, commuter and metro) from newly published Rolling stock strategy, as it gives hints to what is intended


So comfort will be the priority on Regional Express

Meanwhile for those more interested in Bristol or Exeter commuter services
 
The strategy seems to favour Battery electric multiple units, but there will be many years old cascaded trains, with an expectation that about a quarter of the currently unelectrified network will be (eventually) wired

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6aba4b47997a4b2950ccefc0/gbr-rolling-stock-infrastructure-strategy.pdf

 

That is true but it is a strategy and not a plan.  I would venture that it is more likely to be delivered than any of the previous rail strategies of the last 30 years.

The method of funding changes for Network Rail Control Period (CP) 7 is the last one, it changes to "Funding Period (FP) 1)" for GBR this to reflect a whole industry approach.

 
I have mirrored that (here) for easy access into the far future, and so that it comes up in our searches - and categorised it as a "key" document - one of just 64 such documents in the archive of 2400.

It's 26 pages - not read and absorbed it all yet.  In the earlier part I note


Reliability not frequency, nor size of the network, I note.  Good to see "facilities" noted and whilst this is a train related paper, that overlaps a little onto the stations.  The whole is qualitative rather than quantitative - as I say, nothing on frequency, and not on length of trains either.  Standard 30 minute frequency, 5 car train, Swindon to Weymouth anyone, or just 2 through trains a week, 3 in summer, of 2 or 3 carriages each as it is at present?   That improvement in frequency and capacity would sure as heck make it attractive to increase revenue.   And it might be attractive enough to allow fares to rise. Even with higher fares, I doubt the extra cost would reduce subsidy needs.


 

 
Oh, hang on, I think I can see them.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rPqSy38t8agUP6CT7

 

They stored them where?!!!

 
Ah, Nailsea has a post office. Good. Bath: your move.

 

To be quite expected due Spring High Tides (4 mtres) this evening and Strong SE winds of more than 18 mph forecast  so undesirable for the newer trains ( IETs ) to stop between D.Warren and Teignmouth and passrs thus travel in the local and a bit more reliable trains.
As for salt water/corrosion effects in the problematic cl 175 units, well we have yet to find out , but know two years stood and forgotten uncared for at Holyhead in the Salt / wet air did their electrics no good, a well known fact to all but their owning ROSCo Angel and DfT ‘remotes’.

 

and the following service:

 
10 years ago today - how time flies!

The nature of progress is that there are big increments and then consolidations.   10 years ago today, TransWilts trains through the day switched from being a trial service to being a formal ongoing part of the franchise, and from being a local community group that had declared itself to be a community rail partnership to a much more formal Community Rail Partnership.   And we celebrated loading hundreds of people onto an HST every weekend through the summer to Weymouth - not really to promote Weymouth, but rather to promote the availability of the service.

We have seen incremental changes since - the platform rebuilt and extended, longer trains, a handful of additional trains that now give us a thin service "all day every day". But we are still very much "work in progress".  On the train service side, we need more trains and more reliable trains.  On the station access side, we need it to be much more friendly and customer aware - better walking routes, busses that connect, and a friendly and helpful welcome to customers.

 
The rolling stock and Infrastructure strategy is now published

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6aba4b47997a4b2950ccefc0/gbr-rolling-stock-infrastructure-strategy.pdf

A couple of snippets


Which it then describes each of Intercity, Regional Express, Commuter, Metro with comfort, seating, standing, other facilities.   Interestingly it suggests some Metro fleet will be used on seasonal holiday routes to provide extra luggage and cycle space

Quite a lot of ideas and intentions (but no actual detail) of way forward

 

"Ever" is a very dangerous word.  I am reminded that the original electrification on the London and South Coast Railway was overhead, and that was replaced by third rail around 100 years ago.  Third rail around the Newcastle area was replaced by overhead ...

 

These days, private cars dominate so many places, but there are many excelllent sections within towns and cities which aren't overrun ...

Places I have enjoyed by train from West Wiltshire include:
Bath
Bristol
Frome
Oxford
Salisbury
Stroud
Gloucester
Cardiff - Central and Bay
Barry Island
Penarth
Salisbury
Hamble
London
Marlow
Dawlish
Exmouth
Poole
Weymouth
Chepstow
Worcester
Malvern
Bournemouth
Southsea
Tiverton (by bus from Parkway and canal walk back)
Isle of Wight (if you allow a ferry and have a deep pocket!)

And places that I really should take a (further) look at might include:
Exeter
Reading
Cheltenham Spa
Chichester and onwards toward Brighton
Sherbourne, Gillingham, Axminster, Honiton
Didcot, for rail centre

Less that 5 hours (for me), but fun:
Yetminster
Avoncliff
Severn Beach
Lymington
Brockenhurst
Bicester Village
Oldfield Park (to Midford)
Yatton
Burnham (for Highbridge)

Overrun with cars IMHO from the station might include Dorchester, Weston-super-mare and Newport

Not listing post-apololyptic places, nor "home" places within West Wiltshire.  Many more options if you allow a relatively short bus ride from a railhead.  And others if you are looking for countryside / canal walk