Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger

[RedPostJunc]

A few months ago, I tried to buy a Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger in Winchester station.
The ticket office lady spent over five minutes trying to find it on her system, then rang somebody up for help.
At the end of their phone call, the lady told me that the Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger was no longer available.
I haven't seen any posters advertising that ticket for a long time.

I have just checked the SWR website and the ticket does appear to be available.

Rangers and Rovers Train Tickets | South Western Railway

Get unlimited local travel with Ranger (1‑day) and Rover tickets, available to buy at staffed stations or through the Customer Service Centre.

www.southwesternrailway.com

It is also listed on National Rail's website:

Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger | National Rail

Special offer: Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger. The portal into UK rail travel, including information on ticket purchase and promotions, train times and delays, and more.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Now I have three questions:
Is the Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger still available?
If yes, what can I do if the ticket office person doesn't know how to sell me that ticket?
If yes, how can I buy that ticket from a Self service machine?

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

It's been withdrawn as far as I'm aware - no longer available.

 

[CHAPS2034]

A few months ago, I tried to buy a Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger in Winchester station.
The ticket office lady spent over five minutes trying to find it on her system, then rang somebody up for help.
At the end of their phone call, the lady told me that the Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger was no longer available.
I haven't seen any posters advertising that ticket for a long time.

I have just checked the SWR website and the ticket does appear to be available.

Rangers and Rovers Train Tickets | South Western Railway

Get unlimited local travel with Ranger (1‑day) and Rover tickets, available to buy at staffed stations or through the Customer Service Centre.

www.southwesternrailway.com

It is also listed on National Rail's website:

Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger | National Rail

Special offer: Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger. The portal into UK rail travel, including information on ticket purchase and promotions, train times and delays, and more.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Now I have three questions:
Is the Waterside Wanderer Day Ranger still available?
If yes, what can I do if the ticket office person doesn't know how to sell me that ticket?
If yes, how can I buy that ticket from a Self service machine?

Also still listed on the GB Rail Rover Guide site

GB RAIL ROVER GUIDE - rail rover and ranger tickets

How to find rail rover and railway ranger tickets on the national rail network. Rover tickets are cheap tickets for rail travel

www.railrover.org

Here's the ticket information from that site
Ticket Issuing System details: name / code / group
Name - Waterside Wander Ranger / code - WWR / group - I690 Waterside Wander

If you give the ticket issuing information in bold above to the ticket office staff, they should be able to find it.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

Also still listed on the GB Rail Rover Guide site

GB RAIL ROVER GUIDE - rail rover and ranger tickets

How to find rail rover and railway ranger tickets on the national rail network. Rover tickets are cheap tickets for rail travel

www.railrover.org

Here's the ticket information from that site
Ticket Issuing System details: name / code / group
Name - Waterside Wander Ranger / code - WWR / group - I690 Waterside Wander

If you give the ticket issuing information in bold above to the ticket office staff, they should be able to find it.

As above, it's no longer available.
That site is unofficial in any event, but the National Rail one just hasn't been updated.

 

[RedPostJunc]

It's been withdrawn as far as I'm aware - no longer available.

As above, it's no longer available.
That site is unofficial in any event, but the National Rail one just hasn't been updated.

Thank you for confirming that.

If it isn't available, SWR should not be promoting it on their website. https://www.southwesternrailway.com/train-tickets/cheap-train-tickets/rangers-and-rovers

 

[Mcr Warrior]

As above, it's no longer available.
That site is unofficial in any event, but the National Rail one just hasn't been updated.

Does seem bizarre that none of the National Rail, South Western Railway or the GB Rail Rover sites seem to have been updated. Presumably it was SWR who would have decided to withdraw the product. How long was it previously actually available for? Late 2021?

 

[Craig1122]

Roger French blogged when this ticket was launched, even then he had issues buying it. I would imagine that would have successfully prevented any chance of it selling well! Unfortunately both SWR and National Rail have a lot of incomplete, out of date and incorrect information on the web.

 

[LA50041]

As above, it's no longer available.
That site is unofficial in any event, but the National Rail one just hasn't been updated.

Hmmm, oddly it will offer it for sale on the Rail Staff Travel Website

 

[Hophead]

As it happens, I am currently in Hythe, waiting for a very delayed bus. I did consider this ticket for today's trip on the Hythe ferry and beyond but, as information was as sketchy as already mentioned, decided that getting individual tickets was a safer option. Not sure it would have saved me much money either, which helped the decision making.

 

[AY1975]

Hmmm, oddly it will offer it for sale on the Rail Staff Travel Website

I have just checked the SWR website and the ticket does appear to be available.

Rangers and Rovers Train Tickets | South Western Railway

Get unlimited local travel with Ranger (1‑day) and Rover tickets, available to buy at staffed stations or through the Customer Service Centre.

www.southwesternrailway.com

What's more, it would appear that the SWR site can still sell you one but only if it's for a date far enough ahead to have it posted to you, as it doesn't offer the option to collect it from a ticket vending machine. You just have to go to the above link and click on Buy tickets, and then select Waterside Wanderer.

I'm guessing that this means that either (a) the OP was misinformed about it no longer being available (and the ticket office clerk was misinformed by the official who she spoke to on the phone), (b) it's now only available to pre-order by post, as with the Southern DaySave or (c) it has indeed been withdrawn but neither the National Rail site nor the SWR site nor the GB Rail Rover Guide have been updated.

If it's (c), as suggested in entry #4 above, then I would expect that anyone who tries to order one by post via the SWR site will get an email from SWR to say it's no longer available but only after entering their card details.

As I recall the Waterside Wanderer was only introduced in late 2021, then withdrawn for a time in late 2022 and reinstated sometime in the winter or spring of 2023.

The OP tried to buy one "a few months ago" but maybe that was before it was reinstated.