Three new Rover tickets in GWR/SWR area. Great West Way Discoverer.

[whole diary]

[grahame]

A couple of typos:

none-UK^▸ (United Kingdom)

none-availability

Thanks

and is the Falcon (Bristol - Plymouth) bus service run by First West of England?

No - it's Stagecoach so not included.

Along those lines, though, First West of England do operate the 7XP .... Bristol, Chepstow, Newport
https://bustimes.org/services/7xp-bristol-cribbs-causeway-newport

[martyjon]

and is the Falcon (Bristol - Plymouth) bus service run by First West of England?

No, Stagecoach.

[grahame]

Confirmation received from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) that the description of what's included and what's not a few posts up this thread looks correct and complete. - Thank you GW^▸ (Great Western).

[eXPassenger]

and is the Falcon (Bristol - Plymouth) bus service run by First West of England?

No, Stagecoach.

and to Grahame

Thanks for the correction.

[TonyK]

A couple of typos:

none-UK^▸ (United Kingdom)

none-availability

and is the Falcon (Bristol - Plymouth) bus service run by First West of England?

Beat me to it! It also seems to merge with Stagecoach's Megabus, in the sense that I am travelling to Heathrow next month, by Falcon from Devon then Megabus from Bristol, all on one ticket. (If you were wondering why I didn't do rail, it's money.) There is a curious anomaly on concessionary passes - valid all the way except between Cullompton and Taunton.

[grahame]

Now on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) web site

https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey/tickets-railcards-and-season-tickets/great-west-way

and some international information - https://www.englandsgreatwestway.nl/explore/rail/great-west-way-discoverer-ticket and Google Translate

How to buy the Great West Way Discoverer Pass
• Domestic passes can be purchased: at GWR.com, at GWR stations and via the GWR call center
• International passes can be purchased online from March 2019. Before the release you can contact salesenquiries@gwr.com
o The international ticket is based on the Britrail Pass
o Can be purchased up to 7 days prior to travel
o Can only be purchased from outside the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)
o Holders of the international ticket must carry a non-British identity document.

Domestic passes from £ 24.00 and international passes from £ 98.00

[grahame]

Leaflet from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and press release from VisitWiltshire just received.   

Full press release at http://gwr.passenger.chat/GreatWestWayDiscovererpass.pdf
Leaflet at http://gwr.passenger.chat/GreatWestWay_2019_LEAFLET_FINAL.pdf

Good work on mapping out the routes covered in the leaflet - I wondered how they were going to do that!

ALL ABOARD THE GREAT WEST WAY®

England’s new touring route can now be fully explored car-free, thanks to Great Western Railway’s new Great West Way Discoverer pass

International and domestic travellers can now visit some of the South West’s leading destinations with a single ticket, thanks to a partnership between train and bus providers and the Great West Way.

Great Western Railway has joined forces with a host of bus providers, covering as many as 250 local bus routes, to create the largest integrated rail and bus ticket of its kind in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

[chuffed]

The Falcon is run by Stagecoach. Fares already very reasonable eg £10 period return to Exeter, £15 period return to Plymoth (and vice versa) if you hold a senior or disabled bus pass valid at any time of day.

[ChrisB]

There's also a folded-A5-sized-but-opena-out-to-A3 pamphlet being distributed via those tourist leaflet holders found around and at stations....not produced by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) but by some tourist organisation titled Great West Way.

[grahame]

There's also a folded-A5-sized-but-opena-out-to-A3 pamphlet being distributed via those tourist leaflet holders found around and at stations....not produced by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) but by some tourist organisation titled Great West Way.

Is that the TransWilts "Explore Wiltshire with a 'Great Western Way Discoverer West' Rover Ticket" leaflet which they launched at Community Rail in the City at Reading last month, or is that yet another leaflet? That's A6 rather than A5 but opens out to A3.    I have the latest version of that - http://gwr.passenger.chat/tw_discoverer.pdf - it's been changed since CRIC so if you got a copy there or have seen it in racks, this one is probably not quite the same.

[ChrisB]

Don't think so - it's not specifically rail-related, but more an overall view of the area, what to see, where to stay, etc. yes, and how to get there, but covers most transport

[grahame]

From Breaking Travel News

Great Western Railway signs Great West Way partnership

International and domestic travellers can now visit some of the south-west’s leading destinations with a single ticket, thanks to a partnership between train and bus providers and the Great West Way.

Great Western Railway has joined forces with a host of bus providers, covering as many as 250 local bus routes, to create the largest integrated rail and bus ticket of its kind in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

The Great West Way was launched in November as a brand-new touring route that joins up many of England’s iconic destinations and yet-to-be-discovered attractions along a corridor between London and Bristol.

As part of the Great West Way product development programme, visitors can now purchase the Great West Way Discoverer pass at a reduced rate, allowing for travel along a corridor between London and Bristol.

The international pass can be purchased for three-to-seven-day trips and includes travel on specific train routes including Bristol to Bath; Swindon and Hungerford; Swindon to Paddington; Westbury to Waterloo; and the TransWilts line plus a comprehensive network of bus routes that connect places of interest along the route.

Key destinations within easy reach of the Great West Way, such as Salisbury and Oxford, are also included in the pass.

etc

[ChrisB]

Hmm. International travellers have a choice of 3 or 7 days, nothing inbetween.

Oxford by rail appears to be excluded, bus from Didcot (unless that isn't clear in the leaflet either)

[ChrisB]

Don't think so - it's not specifically rail-related, but more an overall view of the area, what to see, where to stay, etc. yes, and how to get there, but covers most transport

VisitEngland, I think produced this pamphlet.

I'll bring some with me to the AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) tomorrow.

[grahame]

Hmm. International travellers have a choice of 3 or 7 days, nothing inbetween.

Oxford by rail appears to be excluded, bus from Didcot (unless that isn't clear in the leaflet either)

Correct on both counts.

Oxford is accessible on the global ticket from Henley-on-Thames, from Reading, from Didcot and from Swindon.  The first three of those also on the domestic east ticket, and the route from Swindon also on the domestic west ticket.

Edit to clarify - by Bus from Didcot to Oxford - not valid on the train.