Weston-super-Mare and Bridgwater

I caught the 7.00 a.m. train from Paddington to Bristol, and from there got a bus to Weston-super-Mare, which was fairly quiet at that time in the morning.   After a wander round the front and the town, and a late breakfast (or early lunch) at a little cafe, I caught the bus to Bridgwater, which I hadn't been to before.

Bridgwater, a market town, isn't on the coast, but it is on a river, the River Parrett, which you have to cross to get from the bus-station to the town.   At one time there was a quay and Bridgwater was an important inland port, with a vibrant industrial base.

The town itself is quit small and you can easily walk round it in an hour or two.   I wandered around most of it, before going to the Blake Museum, which is where Admiral Robert Blake is reputed to have lived.   Today it houses a museum in his honour, and quite a fascinating museum too.   Before today I had never heard of Robert Blake, who was a famous as Nelson in his day.   I spent a considerable amount of time in the museum, more than I intended, and then purchased some of their home-made marmalade which they were selling in the shop.

After the museum closed I had a look at more of the town, and also had something to eat - by this time, there were a limited number of cafes still open, and it seems Bridgwater is the sort of place where everything closes at five o'clock.

When I got back to Weston-super-Mare I found I had just missed the last bus back to Bristol, so had to get the train, which turned out to be less expensive than I expected, and the route was very scenic.