Fares, Faeroes, Ferries And Fairies (intro)

Helpful Diagram?

The Faeroes offers a simple (?) diagram of country buses and ferries, the latter  shown in PALE BLUE on the graphic above.

As we have virtually arrived at the airport, we will need a route 300 to take us into Torshavn.

We will also need a ticket; and the best value is a four day rover, valid on the blue buses and most ferries. Tickets can be purchased at the shop in the airport.

It is a simple tap on the terminal, both for buses ...

... and on the ferries.

fbb will take a look at fares later. But that bus and ferry diagram is a bit too much of a diagram for fbb.

The 300 is  shown in PALE GREEN ... and you can see that it crosses over to a second island. Here is the route on a "proper" map. Cartographically, we start from Torshavn (lower right).

You may notice a dotted line -  a land tunnel - upper centre. Here is the southern portal below ...

... and then the northern portal. 

And here is a 6 or 7 having exited north!

But our 300 does not go thataway; it follows the wiggly above-ground route via Skaelingur. To ride through the tunnel you need a Torshavn city bus 6 or 7 (FREE of course) part of an occaional but lengthy service to "the villages".

The 300 stays on land rather than under land until it has to cross a chunk of sea to rech the Island of Vagar.

The undersea tunnel is entered on the north, some distance from the big sea. Only a little bit of wet is apparent near the tunnel mouth.

But when you exit the tunnel in the south, you know that you have been on a sea crossing.

In general, the scenery en route is spectacular all the way.

But soon the Airport appears on the only sizeable level bit of land in the whole of the archipelago.

The runway is shown on the road map as a thin brown band with no label!

But it is there, promise.

Historically, the airport was for military use and was originally built by UK engineers during WW2.

But the 300 continues to the village of Sorvagur, which will feature in tomorrow's blog.

In the meantime let us take a look at the 300 timetable.

Here are the outward times from Torshavn

And the return.

Click on the graphics for an enlargement.

Here are the explanatory notes.

Readers may enjoy reimagining this timetable in a more obvious UK style. In general terms, buses are hourly Monday to Friday (x) and approx two hourly on Saturdays and Sundays (x67),

Many journeys continue to "Bakka" (3) by the Effo Station. This means that they run through the village of Sorvagur to almost the end of the road. They terminate at an Effo petrol station ...

... where the 300 occasionally offers a connection with a small but intriguing ferry.

More tomorrow.

 Next Fares Ferries & Fairies blog : Weds 8 Jan  

Manchester And Faeroes

Metroline Manchester

Dateline Sunday 5th January

It would be quite a job getting all these up and running for today's morning peak. Pictures posted yesterday included some saying farewell to Stagecoach ...

... some snapped at Piccadilly bus station late on Saturday night.

There were pictures of Bee Network buses being prepared overnight on Saturday ...

... with cold and stressed staff peering at clipboards by the light of a silvery torch!

There were staff adding stickers to non Bee Network buses ...

... and a "concours d'inelegance" making its way through "precipitation" to occupy their new but old garages.

Sunday is the quietest day of the week and nothing had appeared on-line at 1800 last evening to suggest any significant problems.

But there is (was if you are reading this after 0900) the Monday morning peak.

fbb will be garnering any news from Cottonopolis for later publication.

Watch this space.

To Get To The Faeroes ...
Don't start from here in the winter, apparently. From top to bottom we see the current departures FROM The Faeroes for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday by way of examples. Obviously Copenhagen, capital of the "home country" is a key destination.

Click on these schedules for an enlargement - there are three separate graphics.

It would appear that Edinburgh and London are served during summer months only. Like so many airline web sites, information is clearest if you actually want to book a flight - general timetables are hard to find - if any exist.

The company also runs inter-Island helicopter flights for which detailed timetables are available! They look complicated and fun! Just a sample below.

click on the image for an enlargement.

On-line there are several accounts of the trip from Edinburgh ...

... which, in one case, started with a tram from Princes Street ...

... to the airport; costing £9.50 return.

And so from terminus tram stop ...

... into a busy terminal.

The vlogger was pleased to see his plane arrive from the Islands, as weather can disrupt schedules at short notice.

Coffee, tea and water are free of charge in-flight, but the usual extras (small portions?) are available at a price ...

... and there is always the really exciting in-flight magazine to enjoy.

Atlantic Airlines is a very grand name for a company with a fleet of just six planes including helicopters.

Soon The Faroes are in sight and examples of the rugged beauty of the Islands are obvious straight away.

And with a slight jolt, the plane has landed ...

... and unloaded.

So how do you get from Airport to Torshavn?

Of course there is a smart blue bus ...

... service 300, for the hour's run into the capital.

Of which more tomorrow.

 Next Faeroes blog : Tuesday 7th Jan