CHAR-A-BAINCS SERVICES IN NORTH WALES.
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'Llandudno the Char-a-bancs Capital of North Wales Serves as a Good Starting Point for Numerous Popular Tours.
LLANDUDNO is an ideal centre from which pleasure. excursions into the beautiful Welsh scenery can he arranged. On one side the.e is the sea front, with which the road runs parallel from the Point, of Ayre, through Rhyl, Colwyn .Bay, Conway, Penniaeurnawr, Bangor, Menai to Carnarvoa, the jumping-off place to a number of deightful resorts, and on the inland side there is the impressive mountainous country studded with such popular holiday centres as Llangollen, Lledr Valley, Aberglaslyn Pass, Criccieth (the home of the Prime Minister), Pwellheli, Llanberis, Denbigh, Bethesda, Nantffrancen Pass Bettws-y-Coed—places all well known to char-A-banes tourists.
Llandudno is regarded as the chersii-baims capital ot North Wales, and more vehicles make their headquarters there than in any other town in the area. The two principal services are the :"Reyal Reds" and the "Royal Blues," and amongst the smeller enterprises are the "Silvers" and the "Creams." At Rhyl and Carnarvon there are mall services, the Carnarvon Motor Co. running a local motorbus service as well as a touring coach. They have Thornycroft ahd. Dennis vehicles. Another vehicle is run from Carnarvon by the Arvonia 'Motor Cp. through the pass of Llanheris and to Snow don.
Most of the vehicles that are to be seen in Carnarvon are, however, from outside towns. Passenger coaches are also on hire at Penmaenmawr, and we understand that a service is about to be started from Bedclgelert with a new
Daimlereee •
A bird's-eye view of phar-i-bancs conditions in North Wales would lead one to believe, both from observation and the comments of the proprietors of these services, that the passenger tours by road are undergoing great developments. In the booking offices of the Llandudno companies, on the day of our representatives visit, which, by the way, was a Saturday, when the holiday-making paiiulation usualiy undergoes a change, there was consider able activity. There was a constant stream of passengers booking seats as well as incessant •telephone calls for a similar purpose. ,In Llandudno booking seats by telephone was the order of the day. in Vaughan Street, where the offices of the 'Royal Reds" are located, the first sight to attract the. eye ia what appears to be a—specially-constructed wooden building painted a bright-red colour, outside of which stood a large collection of tastefully-framed photographs of the favourite Welsh beauty spots. Alongside a number of the Royal Red coaches were drawn up awaiting the arrival of passengers for the 'afternoon tours.
The tours manager, Mr. .P. Platt Butler, was wearing a bright-coloured felt hir adorned with a bright-red hatband and a hew tie which corresponded
in colour. There was no mistaking the headquarters of the Royal Reds. Inside the hooking office was -comfortably furnished, and the walls were adorned by a.further selection of framed photos and a massive watercolour scene painting of one of the passes.
Beyond a. few snatches of conversation, t chat with Mr. Butler was ,impossible; owing to the constant tinkling of the telephone. bell and an uninterrupted incursion of prospective passengers.
This company has about 10 coaches on the road. Altogether in the town there are about 30 vehicles registered. The Royal Blue Co. was foimerly a coaching company, but it has moved with the times, and now has eight beautifully-built Thornycroft cars. Three of them are 28-seaters, and the other five 18-seaters.
In an interview, Mr. T. Hughes, the tours manager, explained that before the War his company had only three motor chars-k-bance and a number of horse coaches, but now they had all Motors, "as well as a local omnibus service. They usually calculated their charges on the basis of 4s. per mile for 28-seaters, and 3s. 64. per mile for 18seaters, -Which bear very favourable comparison with those charged in other paces. The bodywork on these vehicles, which had been undertaken by a local firm, is a beautiful piece of eraftmanship, and the upholstery well qualifies the company to claim for them the title of being the easy-chair. motor coaches. The seats are well sprung, and have as many as .96 springs in each.
Neither company, .by the way, charges booking fees, and the tours are made subject to the weather permitting. In ease of inclement weather the tickets are transferred. The Royal Blue Co. have about half-a-dozen booking offices in Llandudno, and a booking agent at Deganwy, but passengers may book seats with the head porter at any of the principal hotels.
Passengers by the Royal Red route can book either at Llandudno or at Colwyn Bay, Dega,nwy, Towyn, and Llanfairfeehen. Lounges and waiting rooms are provided for the convenience of passengers 'at the Red head offices in Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, where. they can obtain the latest news, the weather prospects, items of, interest, , and inspect a fine collection of views. of the beauty spots of North Wales visited by the Royal Red motor coaches.
The •Royal Red Co. declare Olen. motto to be "Do it better r for they say letting well alone never raised a salary or declared an extra dividend. Claiming to be the pioneers of motor coaching in North Wales, they assert that every year they have introduced some innovation and some improvement.
The seats in the cars are reserved and numbered, and those that are booked are not re-sold to later passengers. The cars start at the advertised time, and the drivers endeavour to return by the advertised time. A feature of the tours is the arrangements made for a full-course luncheon and afternoon tea on the all, day tours, and afternoon tea on the half-day tours. • Mr: Butler told •us that they were out-to do high-class business, and had.. taken several parties of American tothists on trips round North Wales.
In their souvenir guide they address a special letter " To our Colonial end. American clients and visitors from other countries,'' in which the Royal Red Co. say they are prepared to map out suitable programmes on request, to meet foreign visitors at the port of arrival with a car or cars in charge of fully competent men, who would be plated at their disposal for the whole of their 'tour in this country, returning them to the port of departure, for an ald-inclusive fee, which would he quoted on application.
Their staff, they say, is competent to conduct business in French, as well as in English, or, if desired, Frenchspeaking drivers could be provided also. There is quite a cheery directness in their appeals to customers. For instance. "It's your part to enquire— we will do all the rest, except pay the charges—a pleasure you would not agree to forego. Do you want to hustle? We can oblige you. Do you want to meander and meditate on the way? Nothing easier; it is merely a question of fee.
A word of comment is necessary on the Royal Red souvenir guide, a very convenient-size publication of 175 pages for the pocket. It is one of the few specially-written motor guides we have seen and describes the tours on unorthodox lines. Guide books, as a ru'e, are always interesting; but, as a ruie, it is not possible for ate sightseer to absorb at once all the interesting historical data that have been put into print form. The Royal Red handbook takes the passenger in hand at Llandudno, stating the time the coach leaves the booking office, and proceeds to state in a clear, succinct, chronological order, the various points of interest en rente, so that every passenger has no difficu'd,y in locating for himself, without any verbal explanation, the passiii,g objects of note. It is a. very useful ideas ' Anaher commending feature is the information as to where meals will be served. The Royal Red coaches undertake 22 different tours.
Day trips from Llandudno leave between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning, and half-day trips about 2.15 p.m. Tie'ow are some of the mileage distances and return fares of the most popular excursions :—Day tours: Barmouth and Dolgelley, 145 miles, 30s.; Bala Lake via Ruthirt and Corwen, 120 mlIse, 25s.; Llangollen via Berwyn Hills 115 miles, 21s. ;
Criccieth and hills, 115 miles, 21s.; Isle of Anglesey tour, 115 miles, 21s. ; Lledr Valley, 105 miles, 21s.; Aberglaslyn Loop, 96 miles, 17s. 6d. ; Llanberis and Snowdon (allowing time for ascent), 80 miles. 15s. ; Welsh
Killarney, 125 miles, 25s. Afternoon tours ; Bethesda Loop and Capel Curig, 60 miles, 10,s. ; New Alpine tour, via Fairy Glen and Pentre Voelas, 60 miles, 10s. ; Denbigh Castle, .60 miles, 10s. ; Mountain Loop, Llanwrst and Vale of Conway, 56 miles, 10s. ; St. Asaph and cl0 Rlhuddlan Castle. 45 miles, 7s.. 6d.; Bettws-y-Coed, 42 miles, 7s. 6d. Wherever one goes in Llandudno one finds the long motor tour excursion handbills, printed in red and blue respectively, hanging in prominent places to draw attention to the various tours:
Motorbus and Char-a-bancs Services at Salisbury. •
SALISBURY seems to be a particus • laxly busy place for motorbuses and chars-iisbancs and commercial transport work generally. .The large and wellknown concern of Wort and Way, Government haulage contractors and general hauliers, have their headquarters in that town, and their operations in commercial transport extend to all parts of the country. Chaplin and Co. is another important company of haulage contractors doing light and heavy work, and there are quite a -number of companies running motorbuses, many of them working On the‘ principles of the old carrier's cart
and coming in front distant small towns, picking up passengers at the villages passed en route. The Mobility Co., of J.aidgershall and Andover, do a good deal of work in this line, running saloon buses and chars-b-bancs. Similar vehicles are also run from Bournemouth to Salisbury, taking a load of passengers each way.
One of the lareest companies in the diatrict is that known as the Wilts and Dorset Motor Services, Ltd., who run the bus services in Salisbury town and neighbourhood. Their char-a-bincs excursions are very popular indeed. They take a number of routes to the seaside and to country places.On Sundays there is Usually a char-a-bancs leaving Salisbury about 9 o'clock ie the morning to Southsea. for Portemonth, Bournemouth, and similar places.
A very popular circular trip is made to Milford-on-Sea by Lyndhurst' and Christchurch, the return fare for the trip being 5s. 6d., while to Portsmouth and Bournemouth the fare is about 8s. ; for a return fare of 14s. the trip is made to the famous Cheddar country. All these trips are well patronized, and promise well for the whole of the season.
The other bus skvices are to Amesbury for Old Sarum and Stonehenge, Barford St. Martin, Bournemouth, Brit. ford and Boddenham, Downton, BreaMore, Fereding Bridge, RingwOod, etc. On June 2nd, for the return fare of LI 1s. the journey was made to Epsom for the Derby, leaving Salisbury at 6 o'clock in the morning. Hall and Sons also run a char-is-banns to Bournemouth on Sundays, and other places in the week. Rowlands also ran a char-h-bancs to Epsom on June 2nd, and have' running regular services to Bournemouth, New Forest, Stonehenge, and Camps,
The Salisbury and District Motor Services, Ltd. with their "Victory charsasbancs and motor coaches do a large amount of business. They run to the places mentioned above, and also have inaugurated services in the villages around Salisbury. In connection with the Bath and West Show, and together with the Wilts and Dorset Co.„ they ran
regular motor coach services-between tha station. and the show ground each day. while the show was on.
The Wilts and Dorsbt Co. run doubledeckers for the town and single-deckers for country work.
Char-a-bancs Time-Table Services.
There have been instituted _frail Liverpool daily char-a-banes services to Blackpool, an enterpiise of the Colling wood Transco:a Co., Ltd., of Liverpool. This is believed to be the first dai'y motor passenger service from the city. New Daimler coaches cover the journey, which is made from a recognized starting point in the city, aotording to time-table arrangements. Passengers may book return tickets available any day, subject to the return date being named at time of booking. The idea of regular daily'services with time-table arrangements is to be commended. Colling-wood chare-a-banes leave Liverpool at 9.35 a.m. daily and return from Blackpool at 6 p.m,