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When you reach Tot Hill Services on the A34, turn off and head down towards Newbury. When you reach the first roundabout, turn left 1st exit onto the A339. Follow the road round until you reach station road, where you turn into Newbury Station.

Free parking for 2 hours is available along part of the Western end of Station Road but pay and display nearer the station.

Newbury is very well served with First Great Western trains and there is a bus service to the station every 15 minutes.

The toilets are very clean and there is a friendly waiting room with numerous vending machines and a small shop/cafe. Around the corner, there is a host of restaurants for you.

There are numerous B&Bs in Newbury - they all range in price.

Wessex Rail Gen [WRGen]

The light is generally good. In the spring and early summer, the sun can play havoc with your camera shot. The sun is through the footbridge, which can be known to reflect light. For the rest of the day, the sun is fine and there is plenty of shelter for you to go under if the rain comes.
On platform 1, in the evening, the sun is low and so can go into the camera lens. I recommend that you go there if the train is going either way. It is a choice between a long curve and a straight track that leads down to Newbury Racecourse station. I have only shot steam and diesels from the curve. Platform 1 is the best, right down the end of the platform, heading towards London. It gives you an unrivalled view across the whole station. I like Newbury as they give you information like no other station. If you were unsure whether a special was coming through, the staff at Newbury can often explain if the train is on its way. The PA is very good, as he will often say what locomotive it is, with which stock, and a detailed, but not too boring history of the train. Three liveries of class 59 can be encountered on stone trains: Aggregate Industries, Hanson, and DB Schenker, there is also an occasional GBRF 66 working and regular DBS 66 workings.

A new covered footbridge between the platforms at the west of the canopies opens in April 2018. The 1906 Great Western covered footbridge will then be demolished to allow clearance for electrification. Both Platforms 1 and 2 have OpenTrains style real time displays for staff information and can be consulted by anyone on the platforms so you can see what is on the line between Pewsey and Theale.

Colthrop Level Crossing