Westbury families enjoy a free trip to the seaside

A GROUP of Westbury families enjoyed a free trip to the seaside on the ‘Weymouth Wizard’ earlier this month thanks to Westbury Lions and Great Western Rail.

With the welcome arrival of sunshine, it was the perfect day for a trip to the beach on the ‘Weymouth Wizard’ Great Western train.

A 67-seat coach on the ‘Weymouth Wizard’ was reserved free of charge by Westbury Lions Club especially for Westbury families.

Organiser, Lion, and local councillor Horace Prickett said, “It went very well and I’m so pleased everyone had a lovely time. I was quite taken back by the number of people who thanked me, it was quite overwhelming.

“I couldn’t go for the whole day unfortunately but I did wave them off in the morning and then caught the 3.30pm train to Weymouth to make sure everyone got back on the train.

“Lots of children showed me the shells they’d collected and told me all about their day – they all said they had a really great time.

“I would like to say thank you to Great Western Rail for giving us the free seats and to the Westbury Lions for their support. Big thanks also to The Heart of Wessex Rail Partnership for providing a free brochure for the children to keep them entertained on the journey. It was specially printed for the trip and included lots of fun facts, information and activities about the journey and Weymouth. That was very kind of them to do. We would love to organise another trip because it was such a success.

“A trip to the seaside isn’t just for children though. If you have a bus pass, for two people to travel on the Weymouth Wizard costs just £23.10. The journey is very comfortable, there is a refreshment carriage and it’s a quicker service than normal. It’s a lovely day trip out and doesn’t cost a fortune.”

The Weymouth Wizard is a special day trip service from Swindon to Weymouth and back every Saturday throughout the summer. The train leaves Westbury at 10.02am, arriving at Weymouth at 11.45am, then returns at 5.28pm to get to Westbury for 7.16pm.