Great West Way® Travel Magazine | Issue 01

Pictured left-right: We The Curious,
Bristol; Crofton Beam Engines, with the
oldest working steam engines in the world; Jane
Austen Centre, Bath; STEAM - Museum of the
Great Western Railway; STEAM Museum pattern
shop; and The Merchant’s House, Marlborough
and you can sit in and use the controls. Since its formation
in 1942, the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers has been the driving-force of the British Army
and the inspiring story of the unit is told at the REME
Museum through their collections of armoured vehicles
and weaponry and child-friendly interactive displays.
When you reach Bristol, be prepared for even more,
as Aerospace Bristol houses an awesome collection of
aeroplanes and space vehicles spanning the centuries,
including the last
“Moving forward in time, the history
of 19th and 20th century steam railways
is retold at STEAM - Museum of
the Great Western Railway”
Concorde to be built
and to fly.
While in Bristol
don’t miss We The
Curious on Bristol’s
harbourside, with
all sorts of different
experiences and exhibits for you to interact with, and
experiments you can take part in.
Our next ports-of-call are altogether more restful,
starting at the charming Georgian town of Chippenham,
where we are pleased to recommend the Chippenham
Museum & Heritage Centre, set in an immaculate 18th
century townhouse and relating the story of the town’s
development since the prehistoric era. On the way to the
nearby market town of Corsham, a small detour will bring
you to the picture-perfect village of Lacock, and National
Trust’s Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village.
Here, in 1835, William Fox Talbot created the world’s
first photographic negative and it is only proper that the
Museum of Photography is established here.
Pretty Corsham offers two museum ‘treats’, a moving
historical experience in the original 17th century Corsham
Schoolroom and
Almshouse and The
Pound Arts Centre, a
North Wiltshire hub for the
performing and visual arts.
The City of Bath, in
its entirety, has been
awarded UNESCO World
Heritage status and this modest feature cannot do it full
justice. Explore it for yourself, at leisure, and marvel at the
splendour and grace of its Georgian beauty. Impressive
museums and exhibitions include the imaginative
recreations at No. 1 Royal Crescent and the Jane Austen
Centre and the superb collection of fine and decorative arts
to be viewed at the Grade I listed The Holburne Museum.
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