I was up there this weekend just gone and have a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth over the way I was gouged by the national trust.
There is a big massive visitor center up there right across the route to the causeway – certainly gives the impression that you need to pay to the enter the place and see the causeway, you are wafted over to the front door by all the staff at the carpark etc. £8.50 each I thought was taking the piss, but I wanted to see the thing since I was about 8 (30 years ago) and it’s a probably once in a lifetime trip.
We were a bit late and just legged it through to get to the causeway before it got too dark and the bad weather caught up with us – visitor center appeared to be full of the usual guff that could be performed with 2 sheets of A4 writing of which I had no interest and a shop to get more money from me (which the wife wanted to visit later).
I thought it was off that they were then charging for the bus from the visitor centre to the causeway seeing as I’d just paid a fortune to get in, but as I was walking I was didn’t think too much to it.
We walked back up to have a potter about the shop to find it was closed and then I found out that the causeway itself is free – I paid £17 to run through the visitor centre… (which explained trying to get more cash out of the people unable/too lazy to walk with the bus) which has very little in it and a big shop.
All very devious and I’m stunned that the national trust has to stoop to such underhand methods to raise cash. I know it’s got to be a big earner for them and I don’t mind overpaying on some stuff to support stuff that otherwise would be in bits but this has really annoyed me, I feel conned/robbed and the NT have gone massively downhill in my estimation. There were 2 other couples who also got caught out the same way we did and they too are pissed off with the situation.
And don’t start about getting the national trust membership thing, I don’t live in the UK and don’t get back often enough for it to be even remotely worthwhile
