GWSR | Cotswold Festival of Steam Gala | 23-25 May 2026

I had a very enjoyable day today, despite the heat and timetable delays. Managed to arrive slightly earlier than planned due to snappy connection at New Street. Shuttle bus worked well when I used it, though the 1620 from Cheltenham was a bit cosy with the smaller bus. Hopefully later ones weren't too bad.
The place was busy, but I still managed to get a seat on all the trains. Queues in the cafes/buffets weren't as bad as I've seen in previous years as well, good when I needed copious amounts of tea to keep hydrated!

Finally got a ride behind the Caley tank after many years of trying, every time I've been at an event where it was advertised, it's been broken in one way or another (hopefully I didn't jinx it for later in the day).
Was certainly an ambitious timetable with lots going on, and it's understandable that it was very difficult to recover from delays once they'd started.
All the volunteers seemed to be working hard to try and keep the job going.

I do second some of the comments upthread about lack of information. Although stations had a PA system, it only seemed to be used when a train was actually approaching, rather than keeping passengers updated about timetable changes and late running. A 'It's not event left the previous station yet, you've got loads of time to go to the loo/buffet' would be helpful, or even just a 'I have no idea what's going on, I'll let you know when I do'.

A lot of people also got caught out on the Toddington-Winchcombe run with 229, when it didn't arrive in the expected platform and led to a bit of a stampede over the bridge.

Bit gutted I didn't get a chance to ride or even photograph the railcar. Timings just didn't work out in the end.

I did enjoy the separate 'Steam at Stanway' event, it gave the traction engines a bit more room to stretch their legs than in Toddington car park, and allowed a wider range of exhibits. Having said that, there didn't appear to great signage for it for passengers arriving by train. I asked one of the volunteers manning the car park what the best way to reach it was, and he thought it was a good way up the road and I might have to drive, rather than it being literally across the road from the station!

All in all, a great event and a credit to the team. I hope the rest of the weekend goes a bit more smoothly and they can relax and enjoy themselves!