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Aust
Aust maps
Historic maps of Aust and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Aust maps
Aust area books
Displaying 1 of 6 books about Aust and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Aust
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Avon memories
The Blue Lagoon
I can remember waiting at Ashley Down Station for the steam train; towels,swim suits and picnic in big beach bags. The journey was an adventure every time, the smell of the smoke and the old carriages. Pushing your head out of the window with a a leather strap to keep it open. Feeling the wind in your hair, mum nagging about getting things in your eyes! The excitement as the train pulls into the station the sound of the steam hissing from the engine. It was always sunny, well that's how I remember it. It was a race to get to the pool first so you could claim your spot. I have fond memories of this pool, the bright blue painted bottom and the walls surrounding it, the sounds of happy children as they pluck up the courage to dip their toes into the freezing water, the hard rough concrete under your feet. Shivering, covered with goose pimples as you try and dry yourself under a very rough towel.... Read more
I am Not A Beach Boy
I am not a beach boy, even though we share a name. (I have not worked out how to create paragraphs,so bear with me.) My parents moved to the Beach when I was about 11 years old (around 1953) to Beach Road. We lived in the last house before the boating lake and I went to Patchway Secondary Modern by coach every weekday. I never sat next to Robin Stockham, he was too noisy!(sorry Rob). I also used the cinema, and I remember when it rained the drumming on the roof drowned out the soundtrack! RS is quite correct about the summer holidays, they were magic, all day every day down the Pool lying on the roof of the ice cream getting covered in tar and watching 70 year old Mr Cooper doing endless lengths in an immaculate and laid back style, brown as a berry and not a sign of Melanoma! Ah halcyon days, watching sandwiches, banana skins and condoms floating past. I lost my virginity in the dirty... Read more
I am A Beach Boy
I was born in July 1942 at 2 Church Road ,the youngest of eight children,the time I remember best is around 1952,being a kid in the Beach then was brilliant,so many things to do, Boating Lake,Minature Railway,Swimming Pool,Funfair and all the normal things,the highlight of our week was the visit to the Galvanised Gaumont picture house,it would cost 6d on a Wednesday & Saturday and was situated at the back of the Rustic Stores,in later years I became the "Ice cream lady" and got to watch all the films for free.
A lot of us kids worked on the fairgroud starting at the bottom(Darts,Bow & Arrow,Swings,Big Wheel,Slot Machine Arcade and finally to the pinnacle collecting the fares on the dodgems)it was the finest place for pulling you could have.
My mate Grimo and I used to go to Church(Galvanised)St Nicholas at the top of Church Road,every Sunday evening Grimo would pump the Church organ I would
be making a terrible noise in the choir,dressed in our Church robes and... Read more
Every Weekend at Severn Beach
I lived in Patchway in the 1960s, every weekend friends and I would catch the train to Severn Beach to go swimming in the pool there, I wonder if it's still there, I guess not. I remember the stinky change area :) and the crowded pool, great times they were !
Childhood Memories
I was born in Severn Beach in 1953. We lived in the Chalets at first, and then moved on. I would like to know if any of my old friends are on this site. The fairground, the boating lake, the club, the swimming pool are now sadly, all gone.
Bitter Sweet Memories Of St Cathrines Boarding School
I arrived in 1955, I was there for three years. I was not happy there, it was like a jail to me. I do recall the names of Clive Wood and Peter Adams - I do not recall any of the others. There was a girl with a birthmark on her face, her first name was Rita, I think. Do you remember a girl called Diana? she had Tourette's Syndrome. Remember the cellar? We would all congregate there sometimes. What was that matrons name that used to watch us boys in the bathtub? I used to think she was a voyeur. When I was there, the big thing to do was raid the pantry at midnight. Someone used to have the key. We used to take the cans of Nutmeat. It was 'ghastly' I can't remember how we ever got those cans open - we didn't have a can opener. Does anyone remember a boy named Bill Shea ? I remember Mr Thunder, I think he was a music teacher, not sure. I loved... Read more
When I Was A Lad....
Ahh.. What a rush of memories return to my mind as I ponder the view of the vale of Almondsbury laid out before me. I grew up in the lower village (then known as marshwell crescent). My father's family hailed from the deepest depths of Patchway common, where my Grandfather was the local Cobbler (always making ready the boots of the local gypsies as they prepared to make their yearly trek to Kent for the hop picking season, and paying my grandfather on their return from picking). I have wonderful memories of running, hiding, and enjoying family picnics on the tumps, and enjoying a glass of cool lemonade from the local pub (Swan on the hill), while my parents inbibed a glass of a more portly brew. Every weekend, we local lads would wind our way down to the marshes, to catch our share of elvers who were always there in abundance, living in the myriad of reens that inhabit that marsh area. I can truly say from the bottom... Read more
