We gathered bright and early outside the National Museum, Cardiff on 17 September for our trip to the Severn Valley Railway.

A punctual departure ensued and, with no pick-ups at Newport and a good run up the motorway, we made it to Kidderminster in time to catch an earlier train than intended.

A former Great Western Railway steam engine hauled us over to Bewdley and up the Severn Valley to Bridgnorth where the local branch of CAMRA were holding a beer festival in a marquee at the station.

Roughly 50 real ales and five ciders were on sale at the festival and some of these were sampled, along with some of the offerings in the adjacent Railwaymans Arms, the Good Beer Guide-listed station buffet.

After a couple of hours we were ready to move on and the party split into smaller groups to explore Bridgnorth town centre. This lies just a few minutes walk from the railway and is historical and attractive, as well as containing several fine pubs, and even a cliff railway.

Your correspondent plus some others took an earlier train than necessary from Bridgnorth as this gave time also to explore Bewdley and to spend some time at Kidderminster. This train was hauled by a British Railways "Warship" class locomotive, a design which, as far as the UK is concerned, was unique to the Western region of BR.

Bewdley is an attractive riverside town and we settled down to sup some of the local Bewdley Brewery beer in the Mug House, a Good Beer Guide-listed pub overlooking the river.

Then back to Kidderminster to try some beer at the King and Castle, the station buffet, which appears in the Good Beer Guide, to meet up with the rest of the party to board the bus home.

A pleasant, sunny autumn day marred by just one heavy shower that spent everyone scurrying for the shelter of the beer tent at Bridgnorth, and a superb selection of beers, many brewed locally in Shropshire and Worcestershire.