Ffestiniog t shirts and food overpriced?

Hmm, maybe I'm biased (I am very much a WHR supporter being an active volunteer) but I cannot agree.

Fares on the WHR and FR will be high in comparison (at least for full round trips) since the railways are quite long. Remember though that it is possible to do part journeys (Port to Tany Bwlch or Rhyd Ddu to Pont Croesor being two examples), also that tickets are generally day rovers and that adults can take a free child.

As for food and drink the charges compare very favourably, as do choice and quality, with competing establishments in the area. No, the prices are not rock bottom but I think they offer reasonable value for money. It is certainly possible to pay more and get less within sight and sound of the trains.

I hope this doesn't come across as defensive, although I freely admit I am defending the railway!

Ian King

 

It would be nice if people with an agenda didnt hijack discussions, so there'd be no need to go on the defensive - dont get me wrong, im quite happy to criticise the FR when it makes mistakes but in this case they arent doing anything different from virtually any other railway (or tourist attraction) in the UK yet you'd hardly get that impression reading the replies.

Chris

 

Rubbish. This country has a free market economy. Successful bushinesses charge what the market will bear, no more, no less. If you imagine that "northerners" charge less "because they know what poverty is" (!!!) then you are very naive.

 

I can second the above comments. Postage and packing prices never cease to amaze me. I've done my fair share of selling online and shipping stuff abroad. It costs a BOMB.

 

Makes sense to me, thanks, this was the kind of answer I wanted.
...
As to the person who was asking why I thought £8 for a steak was prohibitively expensive, I don't. I just think the light bites could be cheaper, things like egg and chips etc. Typical family fare rather than a big meal out. Its not true that Spooners is the cheapest in town, the first floor chinese restaurant up the road is charming and costs less but that is a totally different market. Compared to other restaurants in Portmadoc Spooners is not hugely expensive but then I regularly baulked at Portmadoc prices in general.

I don't think there is any mileage in trying to attack the railway for the prices being as they are. If the product costs too much then that is too bad. Incidentally Spooners was not full on the night I looked in, and the food counter was nearly empty. On the otherhand I was jealous of the fireman I saw sitting down to a lovely looking meal.

My question at the outset of the thread was why the prices were so different. I'm not sure I understand entirely but I also get that FR has bigger overheads and due to lack of volunteers for the less glamorous jobs is currently recruiting paid staff at busy times.

Wherever this conversation goes I hope people bear in mind that I had a lovely day out on the FR and will be visiting again in the near future. If humanly possible.

 

Hi to all, my first posting on this site. Not being the sort of person who participates in online forums please bear with me. I would like to recount my jouney on the WHR Welsh Highland Railway. At Caernarfon i had expected a smile for the £128 which i handed over for four adults, after that it was the guard who was completely rude and unpolite (i didn't think people like that still existed and yes i know the train won't wait for us), ''the locomotive resembled a box'', which was the comment from one of my friends, to which i didn't reply, the carriage was completely empty except for us, the weather was grey and dismal (no fault of the WHR), at Porthmadog FR station we had lunch, which was not only expensive but cold as well, i spent the rest of the day suffering from stomach ache, to top it all off, the train back was packed with OAP's doing the trip for a fiver which was recounted to me by one of them ! All in all, the four of us had spent around £60 each for the trip, this was the first and last time i shall go on the WHR. Our next trip will be a safe bet at Towyn for the TR and the afternoon on the Corris with a good restaurant in Barmouth to finish the day off. I hope that most of you find this posting of use as it shows how the WHR is percieved from a member of the ordinary public who just likes to travel on the Welsh narrow gauge.

 

Hang on, Richard L and Libertie Express - when did you guys visit the railway? It can't have been anytime in the last four decades, surely? There hasn't been a place called 'Portmadoc' since 1974, or 'Caernarvon' since around the same time.
You'll get cheaper prices if you use the right name!

 

Duly corrected my good Sir. Most right of you to point that out.

 

Seriously, one does wonder if this is the same non-smiler that has been reported on another thread (concerning the locked carriage doors). If so, it looks as if some customer-relations training may be in order for someone - or reallocation to oiling axle boxes!!

 

As a very occasional visitor to both WHR and FR, and in no way connected to either, I'm sad that you've had such a poor experience. I have never experienced anything but cheerful politeness in my visits, and the staff/volunteers have always been most helpful. Yes, it isn't the cheapest, but then look at the distances involved, and what you get for it. The food prices compare favourably with other local venues, and if you don't want to pay that much then nobody is forcing you to eat it - do what I do and take a picnic!

One of the attractions of both railways is that if you don't have the time (or cash) to do the whole trip you don't have to. There are many opportunities for part journeys that are very satisfying. One of the nicest places I know to sit and watch trains go by is Dduallt - unless it's raining...

Steve B

 

Its Portmadoc. Welshifying it doesn't change who created it. I am being cheekily contentious. Still love riding those rails.

 

"Its Portmadoc. Welshifying it doesn't change who created it."

Here here!

 

Is 'the locomotive looked like a box' supposed to be a negative? Did you look at the brochure before you travelled? Garratts are one of the WHR's big selling points. You surely cannot have been surprised to see one on your train, much less disappointed. They're thrilling machines just to look at. Not photographer friendly, particularly, but still awe inspiring. That definitely goes down as the oddest criticism of this entire topic.

 

Whether you like it or not, the official name of the town is Porthmadog.

If you must comment, please use the correct form i.e. Hear, hear!

Meic

 

While I completely concur with the Hear hear, Welshification can go to hell as far as I am concerned. I realise now that Wales wishes to be regarded as a foreign country and as a consequence, can call its place names anything it wishes, but this does not mean that those in England have to comply. For the French, London is Londres. For many, Porthmadog is Portmadoc, etc. and always will be. This is how English people spell the name (unless they are trying to be terribly PC)

 

Port-mad-doc=port of good berth in ye old celt or far flung Breton !!

 

Leningrad, Petrograd, St. Petersburg,

Volgograd, Stalingrad

Battenburg - The House of Windsor.

Apparently people often delude themselves into thinking we will forget the old and real names for places. Every time for political expendiency. Its not even like Portmadoc would exist in its current form without the English, it was hardly a conquered trophy.

Again, I'm half joking. I don't really care which version of the name is used but the English one trips off the tongue easier, maybe that is because of being English.

 

I become reactive to this issue because I am absolutely tired of being corrected by PC folks or Welshifiers when I spell a town in the same way as I have spelt it most of my life. Hell, for me there is still a Ceylon.

Of course the FR/RhE will continue to be nitpicked at. There is not much excuse for rude guards though but I surmise the person in question was probably exhausted as the guard workload is frankly horrendous.

 

Always has been, always will be... Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England ARE seperate countries that together form the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately Wales and the Welsh have suffered greatly over the years from the inherent laziness of the English to learn, comprehend or use the Welsh language - and their subsequent attempts to eradicate the Welsh language itself.

That the English imposed a completely new or bastardised version of placenames on many locations throughout Wales does not alter the fact that the original Welsh name is the CORRECT one.

Don't worry though, to keep life simple for the English we display many placenames bilingually on signs - and many places are still best known by their imposed names...