Commuting from Yetminster to Bristol - Mad???

[whole diary]

[lulu]

Hello, hope this question hasn't been asked already but I haven't seen it.  We are thinking of moving to Yetminster which would mean my working in Bristol, commuting by train each day.  Is this a mad option - it looks like 2 hours each way and I have no idea how reliable the line is.  Advice/views would be appreciated!  Thanks

[Lee]

Hello, hope this question hasn't been asked already but I haven't seen it.  We are thinking of moving to Yetminster which would mean my working in Bristol, commuting by train each day.  Is this a mad option - it looks like 2 hours each way and I have no idea how reliable the line is.  Advice/views would be appreciated!  Thanks

Welcome to the forum, lulu.

On paper, it doesnt look too bad, although you could argue that the morning peak arrival times into Bristol arent ideal.

However, there are numerous posts on the forum regarding occasions when things dont always go according to plan. My recent photos of the 1749 from Bristol to Weymouth (taken at Bristol Temple Meads) probably wont fill you with confidence either :





That said, Yetminster is in a nice part of the world. Here are some photos of nearby Thornford station.
http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford1.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford2.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford3.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford4.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford5.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford6.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford7.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford8.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford9.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford10.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford11.jpg

http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/250208thornford12.jpg

Dont let me put you off though. I am sure that forum members can give you some more positive commuting experiences relevant to this.

[Graz]

^ Most of that crowd leave the train at Oldfield Park which has an awful lot of commuters in the evening peak cram into local services. If you can take around 15 minutes of that each day you should be OK! It's also worth mentioning that you could go down to Bath Spa or Westbury on an earlier service and change there, so you can board the Weymouth train when a lot of the people have already left.

Also, the morning won't be so bad as trains normally only get busy from Frome upwards, so you should almost definitely be able to get a seat.

It's quite a fair way to travel though, so as long as you don't mind longish journeys you should be fine. From my experiences of travelling to/from Frome, I can say that trains have generally only been really late a couple of times.

[lulu]

Thanks for your interesting comments.  I'm a veteran of the London Underground system so I'm certainly used to cramped conditions; that said, a move Westwards is supposed to be to escape that kind of thing but I guess its the same with any large city! 

I know this a train forum but the alternative is to drive which, according to the AA website, should take 47 minutes (presumably on an average day...).  Is Bristol like London in the rush hour?  Are there places to park for a reasonable sum?

[Lee]

I know this a train forum but the alternative is to drive which, according to the AA website, should take 47 minutes (presumably on an average day...).  Is Bristol like London in the rush hour?  Are there places to park for a reasonable sum?

Quote from the link below, which also details official proposals for dealing with congestion in the Greater Bristol area.
http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/media/press+releases/2007/transportstreets/Authorities+unite+to+tackle+congestion+threat.htm

It is estimated that lost time in congestion is already costing the West of England^s economy at least ^350m a year and journey times are on the increase. In Bristol, for example, the average car speed during rush hour is 15mph - the slowest in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) outside of London.

On car parking charges, the link below is interesting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7093719.stm

[eightf48544]

If you happy to sit on trian for 4 hours a day then OK. You get an awful lot of reading done.

If you are going to do it in the  long term you should consider an Annual Season ticket, which is usually the cheapest way of commuting regularly. Does your employer do a tax free loan?

However, a couple of points you need to consider particularly travelling from a station with a limited service. What happens if you want to be Bristol earlier than normal is there an earlier train than your normal one, similarly if you want to stay in Bristol later is there a later train than your normal one? Or would you have to drive? You will need to do a count of times you might drive because this could effect your season ticket choice. If you have regular periods when you work late you might consider drivng for those periods and buying greater than 3 monthly tickets in between, Dont forget for 3 months and greater  you can buy a ticket for any period up to a year.  

Also beware timetable changes, there may well be suitable trains in each direction in the current timetable, but as many commuters in various parts of the country have discovered, is that with franchise and timetable changes what were your nice regular trains either disappear or are retimed to more inconvienient times. Ask the poor Melksham passengers, see other posts.

It's something that the DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) don't seem to understand is that most commuters travel on the same trains each day which fit in with their work patterns. In fact like yourself many may  have chosen their home and work places, in relation to the timetable.

Even I was caught out with the December 2005 change having commuted from Taplow to London for years at around 07:20 in the morning arrivng Padd just before 08:00. "They" suddenly added four additional stops and timed it arrive at 8:06 which missed two Hammersmiths.

I ended up catching the 06:45 from Taplow, which is why I retired when my annual season ticket ran out.

[Lee]

Just to pick up on one of eightf48544's points, as I hinted earlier the morning arrivals into Bristol arent ideal - 0806 and 0904. Also, one of the evening peak trains from Bristol to Weymouth has been moved back from 1704 to 1649.

Mind you, I would love you to do it. Stations like Yetminster need more passengers to ensure their long-term survival.

[devon_metro]

Traffic near Bristol was gridlock last time I passed through on the bus - in the middle of the afternoon!

[eightf48544]

One other thought although it means you wouldn't use Yetminister station, is park and ride.

How easy is it to drive to Frome/Westbury or Bridgewater and park to catch the train? Not sure of frequency of Bridgewater-Bristol service, but from either it would a shorter train journey and from Westbury  more frequent trains. So you would have more flexibility with your travel times.

[John R]

^ Most of that crowd leave the train at Oldfield Park which has an awful lot of commuters in the evening peak cram into local services.

Bit unfortunate if you can't get on because of all those travelling to Oldfield Park.

[lulu]

Park and Ride sounds like an interesting option - how long would it then take to get to the centre of Bristol?  And would I easily find parking somewhere like Frome/Westbury?

[dog box]

It takes me nearly an hour to get from South Bristol to the Centre in peak times, and it will take you nearly another 2 hrs on top of that.
your best bet i reckon would be Taunton where The FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Service to Bristol frequent and not too ovecrowded also you have the Cross Country services to the North which all stop Bristol

[Graz]

^ Good plan, after looking at a map I'd also say it's easier to get to Taunton than Bridgwater.

What I would do is try the train from Yetminster once or twice, if it's a nightmare drive to Taunton. You certainly wouldn't want to be going anywhere near Bristol at peak time in the car. It's also good to familiarise yourself with the train journey from Yetminster in case you ever have car trouble but still need to get to work.

[eightf48544]

I think Graz has come up with a good plan.

Try Yetminister - Bristol train to see how you get you could get a weekly ticket rather than pay daily. Does Yetminister have a public library for your reading matter? I did part of my of OU degree on the train.

Then try the various park and ride suggestions and compare which one suits you best. If you do decide on park and ride as he said you've got Yetminister to fall back on if you have car trouble.

From what others have said you definitely don't want to drive all the way, certainly not every day.

[Lee]

Does Yetminister have a public library for your reading matter? I did part of my of OU degree on the train.

A mobile library is available at Yetminster on alternate Wednesdays at the following times/location/dates in March 2008 :

11:50-12:10 Shearstones 12/03/2008 and 26/03/2008.

Dont forget that, whatever you decide in relation to commuting, you could also use Yetminster station for off-peak leisure journeys (link below.)
http://www.heartofwessex.org.uk/

You will note that the Heart Of Wessex site hasnt been updated for a while. See quote below :

Timmer,

Unfortunately Catherine, the Partnership Officer was taken ill in late Autumn so I'm sure that's why the website hasn't been updated.

I understand she is close to returning to work and, yes, the Partnership does still exist.

Richard Burningham
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership

An up to date timetable can be found in the link below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/CardiffBristolWeymouth.pdf