Transport in Somerset

Railways were constructed throughout the area, influenced by the needs of the city of Bristol, which lies just to the north of Somerset, and to link the ports of the far south-west with the rest of England.

[3] Many of these ancient routes are still in existence across farm land as bridleways and public footpaths, such as that at Midford which links the Pack Horse bridge to the villages of Combe Hay and Twinhoe.

During winter in particular, whilst a horse and rider could cover a significant distance in a day, any attempt to convey heavy goods such as building materials could be extremely difficult and time-consuming.

While earlier trackways continued to be used, a number of relatively straight, well drained Roman roads were built to facilitate communications between the forts and allow the rapid movement of troops.

It then crosses open country along farm tracks and minor roads, passing through the eastern suburbs of Shepton Mallet to Cannard's Grave.

Another road ran westwards along the Polden Hills to Crandon Bridge near the mouth of the River Parrett, a district important at the time for its salt production.

The Fosse Way was crossed at Beacon Hill north of Shepton Mallet by a road that linked lead and silver mines at Charterhouse with a harbour at Southampton.

Hot springs were discovered near where the Fosse Way crossed the River Avon and the town of Aquae Sulis (now the city of Bath) developed there.

Unlike today's mechanical transport, the long journeys at this time used animal power and were undertaken in small stages, fresh horses were required at intervals, hence the name 'stage' coaches.

The George Inn, at Norton St Philip, is one of a number of establishments that claims to be Britain's oldest tavern, is located in the centre of the village.

Slate was imported through this route at a later date, but an Act of Parliament in 1915 authorised the drainage of the Axe and installation of a flood gate at Bleadon, which is now the tidal limit on the river.

This traffic ceased in the 1930s but in 1950 the wharf was taken over by the Central Electricity Generating Board to bring in materials for the construction of Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

[31] The Somerset Coal Canal was surveyed under the supervision of John Rennie, in June 1795 a tender from Houghton and Son was accepted and the first work started at Gooseyard bridge near Paulton.

Before the Chard Canal had been completed the Great Western Railway (GWR) had opened a route following the River Avon from Bristol Temple Meads to Bath Spa.

This didn't stop the closures: the Burnham-on-Sea branch closed in 1951, the line from Bristol to Radstock and Frome in 1959, Taunton to Chard in 1962, and Yatton to Cheddar and Witham in 1963.

The 4 ft (1,219 mm) gauge cars were horse-drawn along a route from London Road to the Great Western Railway station, but the system closed in 1902.

This eventually extended to some 18 miles (29 km) with routes to Combe Down, Oldfield Park, Twerton, Newton St Loe, Weston and Bathford.

Six double deck cars operated on the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line between Taunton railway station and East Reach where the depot was situated.

It won some council tenders and opened a depot in Yeovil in 2005, and in 2007 purchased Cooks Coaches of Wellington, which operated buses in the Taunton area.

The busiest is the Great Western Main Line through Bath Spa which offers two trains each hour for much of the week from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington.

[95] Another north–south route links Keynsham, Oldfield Park and Bath with Frome, Bruton, Castle Cary, and Yeovil Pen Mill.

The exceptions are the West of England line (London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids, which is the responsibility of South Western Railway, and trains to the north which are operated by CrossCountry.

Most stations have car parking and easy connections to bus services serving local towns and villages, with "PlusBus" ticketing valid on both buses and trains in many areas.

The statistics show the total number of station entries and exits and cover twelve month periods that start each year in April.

[100] The West Somerset Railway operates to ten stations between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard on around 240 days each year using heritage steam and diesel trains.

[101] A regular bus service links the stations at Bishops Lydeard and Taunton to give connections through to the national railway network.

[112] The dominance of the car, and the convenience it offers: local authorities in Somerset have various proposals in place to try to ease the current "gridlock" that is now occurring on the roads throughout the county.

Since the privatisation of many areas of public transport, cities like Bath have many large buses, which in the 1950s would have been full of passengers; these can now be seen (in 2009) conveying only a small number of people at a time.

[113] One outcome that was not foreseen as a result of the closure of many branch lines in the 1960s was the loss of public access to those rights of way established by the various railway companies.

The loss of continuity in the system as a whole, means that what remains of these rail trackways are now the subject of competition between human power and motorised rapid transit solutions.