Rab Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I watched today's races from near Creg Na Baa, which definitely gets my vote for 'Rip off the Tourist' prize for 2008. Their car parking prices are now £5 per car, which is optional, as you can park on the road & walk the 1/2 mile. Grandstand charges are now £15, which is optional, as you have the whole road-side bank all the way up to Kate's Cottage. They have now decided to have a £2 charge per person for access to this land. They have fenced off access to the footpath so you have to filter through one 'gateway' This has a sign saying 'Kate's Cottage £2' and in very small letters underneath, 'charges for Portaloo facilities'. These fences had been erected, and manned, by the same group in the the car park & grandstand. I explained that I was not watching the races anywhere near the Creg. I really did not need their facilities, as I was walking up towards Kate's. I was told that it was private land, and I indeed had to pay. I informed them that it was it certainly was not private, and I wouldn't be paying anything to walk up the hill. I was told that I would have to see someone called 'Gary' before I ventured further. I told him to tell 'Gary' to come & get his £2 from me, and gave my name. Gary unfortunately never came looking for me. Does anyone else find this a total rip off offensive? There were at a rough count 200-300 spectators in between the Creg & Kate's today. I really wonder how many realised they didn't have to pay. It is not private land, this is OUR land. 'Gary' made some £500 today, if the tourists didn't realise this was just a con. Does anyone know who this so called 'Gary' is? I would like to know his reasons for saying this land is private, before calling him a lying tosser! Rab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I feel your pain Rab. It's not health and safety issues that will kill the TT,it's greedy money grabbing tossers like the Creg,the cafes that put there prices up by 50%,the Steam Racket,etc,etc,etc. Oh,I wonder why there are fewer people over this year? Maybe still recovering from the wallet-raping they got last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Oh,I wonder why there are fewer people over this year? Maybe still recovering from the wallet-raping they got last year? Maybe? Almost certainly if the reactions I got from loads of the German guys are anything to go by. Good friends of mine, who love the island to bits and have come here for the TT for over 20 years (way before I even knew the place existed) have had enough after last year. Another group, who also normally attend every year without fail, are now here in reduced numbers as a few of them had enough and simply couldn't afford two weeks of rip-off anymore. The list goes on and on. I post my pics on quite a few German biker forums, and all I hear now is "Oh, I'd love to go there, but everyone I spoke to who went there said it's so expensive - the ferry and all..." The short sighted idiocy of some people with their rip-off methods and sheer stupidity makes my blood boil - if you want to really kill the event that has provided you with a nice little income over the years, then that's the way to go - just look at the visitor numbers this year - I hope the utter pharse some rip-off merchants pulled during the centenary is now coming back to bite them in the ass. Some people should realise that tourists will not forget a bad experience and will happily vent their anger online, where it's quickly being read by thousands of people who are then less likely to come here - but these people are probably way too busy counting money and way too stupid to realise they're digging their own grave by doing so. @ Rab: If that's public land, would it be worth giving it some legal attention or looking into that at least? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekinvig Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 your so right people will speak with their feet and wont return to be fleeced by these money grabbing penny pinching merchants. the final straw for me was the peel kiosk on the prom. as i stood waiting for my coffee which has gone up by 15p, i noticed the chocolate bars in a basket. many of them were clearly marked "part of multi pack not for individual sale". these bars are smaller because they are sold in packs but the price did'nt reflect this. trading standards should get out from behind their cushy desks and do some bloody work over this fortnight. or is that against the government wishes? after all these bikers have got money coming out of their ears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 "Today's special offer... a sandwich, packet of crisps and a drink for just £6!" The generosity of the Steam Racket knows no beginning, does it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I've been up to the Creg for lunch a few times recently. The meals are kinda pricey e.g. 8oz sirloin is around £15 which you can get for £6 with a 'free' drink in Whetherspoons across on some nights, or for around £6 to £8 from many pubs across. Prices for their other meals are also too high IMO. I'm really f***ed off with TT rip-off pricing, if indeed people have been charging for people to go on to publically owned land to watch the TT, they should be faced with a MAJOR fine IMO. I've heard nothing but gripes about prices this TT. I've also noticed that the average age of this years TT visitor has dropped significantly, and many of the older 'regulars' are not back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I think it's embarrassing.... to charge £15 to use the grandstand... a piece of scaffolding with seats? - erm? and to charge for the toilets? Isn't there another rule if you provide food/drink you have to provide toilets...? Surely places like the Creg earn a lot from the trade that would be using the pub that they don't need to try and make a fast buck on tourists....Wonder if they are charging the marshalls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 was this on the left or right heading up towards kate, if its the right then i think its gov hill which is rented out, so not sure if this is classed then as private land, if its the left its private land, but then again if theres a public footpath there then thay cant charge you at all but if there chargeing then thay should have there public lib insurance on display and all the H&s reports to view by anyone paying, i some how dowt thay have any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wideload Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 be interesting to see if they are properly insured to have spectators on the land around the creg, wasn't the final answer on the insurance that if you accepted money for spectators to be on the land you had to have insurance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 They don't own the land at Kate's Cottage ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 that land up to the top wall above the microwave link station used to be owned by Trevor Baines, he used to allow a group to operate the car park to raise funds for their organisation, but it may have changed by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman8180 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I think it's embarrassing.... to charge £15 to use the grandstand... a piece of scaffolding with seats? - erm? and to charge for the toilets? Isn't there another rule if you provide food/drink you have to provide toilets...? Surely places like the Creg earn a lot from the trade that would be using the pub that they don't need to try and make a fast buck on tourists....Wonder if they are charging the marshalls? Before people start aiming at a particular group, I'm pretty sure the people who own / run the Creg were on the Radio yesterday saying that the Car Park, charging for people to access land etc, was nothing to do with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 The £2 charge for walking up the land is apparently for renting the port a loos, I told them where to go and carried on walking. I suggest you do the same. As for parking, you can park further down the road for free, you just have to walk a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I think it's embarrassing.... to charge £15 to use the grandstand... a piece of scaffolding with seats? - erm? and to charge for the toilets? Isn't there another rule if you provide food/drink you have to provide toilets...? Surely places like the Creg earn a lot from the trade that would be using the pub that they don't need to try and make a fast buck on tourists....Wonder if they are charging the marshalls? Before people start aiming at a particular group, I'm pretty sure the people who own / run the Creg were on the Radio yesterday saying that the Car Park, charging for people to access land etc, was nothing to do with them. I'm sure you're right, but the parking charge to their own car park must surely be them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Jampton Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Calling all PROWL members Where are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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