Reviews by KarenNice day out on a Bank Holiday where I could use free SWT gold card tickets to get the train to Alton and then Track days out voucher s for the railway. For 2 people it was about £7 for the whole including refreshments from the Waitrose next to Alton station.
There wasn’t a special event like some bank holidays and the trains weren’t packed which meant it was a nice way to spend a few hours on the steam train.
8/10
Special fares are available on Thursdays £4 return for a 30 mins trip each way with no commentary. The piers aren’t as close to Kingston and Hampton Court as The Turks boat piers – At Hampton Court the boat stops on the station side of the river where there are a number of steps to get up to the bridge. At Kingston it stops near a river side cafe between Kingston and Surbiton.
8/10
It is reasonably easy to visit the museum by public transport. Trains from London Waterloo go to Alton station, you can then get bus 38 for a 15 min journey direct to the museum for £2.45 return or another £1.45 single. However the bus only runs every 2 hours and not at weekends, bus 64 goes to the nearby Chawton roundabout more often.
The museum has 2 floors and has a number of room used by Jane and her mother and sister after her father died. It also has a garden and shop.
There are a number of buildings in Chawton associated with Jane, but not much else to do, and the only refreshments available are from a pub and a teashop opposite the museum. You can download the Jane Austen trail from the internet and walk from Chawton to Alton and see Austen related buildings. Also also has a number of shops, cafes and restaurants including chains like Co-op, Subway and Boots.
8/10
Thanks to free tickets I went to the Ideal Home Show on 21 March 2016. Entering from the main road meant I got a free goodie bag on entry, the door closest to the station had no goodie bags but was closest to the show homes. There was also a goodie bag collection point upstairs. The goodie bags contained a free dolmeo pasta meal for 2 (worth £1.99), 50p coupon for thirst pockets, hand cream sample, sample of rice crisps and a freshener for washing machines. The goodie bags upstairs also includes a large pack of gourmet crisps.
3 stalls had free cheese samples, 1 free fudge and lindt had a stall with free chocolate samples. British gas had free radiator keys and Virgin Media had jelly bean packets.
6/10
This is the first time there has been an open weekend for the Alpine Nursery at Kew Gardens. In a slightly hidden away area of the site, though a gate that is normally locked, for this weekend visitors are allowed to explore some of the rarely seen behind the scenes greenhouses where plants are grown and prepared before they go into the main greenhouses and learn more about the work of Kew. Free hot drinks and biscuits were also available for Friends of Kew.
9/10
