Last Great Western

Advantages: It gets you there
Disadvantages: may be delays, pricey, sullen staff

...*Update: Since writing this the first time I have had the displeasure to travel twice weekly with FGW and my estimations have gone down: old trains, slow trains, late trains (especially on a Sunday!) sullen and miserable staff members, overcrowding, prices have gone up etc. They also have the WORST train delays out of all the UK train companies...25% of their trains are late, what a disgrace.* About the Company: FGW is a train company that operates services from Wales, Bristol and the West of England into London. I always travel from Swindon and my most recent experience focuses on the London route. Swindon Station: Swindon Train Station has dramatically improved. You have a choice of 2 cash machines, a W.H Smith shop and a café. Security is also improved with railway staff ensuring that no one without a ticket reaches...

Katieshaz 15.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Good-if-you're-First-Class Great Western

Advantages: Nice design
Disadvantages: Late, completely packed

...I guess most reviews come from the fact that people either have something really great they want to tell people about, or really bad that they want to moan about. To be honest I would love this to be a big rant about Great Western, but I'm going to keep my comments fair, because although they do a lot of things wrong, there are also some things that I do actually like about the way they run their service. I started getting First Great Western trains from Reading a couple of months ago. I generally get the rush hour trains in and back, but I do also have experience of using their trains during off-peak hours as I used to travel a lot on them at the weekends last year. Generally I am travelling between Reading and London Paddington, but I have also taken trains to other stops around the area such as Oxford. ~~An average day...

tac20 08.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Worst Great Western? I don't think so.

Advantages: Clean trains and facilities, helpful staff
Disadvantages: The seats are so comfortable you are in danger of sleeping past your stop.

...'s stations along the network. I have yet to see a station where there are no facilities for the disable person. Where there are toilets on a station or train, there is always a disable toilet too. Also there doesnt seem to be anywhere that doesnt have a step free access point, or a life of some sort. As well as this, there is always someone happy to help, for example, with a portable ramp, beween the train and the platform egde. FGW have done really well on this score. RELIABILITY OF THE TRAINS. There is where FGW let themselves down. This is why they have a lot of delays. I think this is also why they have earned their name of "Worst Great Western". The trains are forever experiencing some problem or other. I mean I cant really count the times where I have been on a train, only for us to stop in the middle of nowhere, because of a red...

smcclt3006 12.08.2007 (24.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

First (or Last) Great Western - It depends!

Advantages: Gorgeous Scenery/Wildlife, Beautiful Convenient Journey Breaks,!st Class
Disadvantages: Old Trains, Possibly Overcrowded,Unreliability not confined to this carrier

...WILDLIFE WATCHING ON THE GREAT WESTERN ? ENGLAND Faster than Fairies, Faster than witches, Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches, And charging along like troops in a battle, All through the meadows, the horses and cattle: (From A Railway Carriage ? Robert Louis Stevenson) I know what he meant! Like Robert we were to be afforded panaoramic grandstand views of one of England?s most beautiful stretches of coastline ? but things did not start out well! As the Exeter train approached the station, the unusually large crowd of passengers waiting stoically inched forward - en masse - to the edge of the platform. We were glad we had reserved our seats. Ominously, the train belched black greasy diesel smoke as it cranked in, brakes squeaking and bodywork groaning. Things did not bode well - where was the sleek...

queenmaebh 13.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Avoid First Great Western at all costs!

Advantages: if your lucky you can get a seat
Disadvantages: slow, unreliable, expensive, rude, Very Very Late

...I HATE First Great Western trains. you may think that is a little harsh but let me explain just how shocking their service is and then you'll think i've been very reserved with my judgement. Firstly i'll give you some general information. FGW run trains between London Padington and the South West and generally anywhere else in the south west area, this includes Reading, Portsmouth, Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and down into Cornwall. Their trains are generally pretty old, they do have a few new ones but you'll be lucky to get one of those, they never have enough carriages, and although they say they are the most reliable train company in the UK i find it hard to believe. So why am i so negative, i'll give you a few examples of the shocking service. In July i got FGW trains from Portsmouth to Plymouth...

esteban1985 29.10.2006 (04.12.2006) · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Team Building at the Swindon Hilton

Advantages: Dedicated Business Floor, Comfortable accomodation
Disadvantages: Slight downfall on the food quality, small bar area

...Destination: Hilton Swindon, Swindon, England Duration: June 22nd-24th 2004 Swindon, England Swindon is a vibrant, lively town situated along the M4 corridor in the South of England. Entertainment, History, and Shopping can all be found in this bustling town, with such delights as the McArthurGlen Designer outlet store, Museum of the Great Western Railway and a beautiful countryside surrounding the town. Reaching Swindon is very convenient with excellent transport links running into the city, and is merely an hour away from the Capital, London Swindon Hilton Hotel The hotel is located minutes of Junction 16 of the M4, conveniently placed for easy access for business visits, and social/personal events. I was actually arriving at the hotel by car, with a friend of mine; as we were due to attend a 3 day Team Building...

kelr101 24.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Hilton, Swindon

Great Western - Mc Arthur Glen in Swindon

Advantages: Good Bargins, clean, spacious centre.
Disadvantages: May not have it if you are looking for a particular item

...I love shopping at the Great Western Designer Outlet near Swindon. We tend to make it a family outing (my parents, husband and son 6) as there is something for all. We usually arrive at about 10:00 (it takes us just over the hour and it is easy to find as it is sign posted from junction 15 of the M4) and start with a coffee at Starbucks. The next stop is to leave my son in the crèche (at his own request). This is staffed by friendly fully qualified nursery assistants, they have plenty of games (even a PlayStation) and things for the children to do. If you have a mobile phone they will take the number and if not they will give you a pager so they can contact you if needed. It costs £1.40/half hour in the week and £1.60 at the weekends. Maximum time to leave them is 2 hours ( which for us takes it to lunch time). Then it?s off to...

SlickVic 06.01.2003 · Read review
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Review of Mc Arthur Glen in York

Swindon Town FC

Advantages: Ought to gain promotion this season...
Disadvantages: ...from League 2

...Swindon Town Football Club can now be found sat in League 2...just over ten years ago they were a Premiership team. Their fall from grace has been dramatic, not only from a playing point of view, but financially. Their stadium, The County Ground in the middle of Swindon, is an all-seater stadium of just over 15,000, not that it'll get anywhere near being filled for a few more seasons until they are back in the top 2 leagues in English football (well, IF they are back in the top 2......) For a brief history lesson, they were League Cup winners in 1969, after beating Arsenal 3-1 in the final, and won the 1969 and 1970 Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup, against Roma and Napoli respectively. Then, after an extremely quiet period, they gained promotion to the Premiership for the 1993-94 season after beating Leicester City in...

carl.mcqueen 29.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Swindon Town

Great Country Hotel for a weekend away

Advantages: Included Golf, Health Club, Super Value
Disadvantages: Ridge Restaurant not great, Busy in Summer

...I have been going to the Blunsdon House Hotel for about 7 years. It is located in the village of Broad Blunsdon just North of Swindon and boasts wonderful panoramic views of the surrounding area. On a clear day you can see 15-20 miles, absolutely beautiful, rolling fields as far as the eye can see. I visit the hotel on average 4 times per week and am very familiar with it and it?s surroundings and wanted to share with you my thoughts and feelings about it. I have also received feedback from many friends and relatives who have stayed there because my house isn?t big enough to hold them so I have enough information to give you a balanced view and I?ll deal with things one part at a time. The Hotel Firstly the hotel itself. It is split into two distinct buildings. The main building holds the majority of the hotel rooms, the food...

Lexica 20.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Best Western Blunsdon House Hotel, Swindon

IBIS hotel - Swindon

Advantages: Cheap, easy to find, friendly helpful staff
Disadvantages: Needs refurbishing

...My wife and I stayed at the IBIS hotel in West Swindon last weekend as we were going to a friends 40th birthday party that evening and neither us fancied the lengthy drive home in the early hours of the morning. We booked in for 1 night, planning to arrive on Saturday afternoon and leave on Sunday morning. We chose the IBIS because we wanted a budget hotel and because it was located very close to where the party was being held. Also, we could book in anytime after mid-day and didn't have to vacate our room until mid-day either so we could have a lie-in after the party if we needed to. ~~ Booking ~~ As I had found this hotel using the web, it made sense to book the same way - this can be done from the IBIS website (www.ibishotels.com/ibis) quite easily and you receive...

nigeofnewbury 11.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Ibis, Swindon