SHOPPING ON THE HEART OF WESSEX LINE

BRISTOL: Cabot Circus 120 shops, including 15 major flagship stores. The Broadmead area next door with The Mall Bristol: high street stores, independent shops, cafes and restaurants under one roof. For specialist shops: Clifton Village, the wonderful St Nicholas Market and Christmas Steps. Frequent buses from station forecourt will take you to all the city centre shopping. Much more detail on www.visitbristol.co.uk, which includes an excellent down-loadable city map (in Visitor Information) showing bus stops.

BATH: Huge selection of small independent shops and stylish boutiques, alongside familiar big name stores and exclusive designer brands. The city centre is compact so it is easy to reach all the top retail spots on foot. www.visitbath.co.uk includes an excellent guide to all the great shopping areas in the city.

BRADFORD ON AVON: A small shopping area with some interesting independents, including a good bookshop and homewares store. More detailed information, including a useful "Where to shop" guide, is available on www.bradfordonavon.co.uk.

TROWBRIDGE: Wiltshire's county town, with many of the benefits of our larger cities, including stately Georgian architecture and a broad range of retailers, pubs and restaurants, but offering a more relaxing experience, away from those big city crowds. The Town Council's own website is the best source of information about the town www.trowbridge.gov.uk.

FROME: A Fairtrade town, with a marked artistic flair! Our PDF mini-guide shows the walking route from the station, and some highlights of the town in 2009. There might be some changes to retailers and market times since we produced this, so before making a special trip for any of these it would be worth double-checking. The best source for up to date information is www.frometouristinfo.co.uk, which also has a much more detailed town map that you can download.