Great Western Coffee Shop

All across the Great Western territory => The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom => Topic started by: grahame on July 01, 2013, 06:35:53



Title: Discrimination against bus and train users?
Post by: grahame on July 01, 2013, 06:35:53
I'm on holiday in Wales, so these are welsh examples.   Any examples - good or bad - from GW area?

from http://www.shellisland.co.uk/about-us.html

Quote
Shell Island started off as a farm dating back to the Doomsday book of 1086. The Island developed as a tourist attraction in the 1880^s with the coming of the railways.

...

In 1958 it was bought by the Workman family who still run it today.

...

So whether you come for the day, or a weeks holiday, Shell Island offers everybody their own piece of paradise.

and from http://www.shellisland.co.uk/camping.html

Quote
You must have your own mode of transport, i.e a car. Groups arriving by train will not be permitted.

So ... putting the two pages together, that everybody who's rich enough and has at least one member of their party fit enough to drive who's welcome to camp here.  Pity the people who wish to arrive in the area by train, or on the bus and coach services, and especially those potential customers who have no choice but to arrive in that way.  Looks like discrimination to me!

Somewhat ironically from their FAQ ...

Quote
What is the nearest train station?
Our local Train station is LLANBEDR which is about a 30 mins leisurely walk.



On a related subject, I'm going to register my delight that Stena are now running four boats a day from Holyhead to Dublin - at 02:30, 08:55, 13:50 and 20:30 with return boats from Dublin at about the same time.  The 08:55 and 20:30 boat is a new service and fills a significant gap - it proved to be exactly what I needed last Wednesday evening.

At initial introduction, the Stena Nordica service was "no foot passengers", but I'm thrilled to report that it now accepts passengers without their own vehicles - a connection off the 15:10 from Euston [change Chester] worked very well.  Others like the service too - the coach from the ferry terminal to the outer berth where the ferry leaves from at Holyhead was full and standing - I think I counted 38 people on it. So hopefully a service that will last.  Its been pretty frustrating over the years to have two competing boats at around 3 a.m. (Stena and Irish Ferries), two competing boats at around 3 p.m. (same to vessels!) and limited other options.

As a footnote, the Stena fast ferry is now making just one crossing a day to Dun Laoghaire, from Holyhead at 10:30, and the Johanthan Swift (Irish Ferries) at 11:50 and 17:15 to Dublin. Rumour has it that this reduction is due to fuel costs, with a single one way journey of one of these boats burning as much fuel as a much bigger ferry uses in its 4 trips in 24 hours.


Title: Re: Discrimination against bus and train users?
Post by: Red Squirrel on July 01, 2013, 09:11:05
I hope they're better at running a campsite than they are at writing copy or coherent T's & C's (or spelling 'metre' for that matter, but I quibble). Would a family consisting of two men in a civil partnership with their two male children count as a single sex group, or a family? I could go on.


Title: Re: Discrimination against bus and train users?
Post by: thetrout on July 01, 2013, 11:03:16
Pity the people who wish to arrive in the area by train, or on the bus and coach services, and especially those potential customers who have no choice but to arrive in that way.  Looks like discrimination to me!

Graham I couldn't agree more... I am one of those people who has no choice but to arrive using public transport. Yet they advertise the local railway station? Salt in the wounds springs to mind :-\

This is something on principle that really gets my back up. I will not be able to drive indefinitely and some places to access via public transport is a nightmare. However being told that you cannot enter somewhere as you have not arrived in your own vehicle is draconian at best.

I was once asked by Tesco Online Shopping to collect my shopping from the store as they had no available vans. My response of "I cannot drive so don't have a car, hence why I ordered online to be delivered" was not the response the lady on the phone wanted to hear.



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