Classic Park & Ride

During the weekend of 15th and 16th December two vehicles operated by Cumbria Classic Coaches ran on a park & ride service in Barnard Castle.

The Bowes Museum expanded their popular Christmas market to two days and hired two double deck vehicles to run a service from the GlaxoSmithKline car park in the town’s Harmire Road to the Museum.
Parking at the museum is normally free but for the two days of the event a parking charge of £5 was levied, encouraging visitors to use the free park & ride service.
From 10am on Saturday and Sunday the two buses were kept busy until 4.30pm. Drivers and conductors were relieved at lunchtime and were welcomed into the staff room where they were treated to hot drinks and an excellent range of sandwiches.
Many visitors said how much the free service had added to the enjoyment of their day with younger visitors being particularly excited, although we did note that some Grandfathers and Fathers had also been equally enthusiastic! It was noticeable how well the traffic flowed through Barnard Castle on both days with no build ups experienced, due to the fact that so many cars used the GSK free car park.
The event was extremely popular and was well organised, the staff at the Bowes Museum being keen to plan ahead and respond to visitors requirements on both days. http://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/about/news/news/478/

David Gambles