Rip Off Portsmouth

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Hi all

Yesterday was Karens birthday, and ever since we got together, we have a tradition of taking eachother out for the day, followed by dinner in the evening.  Acouple of years back, i took her to Portsmouth to see the Mary Rose, plus a few other exibits in the Historic Dockyard, but started to run short of time to see over the Victory. Yesterday, i took her back primarily to see over the Victory, but when we arrived, the que to get in was a good few hundred yards long and taking well over an hour to get in, so i decided to take her to the Spinnaker tower, and go back to the Dockyard later when the que had died down.  When we got to the Spinnaker tower, there was only 5 people in front of us, so we were pleased to get in so quickly. However, and this is the reason for my rant, when we got to the ticket desk, we were asked if we were local, and i asked why. The lady behind the desk informed us that non locals have to pay more.  Well, to say i was annoyed was the understatement, BUT i held my tongue and replied "If SHE were to come to Bournemouth, WE at Bournemouth WOULD`NT rip her off by charging HER more because SHE WAS`NT local".   Correct me if i`m wrong, but charging "tourists" extra because they`re not local is hardly good for the tourist trade?. As much as i love the views afforded by such a venue, Karen and i will never be going back all the time they rip us off.

As for seeing the Victory?,  very impressive, but £18 per head as a sole attraction?.

[Timbo]

37 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

but £18 per head as a sole attraction

There was fish as well? 

But joking aside, there should be one admittance fee whether you are local (this is a local shop for local people tell them Tubbs) or not.

As for admittance to historical 'attractions' I do not agree with this at all. This is yet another ploy by the chinless and gormless at Westminster to screw some cash out of the public and make a few bob on the side for their mates.Funding for heritage is fast becoming a backstabbing minefield with various antiquities, museums, galleries and monuments vying for cash that at one time came from a central pot. Having sat and currently sitting on quite a few governing boards for various projects it's amazing how many party donors just happen to be sat waiting with their hands out in recompense for alleged services rendered to heritage.

Lincolnshire have just come up with the catastrophic idea of using heritage to support the coffers. The way it works in the past is that the council distributes the funding to 'heritage' projects. Any money the projects make is then given back to the council. The latest crackpot scheme is that the council will no longer give the money they are obligated to give to heritage and in return the various antiquities, museums, galleries and monuments get to keep what they make from tourists. This piece of stupidity may be all well and good for things like Lincoln Castle with large numbers of visitors and revenue from concerts etc. But for smaller projects it will see all funding cease which puts not only the antiquity in jeopardy but also learning and knowledge. For example I work with one site that is no more than a small rectangular hole in a field. There is no way you could entice the public to come and see a small hole let alone pay for the privilege. Yet the data  this small hole has provided is incredibly important on a national level. But under the latest scheme we would lose the funding, lose the data...the whole lot being ploughed up.

It comes as no surprise that the suggestion has come from the same idiotic organisation that thought it such a good idea to knock down this...

...the finest complete medieval hall in the country and turn it into a carpark to make a few quid. Saved incidentally by the hard work of local people and now run by English Heritage.

[Timbo]

1 hour ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Yesterday was Karens birthday

Forgot my manners...many happy returns Karen!

[kadensa]

Personally, I think  the Victory is excellent value at that price, but surely the ticket gives access to all areas of the dockyard (at least it did when I was last there).  One of my enduring memories is being there for the Trafalgar 200 celebrations in 2005 - a fabulous weekend, despite the crowds.

[BroadScot]

It was £20 for the lot about seven years ago. This is the ticket menu now...... http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/tickets-and-offers

Iain

[ExSurveyor]

Chatham historic dokyard is a great day out. Hms gannett,  HMS Cavalier and the submarine Ocelot.  Plenty of historic buildings and great displays.    everything is accessible. 

We took the grandchildren down and only saw half first time,  needed a second visit to complete it.  

Well worth a visit if you are in the area.  

[TheQ]

Stonehenge is £15:80 (£9:10 for children) to get in now, but free for locals, A good money spinner for the National trust. You cant get with in 30ft of the stones any more.

 I used to play on the stones and get in free, but then I used to be fairly local and cycle there. It's part of the deeds that transferred ownership to the national trust  from Sir Cecil Chubb that local that locals get in for free

. Interestingly part of the agreement was also that the entrance fee should never be more than one Shilling....One wonders how the national trusts ownership would stand up if that current price were challenged in court.

[MauriceMynah]

Mr Speedtriple sir, I am curious!

Would you have objected in the same way if the lady at the desk had replied to your question....

" Well Sir, there is a subsidy for local people..."

I just wondered!

[Gracie]

Happy Birthday Karen

If Neil's becoming a bit of a Victor Meldrew when it come to spending money on you, leave him at home and go out with the girls instead

Just kidding, I think being charged extra because you're not a local is simply not on. Slightly off topic but a couple of years ago we took the boys to the Air Show in Eastbourne, people had absolutely nowhere to park so some took to parking on grass verges and double yellows, the Wardens were having a field day. The Council do a big poster campaign and advertising to encourage people to visit and these people park where they normally wouldn't out of desperation and then get slapped with a parking fine. We used public transport and that was a nightmare on that day too

Sorry for the slight off topic

Grace

[grendel]

you can get into Chatham for nothing if you drive to the security gate and tell them you want to go to the model shop.

where I live in Canterbury - if you are a local you can get a pass to get into the cathedral grounds - this is normally charged for visitors, but is also a good pedestrian short cut to the town centre, so rather than keeping a free to everyone public footpath, they give locals a pass to get through, as they are generally not stopping, just passing (you do have to apply for the pass- or walk around). the visitor charges do all go toward the building upkeep

[Poppy]

The ticket to The Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, together with the one for Chatham is valid for a full 12 months! Visit as many times as you like at no extra charge ( with the exception of 'special' days). Damned good value IMHO.

[BroadScot]

For non locals wanting to go to the Spinnaker..... this should soften the cost a little..... https://www.spinnakertower.co.uk/booking/

Iain

[Baitrunner]

Its funny because we discussed this on holiday (It's not just a UK thing) and thought how good would it be for Norfolk people to get in cheap to places like Blickling and Holkam etc etc. Not even sure you can go in both, but you get my drift.

Maybe cheaper boat hire for locals as we have to dispose of all your rubbish after you visit

I dont think I have ever lived anywhere where you got in cheaper as a local.  

[MauriceMynah]

Thinks    ...   Glad I don't come from Pentenville.

[Maxwellian]

If the attraction is subsidised by the local community, why should they not pay a little less? Pigeons, cat, cat pigeons.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

2 hours ago, Maxwellian said:

If the attraction is subsidised by the local community, why should they not pay a little less? Pigeons, cat, cat pigeons.

The thing is Ian, we live just outside Bournemouth, so our council tax goes partially towards the upkeep of the Gardens, which are free, the pier, where EVERYBODY, IRRESPECTIVE OF RESIDENTUAL  POSTCODE, is charged the same, or free at Christmas time, and all other attractions, but mainly the Air show, which is now the biggest in the country, and is COMPLETELY FREE to EVERYBODY.

POPPY,  yes the ticket is for 12 months, but why would we want to go again within a 12 month periond. Yes, if we bought the "all in" ticket, it would make the 80 mile, 2 hour, and 2 gallons of deisel round trip worth it. But to go and visit a single attraction again and again in a twelve month period is not really ideal..

As a very near Bournemouth resident, every summer, we endure gridlock just half a mile from our home, which is half a mile from the main A31 on Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and Sundays. But if we did`nt have the visiting tourists, we would`nt have half the excellent local facillities etc that we have, so we welcome them, and we don`t rip them off by charging them more than we would pay ourselves. It`s what comes with the location.

 

[grendel]

I think the annual fee is a way of making it cheaper for locals - by the back door so to speak, locals dont have the travel costs so can easily visit more often, visitors pay the same, but are unlikely to do the return visits.

 

[smellyloo]

You get what you pay for so ..............

as a visitor you should embrace the higher tariff in the certain knowledge that you are paying for a superior product compared to those on the "paupers" ticket.

You can enjoy strutting around and shouting "My ticket's worth considerably more than yous's" and watch the paupery waifs doff there working class caps with envy knowing that their aspirations to one day reach your lofty status is very unlikely to come to fruition.

Don't you just love being RICH?

[Bound2Please]

14 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

 but mainly the Air show, which is now the biggest in the country, and is COMPLETELY FREE to EVERYBODY.

Think thats a huge over statement to being the biggest in the country....

 

14 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

As a very near Bournemouth resident, every summer, we endure gridlock just half a mile from our home, which is half a mile from the main A31 on Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and Sundays. But if we did`nt have the visiting tourists, we would`nt have half the excellent local facillities etc that we have, so we welcome them, and we don`t rip them off by charging them more than we would pay ourselves. It`s what comes with the location.

There are many many more towns in the same situation as that...

What is a rip off to you isnt to some one else and visa versa. No one is making you live in bournmouth no more than they are me living here on

CharlieThe Sunshine Coast.

 

[Matt]

Shame you missed it but they might do it again......

 

http://m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11836025.Live_in_Bournemouth__You_can_get_half_price_entry_to_Oceanarium/

[Wonderwall]

Last time I went to Portsmouth it was only a tenner to get in.

It was £25 to get out though 

 

im here all week 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

9 hours ago, Bound2Please said:

Think thats a huge over statement to being the biggest in the country....

 

There are many many more towns in the same situation as that...

What is a rip off to you isnt to some one else and visa versa. No one is making you live in bournmouth no more than they are me living here on

CharlieThe Sunshine Coast.

 

WRONG.

The airshow is over 4 days every year, Has daily displays from late afternoon to well into the evening on each day, along with ground based attractions ongoing from early each day to late sunday evening, and has been OFFICIALLY REPORTED AND RECORDED, as the biggest airshow in the country, and as i said, it`s FREE TO EVERYBODY, so please before you accuse people of making huge overstatements, please ensure yourself with the facts?.

[Bound2Please]

40 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

WRONG.

The airshow is over 4 days every year, Has daily displays from late afternoon to well into the evening on each day, along with ground based attractions ongoing from early each day to late sunday evening, and has been OFFICIALLY REPORTED AND RECORDED, as the biggest airshow in the country, and as i said, it`s FREE TO EVERYBODY, so please before you accuse people of making huge overstatements, please ensure yourself with the facts?.

So living in Clacton on Sea then with our Air Show is not A huge air Spectacular as reported and seen on TV every year then.

[marshman]

As this is a thread now about airshows, you are still talking about mainly non events! The real enthusiasts travel to Fairford which puts on the largest MILITARY air show in Europe!

[Matt]

On 09/10/2016 at 10:28 PM, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

 "If SHE were to come to Bournemouth, WE at Bournemouth WOULD`NT rip her off by charging HER more because SHE WAS`NT local".   Correct me if i`m wrong, but charging "tourists" extra because they`re not local is hardly good for the tourist trade?. 

Apart from during the "annual Dorset residents week" where 50 business offer 2 for 1 deals for Dorset Residents........

http://www.thebreaker.co.uk/news/regional/2016/04/13/dorset-businesses-get-set-dorset-residents-week/