Bakers Dolphin

Bakers Dolphin Tour Operator

This is a company started in 1889 by, not surprisingly, a Mr Baker They are now based in Weston super Mare and the Company Bakers Dolphin Travel is part of the First Choice group.

The company has been engaged in various forms of travel despite two World Wars.

The coach side started in 1923 but it was not until 1964 that they went into Travel when their first agency was opened ...
...to describe my experience with them on a holiday at the end September 2004.I hope that I do not go on too much for you. I do not intend to give you a mile by mile report of my journey.

I used First Choice to book the holiday after going through several travel agents in the local high street. Both my wife and I wanted to go to Scotland, so I booked the 7 day tour of The Western Highlands.

The cost was £399.00 per person ... more

Bakers Dolphin Tour Operator

This is a company started in 1889 by, not surprisingly, a Mr Baker They are now based in Weston super Mare and the Company Bakers Dolphin Travel is part of the First Choice group.

The company has been engaged in various forms of travel despite two World Wars.

The coach side started in 1923 but it was not until 1964 that they went into Travel when their first agency was opened in Weston super Mare

I would like to describe my experience with them on a holiday at the end September 2004.I hope that I do not go on too much for you. I do not intend to give you a mile by mile report of my journey.

I used First Choice to book the holiday after going through several travel agents in the local high street. Both my wife and I wanted to go to Scotland, so I booked the 7 day tour of The Western Highlands.

The cost was £399.00 per person for half board. Some trips were included into this price. I must say that I had no trouble booking this holiday.
I note that sometimes others have had problems with First Choice but as I knew what I wanted and when there did not seem to be any problem.

They advertise their services as Door to Door, so you do not have to find your way to any pick up point. Normally I do not like any long coach journeys having had to suffer National Express to Suffolk once during a rail strike. However with these seven day holidays, two days are spent going and two coming back.

Starting Out.
On the day of departure the taxi that was to collect us did not arrive at the due time. After waiting for several minutes extra I rang the company as they suggest in their documentation. They advised that I wait a little longer then ring the taxi company myself. They had been assured that one had been despatched to collect me. I did ring the company and found that one was on its way. The taxi company stating that they had a shortage of drivers that day.

The Pick up was at the Gordano Services on the M5.In a central location was a representative who took charge of the luggage and pointed travellers to the required coaches. The Driver took responsibility for the passengers stating to us that some more were to be collected on route. When he had collected them he gave us the welcome speech, pointing out where the drinks machine and the onboard toilet were.

Seat belts were fitted for each seat. It is not, I believe, a legal requirement to wear a belt on a coach, but most persons did.

The journey was up motorways, where breaks were made at about three hour intervals. We stopped at service stations for food and drink,and to use the facilities. A journey of this length of time did not appear to be too taxing on any of the passengers. All the coaches are non smoking, so persons who are addicted do not have too long to wait between fixes.

The driver pointed out places of interest as we passed them and told us useful facts about these places.

Arriving at East Kilbride for our first nights stop was when a problem for some passengers came to light. In the documents sent by the company,they asked that you pack an overnight case for the stop and rest of luggage stayed on the coach. Apparently these documents did not arrive with some of the passengers so they had no pre packed overnight bags.

The driver sorted this out with a calm tact.

The second days journey was via Loch Lomond where we could have had a journey on the loch if enough passengers had requested. However they did not, so a stop at a highland shopping store was made instead.

The journey took us through Glen Coe. Here we did make a stop to enable photographs to be taken. As the weather was deteriorating into low clouds, mist and rain we did not stay too long.

Arrival at Fort William.
We arrived at the Highland Hotel that was to be our stay for the next three days. We reported to reception and received our keys. Staff unloaded the coach and delivered the cases to each room.

There.

For the third day. A tour on the West Highland Railway to Malaig was planed followed by a ferry journey to the Inner Islands. The trip was by standard diesel train. The steam train running later in the day. It was possible to disembark from the ferry on the island of Eigg when it went on and to re-embark on its return or you could stay aboard. There was a cafe on board the ferry so food and drink were not a problem.
Very fortunately the sea was calm.

Return was by The Road to the Isles but with no time for photo stops.

For the Fourth day. A journey to Inverness for sightseeing and shopping with a return beside Loch Ness. Unfortunately Nessie did not put in an appearance. We did stop for photographs beside the loch. I could spend a lot of time trying to describe the loch and the views. Best to see it for yourself. Believe me, we all studied that loch but no sightings.Pity that.

For the fifth day, there was the option of a half day trip to Spean Bridge to the Commando Monument. For those who did not want to go,they were free to explore Fort William.This town impressed me. The main shopping street is a pedestrianised all through with many shops having wheelchair access. On the other roads were many lowered kerbs for wheelchairs. All in good repair also. Many litter bins were provided and people appeared to be using them as the area around the main street was very clean.

Going back
We left early so as to have lunch in Edinburgh. Again there was an earlier stop for drinks and to admire some highland cattle.Edinburgh was crowded as it was lunchtime. We had some time to look around but with tour trips it can only be a taster.
Moving on we headed to West Auckland to find our evening stop.The driver had a little trouble as he had not been there before an we had to travel a long way on ordinary two lane roads. This put off some of the other passengers.
The hotel was found and meal served.

More on the hotels later

Final day.
Again we went to A1/M1 and drove south. Stopping at services for a meal. As the driver did not want to reach Gordano Services too early we had quite a long stop in a garden centre. This was useful for drink and facilities. You could not buy any large items as you had to get them on the coach. We dropped off the passengers that we had picked up on our outward journey on the way back. We had to wait sometimes for their transport to turn up as we were running a little early
We still arrived at the Gordano Services a little early. No staff had yet arrived. The driver stayed with the coach and sent us off to the services for drinks and anything else.

Whilst my wife and myself were sitting outside, the driver found us and advised that staff and transport had arrived early. And so, luggage loaded we made our way home.

The Hotels.
First The Hilton Hotel, East Kilbride.
Modern building near a main road. Purpose built like most modern hotels with good sound insulation.The room was adequate. En suit facilities. Tea, coffee and TV provided.
The food was slow in arriving the first night and the coffee was awful.I like mine strong. This must have had help to get out of the pot.
Breakfast was an all in buffet style with cereals, juice and plenty of cooked for those who wanted it.

Main Hotel
The Highland Hotel, Fort William.
The administration staff were all Scottish but the waiters and waitresses were central European. This led to some difficulty with language at first.
The room was very comfortable with fine views over the Loch.
En suit facilities with tea, coffee and TV. No difficulty in getting extra supplies either.
The food was very good. Everything was from the menu, even breakfast.
Maybe I am greedy but occasionally I would have liked more. Quality was excellent. Especially the Haggis. Evening meals were always four course with a good choice of alternatives.

The main building is an older Victorian large town house with newer extensions. There were smoking and non smoking rooms and areas in the hotel. The Hotel itself is situated partway up the hillside with views over the town and loch. It is easy going down to the town but all of us were advised that it was easier to take a taxi back up. Prices for these were very reasonable.

Final Hotel
The Manor house Hotel, West Auckland.
A larger building that has been converted to a hotel. I am not certain of the age of this building but it was old. This again was a superb hotel. Every room had a large four poster bed!
The rooms were very large with separate facilities attached to the rooms.
The staff were very helpful. Here during the dinner I fell ill and had to retire to the room to take extra tablets. The staff came to see if
I was alright and even offered to serve the rest of my dinner in the room. When I had to decline they provided Iced water for me to drink.
Breakfast was waiter supplied from the menu.

The Driver and Coach.
The driver was professional at all times. The coach was always cleaned fresh at the start of every day. He was unfailing in his politeness with some cranky passengers at times. There was no onboard music or DVD players. For a journey in U.K. this would not be necessary with us old folk. Youngsters may have got fractious without some entertainment. The seats are quite wide but for somebody with long legs there is not quite enough space to put your feet on the foot rest. As this is the case with every coach there is not much point complaining.

Entertainment.
As most of the passengers were of the older age group, disco was not what was required in hotels. The main hotel did provide local singers and musicians. If you really wanted a disco, there was one further down the hill where any noise would not disturb this hotel. And ,of course,there is always the bar.

Organisation of the company.
Getting all the passengers on and off together with their luggage was well and professionally done. Getting both passengers and their luggage onto the same coach when dealing with several coaches and a lot of passengers all at the same time takes good organisation.

I have no hesitation in recommending this company for the older persons,and any young ones who want to make their own entertainment.

The one thing that I have not mentioned is the weather. That you cannot guarantee is going to be good. Briefly then, Going up on the first day was fine until we reached Cumbria when drizzle started.
Day two was low cloud and mists all day
Day three started out with clouds and mists but brightened up at sea into a fine afternoon.
Day four was a fine day all day.
Day five rained all day.
Day six was mainly fine.
Day seven mainly fine, Rain in evening.

Weather in Scotland is liable to change quickly. The Autumn colours were wonderful in the trees and moors.
You pays your money and takes your chance with the weather. But I would go again any time, Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. This is a beautiful place with friendly people.

Very strong water also.

 

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