Just to praise CAL MAC

[peter palance]

I think you are talking about the old pierhead cafe in Lamlash, at the entrance to were the holy isle ferry leaves. If you are we always visit this cafe and I can recommend it also. But what a stunning photo of an otter. If you head back into marganaheglish you would have found plenty of grey seals and otters they can also be found there. Lamlash bay has been a no fishing area for about twenty years now. Hence the amount of otters and seals in that area. I have even spotted dolphins in the bay, and orcas were spotted between Bute and Arran this year.
But kildonan is a lovely part of the island with plenty of spots for wild camping. The carpark for Loch Garbad and another across the road are two fine spots. And Loch garbad provides a lovely walk. If you do walk to Loch garbad make sure you visit the library, it is unique.
For the golfers on here Arran offers the only 12 hole golf course in the world in machrie. Arran has 7 courses and you can buy a ticket to play all of them for a very modest fee.
Please, if you do use the chemical waste points In blackwaterfoot and whiting bay, please leave a donation. The toilets are maintained by the locals at their expense. The council gave them all up two years ago. You can also get water from the toilets.
The campsite at kildonan is probably the best owing to its position. The views are gorgeous of pladda and it’s lighthouse with Alisa Craig in the background. Plus as this great photo of the otter shows there is wonderful wildlife there.

The outdoor shop in Brodick Arran outdoors is well worth a visit.
Also across the road from it there is a standpipe for water. It’s listed on the online maps on here. But I would not overnight in Brodick, it’s the one part of the island where I don’t feel completely comfortable.

thanks ok pj

 

[alcam]

To be fair, BA do sell flexible and refundable tickets.

So they charge extra . Does cal Mac ?

 

[2cv]

So they charge extra . Does cal Mac ?

Simply stating a fact, and they don’t need me to subsidise their operation like Calmac do.

 

[Fisherman]

I once booked two tickets from BA online for a Glasgow to Heathrow flight. I immediately realised I had booked Saturday night instead of Friday night. I went back online but I was being asked for a cancellation charge of £120 for two tickets I had just bought online for £80 five minutes ago. I went on the phone trying to explain my error to no avail. As it was cheaper to buy new tickets than cancel, that’s what I did costing me another £80. Cal Mac have charged me nothing, stating that they will honour my tickets when we are ready to head for Tiree.

 

[2cv]

Their policy is more flexible now, certainly within the first 24 hours Link
In addition in the case quoted, most of the ticket price is taxes.

 

[Fisherman]

Their policy is more flexible now, certainly within the first 24 hours Link
In addition in the case quoted, most of the ticket price is taxes.

That is better than before 2cv, but I booked my tickets with calmac 8 weeks before having to cancel not 24 hours. Also your comments about being subsidised are unfair. First of all the road tariff equivalent tariffs were brought about by the Scottish government to try to help the island economies. Currently I pay £47 return for my Motorhome and my wife and I. Without RTE that figure was £136 in 2004. It would be around £170 now without RTE, If cal Mac were not subsidised the island communities would suffer. The subsidies you comment on are more for the benefit of the islands than cal Mac.

 

[2cv]

I’ll not comment on RET, maybe it’s a good thing but it is paid for by taxes.
I’ll merely state that BA’s cancellation policies are competitive in the environment in which they operate, and it’s unfair to compare them with a subsidised Calmac operating as a monopoly. I recently bought a one way BA ticket from Glasgow to London for £37. The fare was £12 with the remainder being taxes and fees, contributing to the ability to operate the RET.

 

[Fisherman]

Yes RET is paid for with taxes but it’s not a subsidy for CalMac, it’s a subsidy for the islands they serve.
Without these subsidies our western islands would not be what they are today. Take a look at Jura with a population of around 200, or Iona with around 60, gigha, muck, I could go on without subsidised ferries these islands could not survive, and the more populous islands would struggle. These subsidies are there to not only support Cal Mac, but the islands they serve.
Dont forget the history of BA who ripped us of for decades by charging fares that were way over the top. They put laker to the sword in the 80s when sir Freddie Laker tried to introduce cheaper fares, and tried to put virgin Atlantic into bankruptcy by stealing their customers. They were fined for this. I have many personal experiences of this company I could list on here, but it would take to long. My advice to anyone is if it starts with British try and avoid it. BA, BT or British Gas are amongst the worse companies I have had dealings with in my life.

 

[alcam]

2CV post was from 22nd September, yer a tad slow with an up to date reply Mr Cameron!!

Whoops !
Thanks for pointing date out , I hadn't
noticed

 

[campervanannie]

Had excellent service from Calmac when touring the Hebrides swopping and changing ferry times couldn’t do enough to help even sent a man and a van to collect gas when one of our group run out.

 

[caledonia]

I have only good things to say about Calmac. They were very helpful getting us off Harris the day before they went on strike.

 

[2cv]

Calmac undoubtedly give excellent service, my point in post #5 was simply that it was unfair to compare their policies with BA, who operate without subsidies direct or indirect in a very competitive environment.
Incidentally, Calmac is very profitable as is BA as part of IAG

 

[Fisherman]

Calmac undoubtedly give excellent service, my point in post #5 was simply that it was unfair to compare their policies with BA, who operate without subsidies direct or indirect in a very competitive environment.
Incidentally, Calmac is very profitable as is BA as part of IAG

sorry 2 Cv But I did not draw any comparison with any company when I posted this thread on here. But without subsidies these ferries simply in many cases would not be financially viable. With dire consequences for the island communities.

 

[Fisherman]

As others have said, always found CalMac to be very good in many aspects. There is also no doubt subsidies are required, including the RET. However, many islanders are now not happy with the RET, which makes visiting the islands more affordable to tourists and, some are not happy being visited by the hourdes.

yes that’s very true runnach,
if you don’t benefit directly from RET I can fully understand why many islanders would feel that way. It would have been sensible to have adopted the policy applied to Tiree limiting the amount of Motorhomes on some of the smaller islands. Barra and other small islands should be considered for such treatment. You are not allowed on Tiree unless you have booked a pitch on the campsite, or one of the 13 Croft’s available. You are greeted by the warden on arrival.

I was on Arran last month and we were the only Motorhome going over, but the ferry was full of cars and commercial vehicles. I don’t think the problem is solely motorhomes. The roads are much busier now since RET.

 

[davef]

RET has been a mixed blessing for islanders served by CalMac. Being now unable to turn up at the ferry and expect to get on with a vehicle has made many feel trapped. The subsidy does not apply to commercial vehicles - so all goods brought onto the islands are still much more expensive. I believe the thinking of the Scottish government was it would increase tourism which would increase tax returns from the islands so be self funding. No increased infrastructure was put in place to cope with the extra road use - like widening roads or additional car parks - indeed all the council run toilets were promptly closed. Many feel RET should have only have applied to islanders and island hauliers as we pay the same VED as anywhere else but only have access to island roads ( About 100 miles on Arran ) before having to pay CalMac ie Scottish Government to access mainland roads.
The owner of Northlink ferries to Orkney said that if he received all of the various generous subsidies that CalMac get he could run the ferry without having to charge anything to customers. Western ferries crossing to Dunoon is cheaper than CalMac despite receiving no subsidies.
The personnel at CalMac are usually very pleasant and helpful, but I'm not so sure CalMac is a great company....

 

[Fisherman]

RET has been a mixed blessing for islanders served by CalMac. Being now unable to turn up at the ferry and expect to get on with a vehicle has made many feel trapped. The subsidy does not apply to commercial vehicles - so all goods brought onto the islands are still much more expensive. I believe the thinking of the Scottish government was it would increase tourism which would increase tax returns from the islands so be self funding. No increased infrastructure was put in place to cope with the extra road use - like widening roads or additional car parks - indeed all the council run toilets were promptly closed. Many feel RET should have only have applied to islanders and island hauliers as we pay the same VED as anywhere else but only have access to island roads ( About 100 miles on Arran ) before having to pay CalMac ie Scottish Government to access mainland roads.
The owner of Northlink ferries to Orkney said that if he received all of the various generous subsidies that CalMac get he could run the ferry without having to charge anything to customers. Western ferries crossing to Dunoon is cheaper than CalMac despite receiving no subsidies.
The personnel at CalMac are usually very pleasant and helpful, but I'm not so sure CalMac is a great company....

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I asked western ferries for a quote for my 6m Motorhome and as per above link I was told I had to purchase two 5m tickets plus two adult tickets for my wife. costing me £74.70 return for a 40 minute crossing. To travel to Arran which is a 55 minute crossing including both of us is £47. Though I do agree that western ferries offer a good service at a fair price.

As for crossings to Orkney they should have been covered by RET last year, but this has been delayed. But when RET does come you won’t be travelling for nothing to Orkney.

 

[barryd]

Always had good service from CalMac. I once left my mobile on the Arran Ferry in the late 90s. I realised too late after we hit the mainland and had started heading south back to England, I called them from a payphone and left the details of where I was sat. The next day I took the train down to our London office and the phone had been found and couriered overnight and was there before I was. No charge.