The Count Down

Not long to go now and finally the snow has melted.  We are hoping that this might mean no snow during February, but no bets have been placed.  Our leaflets have been printed and are available on line as a download from the Wheddon Cross website as well as from the information trailer once the scheme begins.  Staff are being signed up and rotas finalised so visitors will be greated by smiley people willing to help and point weary walkers in the direction of hot drinks and a bite to eat - the rota for the snowdrop cafe held in the Moorland Hall will be on the website soon.  Exmoor House Hotel Tea Room and the Rest and Be Thankful Inn are taking bookings during the snowdrop period so to avoid disappointment, ring now! 

Why bother?

If you have read the previous entries on this blog, you may well wonder why a park and ride is necessary as it seems like a lot of hard work for something that rarely breaks even let alone makes a profit!  I shall try to explain its history below:
The road that leads to the valley is a single track road with steep banks on both sides, no passing spaces and no where to park.  The valley is home to several farms, houses and businesses, and before the park and ride scheme started these locals were often unable to carry out their normal daily routines as queues of cars blocked the road and the stench of burnt out clutches filled the air.  Some visitors would park where ever they could blocking in residents or damaging the few verges along the road - many of which were home to snowdrops that got squashed in the process.  Exmoor National Park Authority decided to run a park and ride scheme from Wheddon Cross to make sure that visitors could still see the snowdrops whilst residents were able to live as usual in the valley. 
There is of course a conflict in running such a scheme - in order to let people know when the scheme is running, it has to be advertised which therefore encourages more people to come.  On the plus side a huge majority of visitors to Wheddon Cross in February spend money in the pub, tea room, Snowdrop Cafe, accommodation providers, village shop and garage and also in businesses in adjoining villages during a traditionally quiet time of year.  The only threat to the scheme is that of finances.  If it continues to run at a loss the Parish Council may not be able to continue propping it up.  Let's hope that we have a snow-free February in 2011 and that our visitors are generous!!

How does the scheme work?

Snowdrop Valley Park and Ride Scheme would not happen without the assistance of several organisations.  Badgworthy Land Company own the land known as Snowdrop Valley and without their permission the scheme would not be able to function.  Badgworthy Land Company do not profit from the scheme - Cutcombe Parish Council  make a small donation each year which does not reflect in any way the importance of their cooperation.  A donation is also made to Exmoor Farmers Livestock Auctions who allow us to use their land for car and coach parking except on market days.  If you have visited Wheddon Cross you will know that parking is a major issue and without EFLA's help there would be very limited options.  We also give a donation towards the village website - without Cynthia we would not be able to update the site with daily weather details in a 'breaking news' fashion.  Donations from the Parish Council are less than £600 so are not big earners for those who help us - good old community spirit is the key.  We are also very grateful to Exmoor National Park Authority who provide practical advice and assistance from loaning the information trailer, organising volunteers to set up the rope barrier and clear the paths in the valley, to paying for the road closure order and clearing fallen trees on the public rights of way leading to the valley in the blink of an eye!  If all of the above organisations decided to bill the scheme at 'real prices', Snowdrop Valley Park and Ride would never happen again.......

Work on Snowdrop Valley 2011 gets underway

Ok, so it's not even the middle of August yet but already I am working on plans for February 2011.  Letters have gone to local bus companies inviting them to tender for the park and ride scheme.  Did you know that to just run the buses it costs over £6000 per year?  On top of this cost are staff wages, leaflet production, equipment purchase, mobile phone costs and postage charges.  Cutcombe Parish Council have now been running the scheme since 2008 and twice the project has made a loss.  If bus tickets were priced with a view to making a profit, they would be very high indeed, so we aim to keep them at a reasonable rate and hope that happy visitors make a donation too......
I will be keeping the blog up to date with what is involved in organising the scheme so that when you visit you know it all!

Snowdrop Valley Park and Ride Scheme 2011

Cutcombe Parish Council have agreed to run the scheme again in 2011 so watch this space for more details!

Snowdrop Valley 2010 Update

The Snowdrop Valley Park & Ride Scheme for 2010 has now ended. Please follow this blog for up to date information on the 2011 scheme.