Stig-OT-Dump
Legendary Member
- Location
- Glasgow's sunny southside
So - planning a trip to Orkney and Shetland. Getting the ferry from Aberdeen to Kirkwall, Kirkwall to Lerwick, Lerwick to Aberdeen.
Scotrail have restrictions on tandems. According to their website I don't have a cat in hell's chance of getting the tandem up to Inverness -> Thurso -> Stromness ferry.
ScotRail have a fancy poster. According to that I can't go Glasgow to Aberdeen, but I can go Glasgow to Edinburgh.
LNER state that they can take a tandem up to 2.5m as long as I take the wheels off and book 2 x bike spaces.
We went through to Edinburgh, got to LNER platform and got told there was no way we could fit on the train.
ScotRail played a blinder - put us on a train that "couldn't" accommodate a tandem. Made the ferry.
Coming home - the LNER guys let us try and fit the tandem on and it's clearly not going to work. Scotrail put us on the Intercity (I had to slack the back handlebars to get in the carriage) and saved the day again.
TAKE HOMES:
Don't believe the ScotRail poster that states a tandem only goes on 380 & 385 trains. You CAN fit on an inter-city and we were fitted on an HST with conductor/ control discretion
Don't believe LNER - you CAN'T fit on an Azuma.
We had spent nearly £1k on ferries, accommodation etc. Came close to getting severely derailed - as it happens the trains they said we could get meant we were on 1st train of the day, so we had time to sort it out.
Biggest win - the trip was awesome - Orkney, back to mainland (Dunnet Head, John O'Groats, Dunscanby Head) - back to Orkney, on to Shetland, back to Aberdeen. Would thoroughly recommend.
Scotrail have restrictions on tandems. According to their website I don't have a cat in hell's chance of getting the tandem up to Inverness -> Thurso -> Stromness ferry.
ScotRail have a fancy poster. According to that I can't go Glasgow to Aberdeen, but I can go Glasgow to Edinburgh.
LNER state that they can take a tandem up to 2.5m as long as I take the wheels off and book 2 x bike spaces.
We went through to Edinburgh, got to LNER platform and got told there was no way we could fit on the train.
ScotRail played a blinder - put us on a train that "couldn't" accommodate a tandem. Made the ferry.
Coming home - the LNER guys let us try and fit the tandem on and it's clearly not going to work. Scotrail put us on the Intercity (I had to slack the back handlebars to get in the carriage) and saved the day again.
TAKE HOMES:
Don't believe the ScotRail poster that states a tandem only goes on 380 & 385 trains. You CAN fit on an inter-city and we were fitted on an HST with conductor/ control discretion
Don't believe LNER - you CAN'T fit on an Azuma.
We had spent nearly £1k on ferries, accommodation etc. Came close to getting severely derailed - as it happens the trains they said we could get meant we were on 1st train of the day, so we had time to sort it out.
Biggest win - the trip was awesome - Orkney, back to mainland (Dunnet Head, John O'Groats, Dunscanby Head) - back to Orkney, on to Shetland, back to Aberdeen. Would thoroughly recommend.
