Well this is an easy challenge so far. I was spoilt for choice of where to go for a station beginning with a B. Would it be Barry or Bristol, Britton Ferry or Birmingham? In the end I decided on Bridgend, more because I fancied a trip combined with a bit of geocaching. And so in January 2019 I headed west to Bridgend. It’s an easy trip from Cardiff that’s for sure as Bridgend is on the main Cardiff to Swansea line and most trains stop there. Have I been there before? Not that I can recall, though I must have been through it on the train many times before.
So regular is the service I didn’t even bother planning my trip – just turned up at Cardiff Central and caught the next train to Bridgend. Fortunately for me it turned out to be one of the new Class 800 trains. My dog gave it the thumbs up and lay down quietly for the journey.
Once at Bridgend I had a nose around the station which is quite a mix of modern and old. It was then out and virtually straight into the centre of town. Yes, the River Ogmore does pass through the centre of Bridgend but if I was being honest it is not at its most attractive at this point. The historic bridge in the centre of Bridgend, imaginatively called the Old Bridge dates back to 1425 and is a scheduled ancient monument.
My hound isn’t at his most comfortable in town centres – mainly sniffing out scraps of food that people have dropped. So maybe I should have written – I am not at my most comfortable with my dog in town centres. He’s probably perfectly happy. We soon escaped the main streets and the rest of the day was spent geocaching to the south west of the town along the banks of the River Ogmore, finding all bar one of the geocaches we looked for. Some were a bit tricky but most were OK, some quite inventive in the way they were hidden.
Date of visit: 21 January 2019
See progress so far: A-Z of Railway Stations
Cardiff Capers 