It went via Reading, Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stoke (not Crewe), Macclesfield and Stockport. When it was extended as the 'Sussex Scot' to Glasgow/Edinburgh, it also served Preston and Carlisle.
For a while in the 90s, there was even a summer Saturday 'holiday special' to...
Newport (County) also.
PS Only direct train per week is the 1520 arrival on a Sunday (1540 at Cardiff), so unlikely to be of use.
The 0859 weekday service from Brighton to Great Malvern also calls at Cheltenham Spa, for Cheltenham FC.
PG