www.pathfindertours.co.uk
As per post #76 up thread.End of an era for Pathfinder Railtours - Pathfinder Railtours
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM PATHFINDER RAILTOURS For immediate release on Tuesday 23rd September 2025 It is with a very heavy heart that the management and staff of Pathfinder Railtours announce that after more than five decades of running excursions and charter services, the Stroud based company...
Official announcement
F&W Skirl of the Pipes 4.
That’s cool re: 20110
As predicted back in August. Entirely unsurprising as they seemed to have given up a long time ago.I would absolutely like Pathfinder to continue to trade but I find it more likely that they will be the first of the current crop to throw in the towel. When they do run a tour, I generally find them to be decent days out with good stewarding on board. But they can't continue in the same way as they have, particularly this year. I think I have had 4 tours I have been booked on cancelled by them this year alone and that just isn't acceptable when my booking with them in the first place often requires me to rearrange plans with work. Whilst they are the worst culprits, I have also had SRPS and UKR cancelling tours on me this year as well so it is a problem across the industry and has really softened my eagerness to book onto tours, especially on dates where I need to re-jig my work rota.
For the past 18 months, I have generally always had 4 or 5 tours booked for future dates but that has dropped to 2 now and I can't say I have really been monitoring new tours going on sale recently either. I will probably do these 2 and then take a break until next year and see how things develop in the coming months but it does have the feel of the start of the end for enthusiast based rail tours. I will have to get my fill of 40013 by spending even more money on the dining trains in the future
It’s not so much a case of “refused” as “there’s been little of interest to justify the cost and the ones I have been interested in have been cancelled”.As predicted back in August. Entirely unsurprising as they seemed to have given up a long time ago.
Sad but it's just a reflection of the rail tour scene at the moment. No doubt all those people who have refused to book onto rail tours in the recent past will want to get onto their final one to say "they were there." I'd imagine that if that is the case, it'll be quite annoying for the PF staff knowing that the final one is only existing because so many of their tours have had to be canned because of low numbers! A little irony to see them into retirement
No refusal, just declining to pay hugely increased prices for less ‘product’ in the form of out and back excursions kettled inside silent, experience-free, non air-conned coffins. The joy has been sucked out of railtours for me personally.
(sourced from the "image-of-the-letter" version of the statement as posted on Pathfinder's Facebook - attached in post #76 - and converted to pure text using imagetotext.info)
(sourced from the pure-text version of the statement, published by Jack Boskett on Pathfinder's website and linked to in post #91)
(sourced from the "image-of-the-letter" version of the statement as posted on Pathfinder's Facebook - attached in post #76 - and converted to pure text using imagetotext.info)
The latter's cancellation must be down to the state of the track due to soil moisture deficit, between Gillingham and Axminster, speed restrictions and probable lack of paths.
It was because the upgrade to the Newquay line isn't finished.
But in that situation it swings around to people in the Midlands being able to afford the tours because they started local and didn't require hotels
Although tours on the West of England line can be few and far between even at the best of times due to the timetable limitations
www.bbc.co.uk
This booking fee nonsense is creeping into everything these days.
I remember with affection the days when F&W ran brilliant tours from Plymouth, back in the 1970s/80s. Back then, railtours were fun, but over the years the fun has steadily been taken out of it. I hope that railtours can continue, for those who still enjoy them (and to be fair there are many), but I am unlikely to go on any more, with all the restrictions of the modern railway and the elfansafety religion that has taken over.
Yes, my first tour was in 1983, The Yorkshire Pudding. Even on the Skirl 4 mentioned above I shall always remember the Plymouth platform trolley being loaded onto the ferry at Kyle.
Fully booked already
Yes you'd expect that really.......the start is far too inconvenient for me, and too close to Christmas, (and I'm not that fussed about westerns either) but I just wanted to take a look......but the site's crashed.
Its quite a boring route for me, might have got in early if it was something more interesting. Hope the western stays serviceable.
