Passengers say they were left stranded in Somerset on Saturday, June 10, after taking a boat excursion on the paddle steamer Waverley from Penarth. Passengers told WalesOnline that they were left to find their own way home from Minehead after coaches organised to pick them up never arrived.
Tony Farr, from Cardiff, claims his day out soon turned into a “nightmare” after he - along with 120 people - ended up stranded in Minehead on a busy Saturday night. The Waverley have said that a "miscommunication" meant that 70 people missed the coaches.
The trip had involved getting a boat from Penarth with the Paddle Steamer Waverley at 10am, which would take them to Minehead by 11.45am. The group would then have a few hours to explore before being picked up by coaches at 4.30pm, to take them to Ilfracombe to rejoin the Waverley to go home. However, they say the coaches never arrived and members from the group claim they were "abandoned and left to their own devices".
Tony said: “We booked a ticket on the Waverley this morning going from Penarth to Minehead. We had about four to five hours in Minehead and then coaches were going to take us to Ilfracombe to rejoin the Waverley. The coaches were going to pick us up at 4.30pm but they didn’t turn up.
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“I probably counted 120 people - including a lot of elderly people, a blind woman, a woman in a wheelchair, and lots of families with children who were abandoned in Minehead on a Saturday evening.
“There were a lot of elderly people there.”
He said passengers began getting on service buses to Taunton, which took an hour and a half to get there. He added: “Some people are at the station getting a train to Bristol, but of course, there are no trains running from Bristol to Cardiff because the Severn Tunnel Junction is closed. So they’re going to have a nightmare journey getting back over.”
Tony and his family were lucky as his son-in-law came all the way from Cardiff to Taunton to pick them up, but he added: “Not everyone is in a situation where they can be picked up.” He added: "[They] left [around] 120 passengers left to their own devices in Minehead - which I think is appalling."
Another passenger, who wished not to be named, said that he was was on the Waverley with his wife and grandson. He said: "We waited in the rain for nearly three hours before we had any idea what was happening. Eventually passengers were told to make their own way home for which they’d be reimbursed.
"We couldn’t get taxis. We were told that if we could get to Taunton we may be able to get a train back to south Wales - though the Severn Tunnel was closed - and were later told getting taxis [there] was even worse than Minehead. We decided to book an hotel and our daughter drove down this morning to pick us up."
He claimed that help from the Waverley was "non-existent" and left the majority of passengers both angry and upset as they frantically called relatives and family members to help pick them up.
A statement from Waverley Excursions said: "Around 70 passengers missed boarding the four coaches that were provided to take passengers from Minehead to join Waverley in Ilfracombe. There was a miscommunication on the pickup point for the coaches which was at the Coach Park at Minehead Station. Passengers gathered at the Bus Stop in front of the station which is in a different location from the Coach Park. The final coach had waited an extra 10 minutes but those gathering at the front of the station would not have been able to see the coaches waiting in the Coach Park. Over 100 passengers did board the coaches successfully and return to the ship as planned.
"Those who missed the coaches will be provided with a full refund on their tickers and reimbursement for any travel expenses incurred in returning to Penarth. Passengers affected are asked to contact us directly so we can process refunds and payments. info@waverleyexcursions.co.uk.
"It took some time to make alternative transport arrangements being a Saturday evening, but several pre-paid taxis were provided for those who were not able to make their own arrangements.
"We do offer our sincere apologies to those passengers who were not able to travel back to Penarth aboard Waverley and the obvious inconvenience and disappointment this will have caused."
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