Ascott-under-Wychwood

Community Website

You are here: Home / Archives for Local Transport

Local Transport

Christmas Trains 2016

By

Ascott-under-Wychwood residents will once again be able to leave the car at home and take a train to go shopping or enjoy a day out in the run-up to Christmas, thanks to special Saturday stops at the village’s station.

Train operator Great Western Railway (GWR) has agreed to provide the extra stops in late November and December at the request of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group, which is campaigning for the reinstatement of regular Saturday services at the station.

These were withdrawn in 2006, leaving the village with just one weekday peak train into Oxford and one back, but Saturday services arranged ahead of Christmas in 2011-13 and last year have proved popular, with residents going shopping in Oxford and London or visiting Worcester’s annual Victorian Christmas Fayre.

The CLPG hopes another good response by villagers – and visitors who want a car-free day out in the Wychwoods area – will eventually lead to the reinstatement of Saturday trains all year round and provision of more weekday services at the station.

This would boost public transport for the village after the loss of the X33 bus link with Burford (with connections for Witney) this July, as a result of Oxfordshire County Council ending subsidies for bus services.

CLPG chairman John Ellis said:

I am delighted that GWR has again agreed to make extra stops at Ascott in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The CLPG believes that there is a substantial suppressed demand for additional regular services to and from Oxford and London. “Good take-up of the Christmas stops will be important in demonstrating that demand and I hope that local residents will again turn out in good numbers.

The following trains will stop at Ascott-under-Wychwood station on Saturdays November 26 and December 3, 10 and 17:

  • The 7.10 am from Hereford to London Paddington will call at 9 am. The train is due to arrive in Oxford at 9.25 am and London at 10.25am.
  • The 11.21 am from London to Worcester and Great Malvern, which leaves Oxford at 12.23 pm, will call at Ascott at 12.48 pm
  • The 3.21 pm from London to Great Malvern (4.23 pm from Oxford) will call at Ascott at 4.45 pm.
  • In addition, on November 26 only, the 5.49 pm from Great Malvern to London (6.02 pm from Worcester Foregate Street station) will call at Ascott at 6.59 pm, allowing people to enjoy an afternoon out at Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre by catching the 12.48 pm departure from Ascott, which reaches Worcester Foregate Street at 1.44 pm.
Regards,
William Crossley

 

From the Wychwoods to Weymouth

By

From the Wychwoods to Weymouth – CLPG’s 2016 charter train makes tracks for Dorset coast

GWR green HST
GWR green HST

Every year the Cotswold Line Promotion Group charters an excursion train to take passengers from stations on the line between Oxford and Worcester for a day out at a special destination.

This year’s excursion, on Saturday, September 24, will see a Great Western Railway High Speed Train run to the Dorset seaside resort of Weymouth, which will call at Ascott-under-Wychwood and Shipton stations to pick up and set down passengers.

Many tickets have been snapped up by members of the group, which represents passengers on the rail route between Oxford, Worcester and Hereford, but they are now on general sale to members of the public.

A limited number of first class tickets are still available, along with 150 seats in standard class.

The train will leave Oxford at 6.45am, calling to pick up passengers at Hanborough, Charlbury, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Shipton, Kingham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Honeybourne, Evesham and Pershore en route to Worcester Shrub Hill. It will leave Worcester at 8.15am, for a direct run to Weymouth, taking the route via Bristol, Castle Cary, Yeovil and Dorchester, and arriving at the resort at 11.35am.

The return train will depart from Weymouth at 4.55pm, running back to Castle Cary, then via Swindon and Didcot to reach Oxford at 7.25pm. The train will then make the same stops as the outward journey to drop off passengers, arriving in Worcester at 9.10pm.

This is not the first time the CLPG has run an excursion to Weymouth, but in 1997 the train was a three-car Class 166 Thames Turbo diesel unit, seating about 250 people, rather than an eight-coach HST with more than 500 seats.

Standard class tickets are £45 for adults (£35 for CLPG members) and £18 for children. First class tickets are £95, or £80 for CLPG members. Children under five can travel free of charge.

To book tickets, please send a letter stating how many tickets you want to buy, your address and a telephone number, along with a cheque for the relevant amount, made payable to the CLPG, to Brian Clayton (CLPG), Newhaven, Greenway Road, Blockley, Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 9BQ. All applications must include a stamped addressed envelope, which will be used to send out tickets in September.

Anyone who would like confirmation of a booking is asked to provide an email address or an extra SAE.

Inquiries can be made to Mr Clayton, the CLPG’s treasurer, on 01386 701528 or email [email protected]. Please note that anyone requiring first class seats is advised to check.

Ascott Train Services December 2015

By

Ascott Station December 2011
Ascott Station December 2011

After a break last year, Ascott-under-Wychwood residents will once again be able to catch a train on Saturdays to go shopping or enjoy a day out in the run-up to Christmas, thanks to the Cotswold Line Promotion Group.

Great Western Railway (GWR) has agreed to a request from the group for trains to make special stops at the Oxfordshire village’s station on Saturdays from November 28 to December 19, giving people the chance to go shopping in Oxford or London and visit Worcester’s popular Victorian Christmas Fayre. Similar services were provided in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Regular Saturday stops at the station were withdrawn in December 2006 but the CLPG believes that following the substantial investment in a second platform at Ascott as part of the redoubling of the line in 2011, it should have a better service than the current one weekday peak train into Oxford and one back.

The hope is that the reinstatement of regular Saturday trains and extra weekday services would make rail travel a much more attractive option for villagers and also encourage people to use trains to visit the Wychwoods area.

CLPG chairman John Ellis said:

I am delighted that GWR has again agreed to make extra stops at Ascott in the four weeks leading up to Christmas. The CLPG believes that there is a substantial suppressed demand for additional regular services to and from Oxford and London, and we will continue to campaign for this.

Take-up of the Christmas stops will be important in demonstrating that demand and I hope that the local communities will make good use of these services.

The following trains will stop at Ascott-under-Wychwood on Saturdays November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19.

The 07.10 from Hereford to London Paddington will call at 09.00. The train is due to arrive in Oxford at 09.25 and London at 10.44.

The 11.12 from London to Worcester and Great Malvern, which leaves Oxford at 12.23, will call at Ascott at 12.49, reaching Worcester Foregate Street at 13.44, while the 15.11 from London (16.23 from Oxford) to Great Malvern will call at Ascott at 16.47.

In addition, on November 28 only, the 17.49 from Great Malvern (18.02 from Worcester Foregate Street) to London will call at Ascott at 18.59 to allow visitors to the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre to return home.

William Crossley
Cotswold Line Promotion Group

X10 bus service during road closure February 23rd 2015

By

We understand from Oxfordshire County Council that the road closure in Shipton is now scheduled for Monday 23rd February and will last for up to five days. (We were previously notified of a two week closure from the 16th).

We have been liaising with OCC as to how best to operate the X10 bus while the road is closed as the closure cuts the route in two. The length of the diversion means that we would be unable to run anything like the normal timetable. The approved solution is that we will operate a less frequent service for most of our passengers by running to Milton and Ascott on alternate journeys. This way everywhere along the normal route, except the closed section through to Frog Lane, will at least have a bus service each day even if it is less frequent than normal.

The bus to/from Ascott will serve Shipton High Street (A361) stops; the Milton buses will serve the Quart Pot and The Sands. Buses between Fulbrook and Burford are unaffected but from Fulbrook in the other direction buses will be serving either Milton or Ascott on alternate journeys.

The timetables will be available from the driver from Friday 23rd January. They will also be available on our website from next week. Our website www.pulhamscoaches.com will also be a useful place to look for any updates or last minute changes in relation to this particular scheme and also more generally to find out what is happening in bad weather.

I am attaching the temporary timetable – Pulham Coaches X10 Service Road Closure Feb 2015

Regards

Charles

Charles Wright
Pulham & Sons (Coaches) Ltd.
Bourton Business Park
Bourton-on-the-Water
Gloucestershire
GL54 2HQ

www.pulhamscoaches.com
[email protected]
t: 01451 820369

Coach Operator of the Year 2011
Bus Operator of the Year 2012