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Autumn is the perfect time to explore what’s going on across the UK

Autumn is here, and this season is when the UK truly shines. On a crisp bright day there is nothing more beautiful than a country walk, soaking in the technicolour trees as their leaves change from green to all the red and orange shades of autumn.

The only thing that is better is the promise of a cosy pub at the end with a roaring fire, tucked away on a high street that’s teeming with independent shops. This situation might sound like a utopian dream – but there is one place in the UK where you can enjoy all of this.

If it’s the autumn colour you want, you need to start your day at Stourhead in Wiltshire.

This National Trust home and garden was one of the first grand Palladian style homes built in England, and has been kept beautifully preserved.

The home is set within 2,650 acres of lush English countryside with walking paths criss crossing the land.

There’s a vast lake on the ground and at its shores is a hidden grotto where you can look out over the water and see the bright fiery trees reflecting in the still water.

The gardens are also home to several Roman inspired temples, including temples of Apollo and Flora. Once you have enjoyed the house and the garden and maybe even stopped for a cup of tea in the cafe, you can head to the charming town of Mere.

The town is just a 15 minute drive from the property, and is a quiet haven away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Mere is an historic town nestled beneath the South West Wiltshire Downs and close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset.

The charming high street has florists, antique stores and tea rooms, perfect for a weekend wander. There’s also a selection of pubs to choose from – and the oldest is one of the best.

The George Inn, located at the Square in Mere is the town’s oldest pub and dates back to the 16th century.

The main bar has a large, roaring log fire with cosy seating and the menu serves up classic pub food, perfect for warming up after a chilly autumn walk.

In one corner is bnb-side, a six-room bed and breakfast on the Isle of Portland – a tiny wedge of limestone tied by a narrow ribbon of shingle to the Dorset coast – that was created to help secure the future of the rock’s much-loved arts festival, b-side.

On the other is Airbnb, the San Francisco-based booking colossus. The battle between them is over the three little letters they share.

b-side says the “bnb” in bnb-side means what it has always meant: bed and breakfast. But lawyers for the Silicon Valley titan say the name of the guesthouse, perched on an outcrop just 4 miles long by 1.5 miles wide, threatens the global brand of the $100bn heavyweight.

“We thought the name was both really obvious and really cool,” said Rocca Holly-Nambi, director of b-side. “b-side was founded almost 20 years ago, so when we set up our BnB in 2024 to raise money for the festival, we just popped the ‘bn’ in front because it’s a universally recognised description of what we’re offering.”

Airbnb doesn’t agree. In May, it sent the first of three legal letters to the tiny social enterprise to demand it cease its attempt to register the B&B using the name it had used since it opened its doors.

“They won’t let us compromise by using a different case, an ampersand or an ‘and’,” said Holly-Nambi. “According to Airbnb, we can’t describe our BnB as a BnB at all.”

For bnb-side, losing the argument could mean more than abandoning a clever name. It would mean replacing signage and rewriting websites, social media and all other material referencing and advertising the B&B.

“That’s not just a huge waste of money – of which we don’t have much – and of the equally valuable time of our volunteers, but it would throw b-side’s core income stream into chaos,” said Holly-Nambi. “We’d have to painstakingly build our reputation and brand back up from scratch all over again.”

Raina Summerson, chair of b-side, is fuming and incredulous. “We opened bnb-side because we were completely dependent on public funding and wanted to be more financially secure,” she said. “bnb-side now generates almost half the festival’s annual £250,000 turnover. If it loses its name, we risk having to establish it all over again.”

Airbnb has opposed the name on three separate legal grounds: that consumers will confuse the two brands, that bnb-side could benefit from or damage Airbnb’s reputation, and that bnb-side will financially profit by misrepresenting itself as an official Airbnb service.

b-side is asking the Intellectual Property Office to reject Airbnb’s opposition in full, with costs awarded in their favour. The case is still under way, with no ruling having yet been made.

Airbnb’s claim has hit a nerve on the proud, windswept outcrop. Cat Wightman, manager of bnb-side, said: “It’s pretty bitter. We’ve watched other small, local hospitality businesses go under, and local people unable to afford homes here, who have been negatively affected by the force with which the Airbnb market has conquered Portland. One person owns eight properties on the island, all of which are rented out on Airbnb.”

b-side obtained pro bono advice and is working with the law firm Stevens Hewlett & Perkins to defend them, but the process is still intimidating. “It’s terrifying but we’re not going to back down,” said Holly-Nambi. “We do things differently here in Portland.”

Craig Beaumont, a trademark attorney and senior associate at Barker Brettell, a law firm that specialises in intellectual property, said that for all Airbnb’s might, this would not be an easy or straightforward win for them.

“This feels like an uphill battle they’re embarking on,” he said. “BnB has long been widely understood as shorthand for a descriptive phrase, and descriptive phrases are available for the public to use.”

bnb-side are not the only company who agree with Beaumont: Companies House records show that in the past decade 14 accommodation companies with “bnb” in their name successfully registered their businesses.

Darren Meale, a partner and trademark litigation specialist at Simmons & Simmons, said it was no surprise the term was used so often. “It’s quite punchy of Airbnb to say they’re so well-known that they can monopolise a term that they only incorporated into their name in the first place because it was a descriptive one that everyone immediately understood, and then say that someone else using the term is going to confuse customers and damage them.”

Lee Curtis, a partner and chartered trademark attorney at IP law firm HGF, agreed that Airbnb “may be testing the limits” of the law. But he pointed to another risk for the lodging colossus.

“There’s a public relations angle to take into account,” he said. “Some companies may welcome getting a reputation for aggressive enforcement but that can backfire when the target is a community organisation, like this one.”

Airbnb has been approached for comment.

THE holiday destinations without the crowds that want MORE tourism have been revealed.

Intrepid has released its annual ‘Not Hot’ List, partnering with Globetrenders to look at alternative destinations to visit instead of the popular, oversaturated places.

Using both Intrepid’s local leaders and destination experts, along with trend forecasts, the study looks at three key elements – areas with few visitor numbers, their ability to welcome more tourists, and any new infrastructure for 2027 such as big events or transport systems.

When it comes to Europe, you might be surprised to realise there are still some Greek islands that don’t have the tourist crowds.

Intrepid named Alonnisos as a “not hot” destination which is a more sustainable holiday experience in the region.

They said: “Alonnisos is a slice of paradise that plays host to an array of aquatic and land-based delights, including the endlessly entertaining – and endangered – Mediterranean monk seals.”

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The island is actually home to the National Marine Park of Alonnisos and Northern Sporades (Europe’s largest marine protected area), as well as Greece’s only underwater museum, the Peristera shipwreck.

It remains off the radar for most tourists as you can’t fly to the island, with it only accessible by ferry or private yacht.

In 2024, it saw just 70,000 tourists – compared to its neighbour Skiathos’ 500,000 or Santorini’s 3.4million.

Intrepid’s eight-day Sail Greece excursion which includes a trip to Alonnisos starts from £2,102.

Another European destination highlighted was Liepāja, a beach city in Latvia.

Nicknamed the Baltic Mediterranean, next year it will become Europe’s Capital of Culture, meaning hundreds of events, festivals and shows.

Just under 120,000 tourists visited last year, meaning you’ll get the five-mile, white sand beach all to yourself.

To get there, Ryanair fly to Palanga from London Stansted for £25, which is around an hour from Liepāja

Sweden‘s Dalsland made the top 10 list as well, for being “unspoilt and unexplored”.

Around two hours from both Gothenburg and Oslo, it is known as Sweden‘s ‘Lake District’ for all of its outdoor activities from wild camping to kayaking and hiking.

Just 320,000 people visited last year, compared to the capital of Stockholm which saw 16million.

Other destinations on Intrepid’s list included Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, named for being the place for both “crowd-averse safari fans” and an “emerging astrotourism destination”.

Georgia is fast becoming a new holiday destination, after both British Airways and easyJet launched direct flights to the capital Tbilisi last year.

But Intrepid praised Mestia as an alternative, quieter place which, while popular with neighbouring tourism, is set to become bigger with international tourism due to new infrastructure plans.

Otherwise it is popular as an outdoor adventure holiday destination, with both hiking and skiing experiences.

Also mentioned was the Northern Highlands in Jordan, a green “alternative to the country’s iconic landscapes” while “Arctic tourism” was highlighted for visiting Whitehorse in Canada.

Timor-Leste, one of South East Asia’s least-visited destinations was also highlighted, with new flight routes to connect the capital of Dili to major hubs such as Kuala Lumpar.

Sri Lanka‘s first long-distance walking trail Pekoe Trail (with a new 10-day Intrepid trip launched) and Chile‘s ‘route 7’ Carretera Austral rounded out the list.

A SMALL village in Oxfordshire could get a new £29million railway station.

The village itself is small, home to around 700 people – but is right next to Bicester Village and a new attraction currently being built nearby too.

Oxfordshire County Council has the potential for a new station on the Chiltern Main Line in a small village called Ardley.

It’s location is a nine-minute drive away from Bicester Village, a luxury designer outlet shopping centre.

A possible location being considered for the new railway is the site of the previous Ardley station, which closed in 1963.

Plans to build the new station forms part of part of the council’s bid to improve rail connectivity across the region.

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The cost of the station is estimated to be between £24-£29million.

If built it would be added to the existing OxRail 2040 proposals, which includes new stops at Oxford Cowley, Oxford Littlemore, Begbroke and Wantage and Grove.

The location of the potential train station will mean it won’t be far from the proposed Puy du Fou theme park.

It’s set to be built on a site north of Bicester near the M40.

Plans were submitted last year for the 370-acre attraction which is set to have four ‘villages’ based on different periods of time, with 13 different live shows.

Three on-site hotels would be part of the theme park and each themed on different periods of British history.

Being primarily outdoors, the park would be open between April and October.

If approved, the first phases of the park will open in 2029, with nearly 1.5million visitors a year.

The theme park is already popular in both France and Spain – it doesn’t have any rides but lots of historical re-enactments and immersive villages.

VICKY Pattison looked incredible in a tiny yellow bikini as she enjoyed a sunny trip to Montenegro with husband Ercan Ramadan.

Reality TV legend Vicky, 38, took to Instagram to share stunning photos from the couple’s holiday.

She captioned her post: “Chasing the summer…

“Montenegro has absolutely blown us away so far… the most beautiful country and people!!!!

“Also I will be coming back the size of a small semi detached as the food is INSANE!!!!”

Among the snaps were a smiling Vicky in a tiny yellow bikini, while another saw her posed while sitting on rocks.

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One person commented: “The most gorgeous ever!!!!!!!”

Another added: “Wow so gorgeous hope your having the best time girlie.”

A third wrote: “Wowzaaaaa!! So beautiful!! Love these pictures.”

While a fourth penned: “Amazing photos! So many beautiful memories.”

Vicky and Ercan began dating in 2019, with the couple becoming engaged in 2022.

They went on to tie the knot in 2024, in front of 150 guests including Vicky’s close pal Pete Wicks.

CHRISTINE McGuinness has shown off her incredible abs and tan in a tiny bikini – before declaring she refuses to let summer be over yet. 

The 38-year-old model and TV personality shared a new video lounging on a sun bed in the garden, soaking up the last of the UK’s heatwave before this weekend’s rain. 

Donning sunglasses and a deep bronze tan, Christine posed to show off her chiselled muscles in a sparkly lime green string bikini as she faced the sun to get most of its rays. 

Across the clip, she wrote: “Summer doesn’t officially end until 23rd September! Respectfully, keep your Pumpkin Spice lattes and Santa hats away from me!” 

She then added: “😎 This summer has been one big holiday for Mummy and her mini Mc’s 🥰 … Respectfully, we’re not ready for the school run!☀️😂🥹” 

The mum-of-three has always been a proud lover of the sun, enjoying holiday getaways as often as possible. 

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But there’s set to be some big changes in her household after her ex-husband, Paddy McGuinness, went public with a new romance. 

The former couple split four years ago, but have continued to live together in their £2million family home in “separate wings” of their Cheshire mansion. 

This was done for the sake of their three kids – twins Leo and Penelope, 13, as well as nine-year-old daughter Felicity – who are all on the autism spectrum. 

However, now he’s dating BBC publicist Emma Carey, Christine has acknowledged that she will learn how to live without him. 

Asked by Virgin Media Television host Lucy Kennedy, 50, about her and her ex-husband’s “current living arrangements”, she said: “He’s been a huge part of my life. I met him at 19. Which was 19 years ago, which is crazy… yeah, half of my life.”

Christine then added: “I suppose it will be strange living without him one day.

“But right now, the last three years we’ve been separated and it just works.

“We’ve got our own space. We do our own thing. We get on really well and we love our children.”

ONE tiny village in the North of England has been dubbed one of the best places to visit.

It’s surrounded by ‘Little Switzerland’s‘ rolling hills, not to mention it has a wild swimming spot that’s is considered England‘s highest beach.

The Independent put the village of Todmorden in top spot when ranking its ‘best places to visit in summer‘.

It said: “Hebden Bridge, up the road, is a tourist magnet. Happy Valley put Calderdale on the TV pilgrims’ map. But Todmorden at the eastern end of the valley has retained a down-to-earth, organic quality.“

It continued: “With the historic Lancashire-Yorkshire border running through the town – even cutting the Town Hall in half – it’s a mix of rural and urban, Mancunian and West Riding, poshed-up and proletarian.“

Found in Lancashire, Todmorden sits in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire.

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It has a few pubs like the Golden Lion, Hare & Hounds and The Polished Knob as well as cafes, an indoor market.

Some of the houses sit on the waterfront as the River Calder runs directly through Todmorden.

The village is also very close to Hardcastle Crags, a wooded valley managed by the National Trust.

It’s often referred to as ‘Little Switzerland‘ thanks to its steep Alpine-style hills, valley, streams and rock ravines.

It also has a 19th-century mill that is open to visitors.

One of its most popular attractions in Todmorden is Gaddings Dam which is a Victorian reservoir high up on the moors.

At 1,150 feet above sea level, it’s actually considered the highest beach in England and is a wild swim spot managed by the local communities.

One visitors said: “Wow! Went here one sunny, but windy day in July. Took about half an hour to walk to the top but well worth it when we got there!

“Make sure you take water and refreshments as there is nothing at the top apart from beautiful scenery! Only a small beach and only a handful of people there but was really peaceful.”

Another added: “Gaddings Dam is a fab place to go for a walk, swim, and picnic.”

Another popular site near Todmorden is Stoodley Pike, a landmark along the Pennine Way.

It overlooks both Todmorden and the neighbouring town of Hebden Bridge.

Lots of hikers say the spot ‘gets windier every single time you visit’ but is worth the walk for the ‘unreal’ views.

Meanwhile, Hebden Bridge is Todmorden’s more well-known neighbour considered ‘quirky’ and ‘bohemian’ thanks to its many artists, crafters, brewers and beekeepers.

Here’s the full list of the best places to visit in the North of England…

1. Todmorden, Lancashire
2. Ouseburn, Newcastle
3. Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
4. AND festival, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
5. The GM Ringway, Manchester and surroundings
6. Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
7. Pub Festival, Preston, Lancashire
8. Queen Street Mill, Burnley, Lancashire
9. Whitehaven, Cumbria
10. Lune Valley, Lancashire and Cumbria

The U.S. Navy made a major splash this weekend when it revealed the existence of the AIM-424 Malice Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM), which is already deep in development. At the same time, the service also highlighted plans for a new Compact Air-to-Air Missile (CAAM) optimized for shorter-range engagements and internal carriage on stealthy fighters like the F-35 and future drones as part of its larger future missile vision. Readers can first get caught up on what is known about the long-range AIM-424 in our initial reporting on that missile here.

As described so far, the core goals for CAAM sound virtually identical to what the service has outlined previously in relation to a “Compact Variant” of the AIM-9X Sidewinder (AIM-9X CV), which TWZ was first to report on. A missile in this general category would offer a boost in magazine depth that could be especially valuable for more localized defense of carriers and other high-value assets against large waves of missiles and drones.

The “Compact Air-to-Air Missile (CAAM) effort is a future inner boundary weapon. Requirements are being evaluated and assessed by N98 [the Air Warfare Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations] at this time,” a Navy official told TWZ when asked for more information. “The Navy does not plan to provide routine updates beyond approved public releases because of operational security and program sensitivity.”

Mention of CAAM was included in the same briefing where the AIM-424 was first unveiled at the Tailhook Association’s annual convention this weekend. A central focus of the CAAM is on “increasing internal carriage capacity for inner boundary weapon,” according to that presentation.

For the Navy, at present, “internal carriage” is a consideration most applicable to the service’s F-35Cs and, by extension, other variants of the Joint Strike Fighter. Internal weapons bays will also be a feature on whatever design the Navy may ultimately select as its future sixth-generation carrier-based combat jet, currently referred to as F/A-XX. Future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) type drones or other uncrewed aircraft the service might acquire in the future could also have internal bays. We will come back to this later on.

The description of CAAM as an “inner boundary weapon” points to a focus on shorter-range engagements, where there could also be less total time to react overall.

In terms of what the Navy’s core requirements for the CAAM might be beyond internal carriage, details are limited. A rendering included in the presentation at Tailhook this weekend shows a relatively generic-looking design with fins only at the tail and a yellow band around the front of the body indicating the presence of a high-explosive warhead.

However, earlier this year, the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), part of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), did put out a contracting notice regarding rocket motor developments to support CAAM and other developments.

NAWCWD “intends to procure on a Full and Open competition basis to develop and demonstrate technology that results in greatly enhanced kinematic capability for the next generation of tactical missiles,” the notice explained. “To support this technological development efforts, NAWCWD is interested in maturing high total impulse loaded and energy tailorable solid propulsion systems for transition into compact weapon systems, including a Compact Air-to-Air Missile (CAAM).”

“Requirements will include tasking and products needed to provide a Concept Design with build-to-print data package, identify critical technology gaps, conduct critical component and rocket motor experiments, conduct a Design for Manufacturing & Assembly study to identify features required to meet manufacturing and cost goals, and provide a plan to mature the CAAM HLG Concept Design to a maturity state ready to enter a Department of Defense (DOD) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) program,” the notice added.

“HLG” here stands for “Highly Loaded Grain.” This, in turn, refers to solid-fuel rocket motors designed to maximize output per volume. This is an area of missile technology where the Navy has already been heavily investing for years with a broad eye toward increasing the range and improving the performance of future missiles. Furthermore, a missile with an HLG rocket could offer substantially increased capability over a similarly-sized design with a non-HLG motor. This, in turn, offers particular advantages when designing missiles for carriage in internal bays with rigid dimensions.

“The Next-Generation Highly Loaded Grain project team has matured the technology and seeded the development of future mission-modular propulsion systems that can increase weapon ranges by up to 1.5x while maintaining inner boundaries for short-range and time-critical missions,” according to one fact sheet detailing notable achievements by NAVAIR’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCAD) in 2023. Note here also the explicit mention of ‘inner boundary’ design considerations.

As mentioned earlier, the Navy has previously used virtually identical language to describe the planned AIM-9X CV, which is also a joint program with the U.S. Air Force.

“The AIM-9X CV repackages the SIP IV technology into a compact airframe optimized for internal carriage on advanced aircraft with improved kinematic performance,” according to the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, released earlier this year. “The program will deliver increased capability to the warfighter with greater standoff range, increased aircraft weapon station capacity, and maintains inner boundary performance.”

How exactly the CAAM and the AIM-9X CV programs may be related is unknown, but they clearly have the same general goals if they are not different names for the same development effort. From what was shown this weekend, CAAM is a distinctly different-looking missile from the AIM-9X, and plans for a compact Sidewinder variant or derivative could also be a stepping stone to a new design intended to fill the same general role.

U.S. defense contractors have been publicly showing concepts for compact air-to-air missiles for years now. This includes Raytheon’s Peregrine, unveiled in 2019, which was said to be roughly half the size of an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) while still offering comparable range. The company said it also had equivalent maneuverability to current-generation Sidewinders. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the AIM-120 and the AIM-9, as well as the newly unveiled AIM-424.

In the late 2010s, Boeing also put forward a concept for a multi-stage Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM), which had a design that raised the possibility of whether the first stage could be used as a more compact, stand-alone weapon. In 2022, Boeing notably received funding for further development of that missile under a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to “investigate advanced missile sub-system components to support the Compact Air-to-Air Missile [CAAM] and Extended Range Air-to-Air Missile Systems [ERAAM].”

During the 2010s, Lockheed Martin promoted a compact anti-air missile design called Cuda, with a focus on internal carriage, as well. However, Cuda had largely disappeared from the company’s marketing materials by the end of the decade.

Regardless, the use case for such a CAAM-type missile is clear-cut, especially for the Navy and its carrier air wings. In particular, the service is facing a threat ecosystem that is rapidly evolving in scale and scope, including multiple different classes of anti-ship missiles (ballistic, cruise, hypersonic) and long-range one-way attack drones. There is a very real prospect of large-volume and complex attacks made up of very different tiers of weapons incoming from multiple vectors simultaneously, creating a greater risk that both long- and short-range defenses will be overwhelmed. TWZ previously explored this reality in depth in discussing how the long-range AIM-174B, an air-launched version of the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) that was officially unveiled in 2024, fits into the service’s larger plans.

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Added localized defensive capability and capacity could also be relevant for aerial force packages pressing their way to a target in hostile territory, where similarly growing aerial threats could materialize suddenly and in close proximity. Depending on its capabilities, CAAM might even be able to provide a new layer of defensive capability against incoming anti-air missiles, including for larger aircraft. So, giving individual aircraft more total engagement opportunities will only become more valuable, if not vital, as time goes on.

As noted, stealth platforms with limited internal bay space face particular constraints in this regard. For years, more magazine depth via smaller missiles has been seen as a key avenue for improving payload limitations for platforms like the F-35 and F-22 when operating in their most low-observable (stealthy) configuration. In many scenarios, these aircraft can get closer to their targets without detection, offering different options for the employment of what could be shorter-range weapons. A compact air-to-air missile design that still offers comparable performance to larger existing designs, through the use of a high-load-grain rocket motor and other features, would be even more of a boon. Having something that is capable of short-to-intermediate-range engagements, but that can be loaded in greater numbers internally would expand tactical flexibility, amplify lethality, and increase utility of the aircraft as they can down more targets on a single sortie in certain scenarios.

The continued growth of drone threats, especially those posed by long-range one-way attack types, has added another dimension to this equation. Limited magazine depth limits the ability to rapidly retask stealthy platforms to respond to often unpredictable high-volume drone attacks. Furthermore, the anti-air version of the 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) laser-guided rocket, the U.S. military’s current go-to lower-cost air-to-air weapon against drones, cannot be fired at all from the internal bays on the F-35 or the F-22. CAAM can offer the ability to address these threats better than aircraft like the F-35 and F-22 can today.

A weapon like CAAM would also be especially relevant for future collaborative combat aircraft, which have extreme constraints on payload capacity, internal and external, as well as total takeoff weight. For CCA-type uncrewed aircraft, keeping the airframe size as small as possible to meet requirements is also essential for meeting affordability and producibility targets. Arming these platforms with an AIM-120-sized missile might not necessarily be required, or even be ideal, especially when operating along the leading edge of the air-to-air battle, closer to threats. In those scenarios, having the option of carrying even twice as many missiles per sortie, internally (if available) or externally, even if they have shorter reach, could be hugely beneficial.

There could easily be interest in a CAAM-like missile from other branches of the U.S. military, if it is not already a joint service effort. The Air Force is already known to be involved in the AIM-9X CV effort. The service has publicly pursued new compact and lower-cost air-to-air missile concepts over the years under various different project names. This includes its own CAAM effort, through which Boeing previously received funding.

What is clear now is that the Navy is pushing to maximize the anti-air capabilities of its aircraft at both the shorter- and longer-range ends of the engagement spectrum.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

A SMALL UK train station that sees thousands of festivalgoers every year has had a glow-up.

Castle Cary train station in Somerset has had a £835,000 vintage makeover.

The train station is close to Glastonbury Festival, making it the ideal stop to get to the festival.

The inside of the station has now been restored to a classic style, with the original entrance reopened.

Along the platform, travellers will find more seating, a digital departure board and a new toilet.

The ticket office boasts a wooden panelled exterior with a black and beige sign that reads ‘tickets’.

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The walls are then painted in different shades of brown.

There is a new ramp for wheelchair access as well.

Around 350,000 people use the station each year to head to Glastonbury Festival, which is around six miles away and served by a free shuttle during the festival.

From the station, there are numerous services including Great Western Railway services direct to London Paddington.

According to the BBC, Tim Hedley Jones, director of the Railway Heritage Trust, said: “I’m particularly pleased to see the reproduction of the original Great Western Railway benches so that people can appreciate the quality of furniture that was provided in stations, and also the colours that were used.

“Historic stations have character. This project, whilst also bringing back the old heritage at the station, removed the clutter and made it a much more positive experience for passengers in a modern context.”