The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee isn’t the only thing being celebrated in Severn Beach next month. Throughout June, the coastal village near Bristol is marking its centenary - that’s 100 years since the first train brought thousands of people to the Severn estuary resort once described as the ‘Blackpool of the South West’.
On June 2, a beacon will be lit on the sea front at Severn Beach to mark the Queen’s jubilee and also the village’s centenary. It’s followed on June 6 with a tea party at the village hall and other events in June including a seafront picnic with live music on June 11 and a display of vintage cars on the seafront on June 18.
As my weekday morning train arrives at the single platform Severn Beach railway station 37 minutes after leaving Temple Meads, it’s hard to imagine this was once a flourishing seaside resort. Apart from two groups of junior school children and their teachers on a day trip, only two other passengers are on the three-carriage train which stops nine times between Bristol and its final destination.
