Weston Super Mare - A Fun Family Day Out with GWR and a Competition

we are big fans of all things railway in our family. L was obsessed with trains when he was little and I love them, because it's such a great way to travel. I don't drive, so I always feel slightly guilty that I can't contribute to the driving on long journeys, and it's always so much more relaxing when no one has to drive or worry about traffic or parking. It's quicker, too and everyone can spend the whole journey taking in the scenery instead of driving or(my job) navigating. We were sponsored by GWR to take a family trip in celebration of their new social media competition where you could win your own day out and £500 spending money.

Read more about the competition further down, but first, a bit about how we got on. We had planned on venturing a bit further afield, but, as is often the case, pain and bad weather got the better of us. We still had a brilliant time, though. When Jade was little, we used to live right near to the train station, so it was like revisiting old memories for me. We got to the station quite early, which was fine, as I think part of the fun is watching the trains for a bit before you embark on your journey. L was quite keen on looking down from the footbridge as they shuttled past, but that was definitely not my favourite bit *shudder*. The train arrived pretty much bang on time, which was a world away from our usual bus adventures, where we seem to lose an extra half an hour somewhere by the time we get where we are going. 

The nice thing about trains, is that the journey is very much part of the trip. You get a much better view than you do from a car, and it just feels a bit more special. I think, because it's not a view you would get to see otherwise, you feel a lot closer to the countryside than you do on the road. The farms remind me of the toy farm I used to play with when I was little, where all the fences were arranged in neat little rows, and sometimes you see something you really weren't expecting. Amongst the fields of horses and sheep, we managed to spot some llamas! We had never seen a field of llamas before and wondered if their owner kept them purely because he liked the sound of Llama Farmer as a job title. Here, L is concentrating very hard on spotting more llamas. Or he may be totally zoned out from the rhytmic movement of the train, it's hard to tell. 

When we arrived in Weston-super-Mare, the weather was not great. It wasn't the worst, but just not especially beach weather. Grey and a little bit of misty rain. We went to a cafe and had a nice cup of tea and it brightened up a little, so we popped down to the beach, just because you kind of have to if you go to the seaside for the day. Or is that just me? I've been on the beach in all weathers, I'm sure the brisk sea air must be good for you and it's fun to see who can stand up the longest against the wind! Here is L, dressed in standard British beach attire of raincoat and wellies, braving the elements. As you can see, there were lots of other stoic British people behind him making the best of it and enjoying every minute of it. He certainly wasn't going to be put off and would probably still be there now, if we hadn't had to leave. There's something wonderful about the sand between your toes, or in your wellies, in his case, whatever the weather.

The only thing left to do after this, was some shopping. There are so many souvenirs and treats that you can't buy anywhere other than the british seaside. Such as giant lollipops, which appear to be most enjoyable, but really ought to come with a built in toothbrush for afterwards. It certainly seemed to go down well anyway, and he is not likely to get another one anytime soon.

GWR have got together with the National Schools Partnership to produce some brilliant software to make lessons more fun, using the railway as a learning tool. You can find out more about it, by viewing this short video. It really brings learning to life.

GWR and National Schools Partnership are running a competition to win a day out with £500 spending money! Entering is really easy and can be done via Twitter or Facebook until the 6th of June. It would be a great start to the summer and I do hope you'll have a go, I would love to see one of my blog readers win. Wishing you lots of luck.