Weston-Super-Mare long-stay car parking

[voyagerdude220]

Hi all,

I am going to be travelling from Weston-Super-Mare to Penzance later this month with relatives, and I am wondering about the car parking arrangements around the station:

I've been told that it's not possible to park for the day by the station, and the nearest "long stay" car-park is at the town's Sovereign shopping centre (which is expensive.)

Isn't it possible to park somewhere other than the shopping centre, possibly nearer the station?

Thanks for any help. I have decided to attach a poll about car parking charges at stations, especially because there's been an item in today's RAIL magazine about it.

Wessex Trains manages Weston-Super-Mare. I'm sure that bigger stations have far better facilities, e.g Manchester Piccadilly

* No one had allready voted before the change"

 

[Jim]

Try getting a local from Worle, a designeted Parkway, 5 mins drive away...

 

[Techniquest]

Always an idea that!

But yes, it is expensive to park at stations, which is a bit unfair.

And as for MAN having better facilities, I don't think they have anything more than a small short-stay park, the long stays are usually somewhere near by in an NCP park instead. New Street certainly doesn't have a long-stay car park!

 

[Mojo]

Lots of car parks in the WM area are free, subsidised by Centro.
IMO, the contracting out of car parking is verging on extortion, IIRC it's £4.20 at BPW for 24 hours - hardly encouraging people to get the train into Bristol now, is it?

Interestingly, Chiltern Railway's contractors at Aylesbury station offer a free escort service hock:

 

[Donny Dave]

IIRC it's £4.20 at BPW for 24 hours

That's cheap. Try parking a car for the day at Sheffield Railway Station

Bargain at £7 hock: hock: hock:

 

[Mojo]

I know it's cheap in the IC TOC league of parking, at Temple Meads it's £7.20 for a day (NOT 24 hr) - or £9 indoors, which includes free Pigeon s**t on your car

 

[voyagerdude220]

Try getting a local from Worle, a designeted Parkway, 5 mins drive away...

The return train is a FGW HST that doesn't stop at Highbridge, or Worle, which is why we're going To/from Weston (The next rubbish 143 stopper "service" after we get into Taunton is another 90 mins, so it's alot easier to simply go to/from Weston.


On a different topic: What do you get in FC between Taunton & Penzance on FGW (apart from the feature of H-O, or just standing right behind a class 43 HST engine as we roar on? (hope it's not an MTU, although the odds of that happening are extremely slim!)

 

[Tom]

IIRC it's £4.20 at BPW for 24 hours

That's cheap. Try parking a car for the day at Sheffield Railway Station

Bargain at £7 hock: hock: hock:

We must be lucky at Bournemouth!! £3.50 until midnight if before 9.30am, £2.50 until midnight if after 9.30am

 

[Techniquest]

Long stay car park outside Cardiff Central is a whopping £6.50 per 24 hour period, as we found out today when we parked there after a drive there from Kington (we had to drive as the ticket office is too slow, as are the customers, at HFD ticket office, and 175104 promptly left on time for Cardiff before we could get anywhere near it. Still, I've now bashed the M4 between J26 and 31, something I've not done til now.). The NCP multi-storey was turned down on the basis that my Mum does NOT like multi-storey car parks! We could not be bothered to drive round the corner for it either, we were desperate to just get out of the car and get on with the day's plan. I especially, having seen 43190 ready to go on the 1455 to Paddington!

As for interest in FC, I think that, if you've got the right 43 and right driver you'll have plenty of entertainment anyway! Unless you're going Weekend First, then you're given the choice of Coach F or G. Not that that stopped me last time...

 

[TheSlash]

Costs me nothing :P

 

[ChrisM]

On a recent trip to Birmingham it cost £18 for a days parking in the bullring carpark which was the nearest we could find to the station.

 

[Techniquest]

£18?! Absolutely ridiculous!

Still, this is why Park and Ride schemes need to be running every day in the big cities! Even Cardiff doesn't have a M-F Park and Ride scheme, which is prepostorous.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Long stay car park outside Cardiff Central is a whopping £6.50 per 24 hour period, as we found out today when we parked there after a drive there from Kington (we had to drive as the ticket office is too slow, as are the customers, at HFD ticket office, and 175104 promptly left on time for Cardiff before we could get anywhere near it. Still, I've now bashed the M4 between J26 and 31, something I've not done til now.). The NCP multi-storey was turned down on the basis that my Mum does NOT like multi-storey car parks! We could not be bothered to drive round the corner for it either, we were desperate to just get out of the car and get on with the day's plan. I especially, having seen 43190 ready to go on the 1455 to Paddington!

As for interest in FC, I think that, if you've got the right 43 and right driver you'll have plenty of entertainment anyway! Unless you're going Weekend First, then you're given the choice of Coach F or G. Not that that stopped me last time...

Why aren't you allowed in coach H on weekend first then? (But no, I'm not travelling at the weekend) I've never heard of that before..

I think i'll just suggest that we just wait for an hour in Taunton, so we don't have to mess with car parks, although I'd probablly do anything to avoid 143s, even if it's just a 20 min journey!