How difficult is it to access the park via public transport from Oxford?
Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens Accessing Cotswold Wildlife Park by public transport
- Thread starter AthleticBinturong
- Start date
Nigh-impossible; even the nearest bus stops would require a more-or-less suicidal walk for a mile or two along a narrow road with no footpaths and a 50mph speed limit.
It’s a toss up between Whipsnade and London in that case. Although having already visited London last year, I’d prefer to go to Whipsnade which also seems impossible to access using public transport
You would definitely need to taxi it 2 miles from the nearest bus stop for CWP - and for Whipsnade if you're coming from Oxford I think the situation is pretty hopeless I'm afraid
It’s not impossible if you’re willing to shell out for a Taxi for the last leg of the trip (not an option for everybody, I’m aware). Take the S1 bus to Carterton and taxi the rest of the way is probably the easiest, but I’m sure you can also get one of the (increasingly irregular) buses to Burford then walk the last mile or so.
For Whipsnade from from Oxford, I'd say get the X5 coach to Bedford, then train down to Luton. Then your best bet is getting a taxi from Luton. The buses have changed to two with a change at Dunstable, and the return buses have very inconvenient times. Either way, you're looking at a good 4 hours each way
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
It is not a matter of 'wont' give up their cars. It is 'cant' give up their cars. The life and economy of the UK (outside the cities, possibly) is wholly linked to private transport. If you buy something from a supermarket, is is delivered to it by lorry and to you by van, or collected by you by car. No Amazon or eBay or any other internet purchase is delivered by public transport. There is no real reason why zoos should be any different.
I would not recommend walking along that road. It would be very dangerous.
Only if you are tired of life!
And I say that as someone who has walked to Howletts, which is a bloody dicey walk in itself
Only if you are tired of life!
And I say that as someone who has walked to Howletts, which is a bloody dicey walk in itself
That must be saying something, I know you’re no stranger to walking on a grass verge to get to a collection!
Zoos should be entirely different to delivery services.
Destinations like visitor attractions are completely different to the services you mentioned because people go to them. I don’t understand why you even make the comparison.
Surely we shouldn’t just shrug and accept the situation but strive to improve things. Especially conservation focussed organisations who along with other visitor attractions could - indeed should - be vocal advocates for improving public transport.
I know that the realities of public transport in the country are very different to the cities and London in particular but a joined up comprehensive public transport system that is not only ‘doable if you really have to’ but actually preferable to privately driving shouldn’t be out of reach in the world’s fifth biggest economy.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
This is all simply theory, and so easy for everyone to agree with in entirety.
Once that is done and real life resumes, then of course zoos and delivery services are absolutely identical. They use the same roads, the same services, the same drivers and often the same vehicles, they are subject to the same laws and the same taxes and the same politics. To suggest that zoos somehow exist in a bubble separate from the rest of an economy, is just ridiculous.
No-one was 'shrugging'. I was just explaining the position in the real world, which we live and operate in at the moment.
The examples given above of the continued, steady erosion of all public transport systems systems outside the cities, show that yes indeed any fit system let alone a 'comprehensive' one, does appear beyond the reach of the world's fifth biggest economy. The roads all of the vehicles (be the public or private), travel on resemble something from a banana-republic, and are unusable for parts of the year unless you own a 4x4. Minimal repairs, and over winter no gritting, salting or other maintenance whatsoever, outside the cities and major routes. All rural infrastructure is on a continued steady decline. Internet coverage and speed is patchy to useless, and I have another factual (not theoretical) example to hand at the moment... following a speeding (private) car taking out a roadside telephone pole and cables feeding our site, its repair for a priority business user took three weeks - leaving us with no phone lines, no internet, no pdq machines over the whole of the autumn half-term.
We are one hour north of London, not in a remote part of central Africa.
World's fifth biggest economy - ********...!
Whilst your political optimism is commendable, perhaps you should replace the rose-tinted lenses in your spectacles with clear ones - then maybe you'd have the same view as others...
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The only one suggesting that is you...
Delivery and public transport are two different things, buses may use the same infrastructure, as in roads, but they are not the same vehicles or companies and have two wholly different purposes. We are also not saying ambulances and DHL vehicles are absolutely identical. The only one combining this is the Swiss Postal Service, which also has an extensive rural bus service, but personal duties are separate.
When it comes to public transport even France seems to have a better working system and it is not as if the UK never had a working system, but it has been degrading significantly over the past decades due to deliberate choices of the government. It is a choice to have large-scale functional public transport, as is in place in many parts of continental Europe, or not, the US or New Zealand style.
I have personally visited over 140 different zoos by public transport on four different continents and in over 20 different countries, so it can be done.
It can be done you just need to be sensible (done it myself 3 times)
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Again a theoretical black and white choice, which means of course like the most of the rest of the UK we are clearly 'part of the problem' as no, we are doing nothing to change things. We must presume that you are, if any of what you say amounts to more than a theory. Lets hope it helps...
Zoos can be part of the solution. Some years ago now Chester sponsored a direct service from Chester railway station (happily there is now a commercially provided link). Colwyn Bay has - I don't know if it still does - provided a minibus link from the railway station.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
WMZ still lists an April to September minibus running the single route of 1.5 miles on a loop. Not sure what percentage of footfall this delivers, but does seem to be the sort of service provided at seaside resorts. Not sure where zoos like Cotswold or Whipsnade would chose to run such a service from, pulling visitors as they do from huge, wide catchment areas....