Great West Way Travel Magazine | Issue 08

Ways to travel the Great West Way
BY CAR
A road trip adventure along the Great West Way
allows you to linger as long as you want in each
destination, and even venture off on a complete
tangent if the mood takes you – take a look at our
suggested itineraries to help you make a start.
The main road between London and Bristol is the A4
Great West Road, based on an ancient horse track
and later, one of King Charles I’s Great Roads, which
facilitated the establishment of the British postal
service – The Royal Mail.
The A4 cuts a fairly direct path between the two
cities, allowing you to travel the distance in less than
2 hours 30 minutes if you wanted to. Of course, if
you’re travelling by car, half the pleasure is being
able to pull off and explore whenever you like.
Wherever you decide to base yourself along the
touring route, there’ll also be charming country lanes
and winding rural roads to enjoy. Jump in the car and
see where you end up.
You may find the AA’s Route Planner tool useful for
planning your road trip. Also, our pages on car hire
and travel tips could be of interest – especially if this
is your first time driving in the UK.
If you want to hire a car for your Great West Way
adventure, you’ll find plenty of car hire companies
in just the places you’d expect – airports, larger train
stations, cities and towns, for example Auto Europe
and Practical Car & Van Rental.
Did you know? The first mail coach was introduced
between Bristol and London in 1784.
BY TRAIN
Making tracks on the Great West Way can point you
at endless amounts of history and fun facts to be
discovered along its length from London to Bristol. In
one go the journey is just 1hr 40min, but by stopping
off you can explore the route in your own time
turning it into a holiday adventure of a lifetime.
Relax and journey along the Great West Way using
the Great West Way Discoverer pass. It includes
unlimited Off-Peak train travel from London
Paddington with Great Western Railway along the
route to Bristol Temple Meads via Reading and
Swindon, or Newbury and Pewsey, with options
to branch off towards Salisbury via Westbury (or
London Waterloo to Salisbury with South Western
Railway). It also includes unlimited travel on listed
bus services along the routes. The rail route is
marked on the map with a green line. Choose from
an East, West or Global one-day or seven-day ticket
to enjoy your Great West Way adventure.
You can purchase the Great West Way Discoverer
pass online at GWR.com or from your local station.
They come in the form of a standard orange ticket,
clearly showing the route you have purchased
and whether it is valid for one day or seven. If you
are travelling from overseas, international passes
(similar to a BritRail pass) can be purchased online
at ACPRail.com or via your travel agent, where
discounted international rates apply and with no offpeak
travel time restrictions.
Did you know? The Great Western Railway runs
along the full distance of the Great West Way
– from London’s Paddington station to Bristol
Temple Meads.
90 GreatWestWay.co.uk