Fares, Faeroes, Ferries And Fairies (2)

 But First : Hulleys (Continued)

The Traffic Commissioners who regulate the deregulated bus industry publish their offficial workings on-line in the above document. Section 5 of this publication is all about Public Inquiries when a possible naughty boy is call before the headmaster who will pass judgement and execute punishment.

There are several reasons why an operator is called before the headmaster; they include unreliability of service, poor maintenance record or matters which affect the "repute" of the licence holder. The latter usually involve concerns abotu the business's financial status.

So in the edition of "N&P" published on 1st Jan 2025, we read this ...

Public Inquiry (90305) to be held at The Public Inquiry Room (Warrington), WA3 2SH, Suite 4, Stone Cross Place, Stone Cross Lane North, Golborne, Warrington, on 21 January 2025 commencing at 10:30

Previous hearing on 17 September 2024 was adjourned.

PC0003407 SN

HENRY HULLEY & SONS LTD

Director(s): ALFRED VINCENT CROFTS

DERWENT GARAGE, CALVER ROAD,

BASLOW, BAKEWELL, DE45 1RP

S17 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 17 (The Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981)

It is possible that some blog readeers may be less than familiar with the provisions of Section 17. Fortunately the interweb provides an adequate summary.

Section 17 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 is about the revocation and suspension of licenses: 

Revocation

A traffic commissioner can revoke a standard license if they believe the license holder no longer meets the requirements of section 14ZA(2). This includes if the license holder is no longer of good repute, has an unstable establishment in Great Britain, or does not have adequate financial standing.

Notice

Before revoking a license, the traffic commissioner can give the license holder a notice with a time limit to fix the issue. If the license holder fixes the issue within the time limit, the traffic commissioner cannot revoke the license.

Suspension

A traffic commissioner can suspend a PSV operator's license for a specified period.

The fact that a September hearing was adjourned might suggest that Hulleys had been given time to "fix" its problems and a further and final review is now due. Events since the September hearing may well suggest that the problem has not been "fixed"!

Mykines Minutiae

Lighthouse At The Land's End

One of the stand-out attractions on the Island has been closed in recent times. At the western end of the main Island of Mykines is a small branch office of an island called Mykines Holmur. 

In Faeroese holmur means "island" so Mykines Holmur is the "Island" closes to Mykines Island.

To get to the sub-island, you have to cross a narrow strip of sea on a bridge.

It looks both spindly and terrifying.

But, as ever on Mykines, the views are truly spectacular and, of course, the puffins are just delightful.

But sadly this excursion is not available due to a landslip and danger of further collapse of the natural infrastructure.

Apart from a few lumps pf uninhabited rock there is nothing in the west until you get to Canada, although you might bump into Greenland on the way.

The Faeroes is that minuscule cream dot near the centre right of the above map. Tiny, isn't it?

Mykines Funicular?

Wikipedia (so it must be right) tells us that there is a funicular to carry goods from the ferry landing up a steep hill.

Technically it may well be "funicular" in the most basic of its meanings ...

funicular (adj.)

1660s, from funicle "a small cord" (1660s), from Latin funiculus "a slender rope," diminutive of funis "a cord, rope," of unknown etymology.

... which implies anything hailed by a slender rope ...

... rather than the modern mechanical interpretation of the word. On Mykines a "slender rope" is used to haul a small cage for goods up the concrete ramp.

And  A Shop!

The faroese for "shop" is "handil", so we might expect such a sign to be displayed over the retail therapy available in the village of Mykines.

Neither is huge.

The main purpose of the "shop" would appear to be as a caff for weary walkers. 

There is no grocery store on the island of Mykines in the Faroe Islands, so islanders rely on a helicopter to bring in supplies for the winter. However, there are a few places to eat on the island, including: 

The Locals Mykines

A small cafe that serves light snacks and drinks, plus meals for dinner. They also run the nearby campsite and can pre-order packed lunches for hikers. 

Mykinesstova

A cafe in a building over 100 years old that serves fish soup ... 

... drinks, dinner, and cakes. Some recommend the waffles and fish soup, and say the staff is kind and welcoming. 

Yet more blogteration following the hapless Hulleys happening.

More ferry and fares tomorrow.

And fairies?

 Next Fares, Ferries and Fairies blog : Fri 10 Jan 

Fares, Faeroes, Ferries And Fairies (1)

Please note : Today's originally conceived blog has been split into TWO min-blogs to ease pressure on your old-man blogger. The "normal" revised pattern of blogs should return in all its mystic glory next week.

That means mini-blogs on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday with full content of Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Unless circumstances dictate otherwise!

===========================

Intrigued?

The outer terminus of service 300 from Torshavn (often referred to simply as "Havn") is at the Effo fuel station where connections are available (sometimes!) with a ferry o the Island of Mykines.

On-line Wikipedia has an article about Effo but, sadly, it is in Faroese, the island's indigenous language akin to Icelandic rather than to Danish as you might expect. The Faeroes are an independent nation under the overall care of Denmark.

Effo hevur fyrr havt útlendska navnið Statoil, og áðrenn tað var navnið Esso. Tað vóru Trappubrøðurnir í Havn, sum byrjaðu virksemi við at innflyta og selja olju fyrst í 20. øld. Oljan varð innflutt í trætunnum. Fyrsta goymslan var í Kollafirði. Ein av brøðrunum, Harald Haraldsen, gjørdist í 1918 umboð fyri Det Danske Petroleum A/S - DDPA. 

2007 keyptu føroyingar ein part burturúr norska Statoil og fyritøkan skifti tá navn til Effo. Navnið sipar til bókstavirnir fo, sum er stytting av Føroya Orkufelag, og samstundis eru bókstavirnir eisini altjóða stytting fyri Føroyar og verður t.d. brúkt í endingunum á heimasíðu adressum.

Effo derives, not from a badly pronounced Esso as fbb thought, but from the letters FO which do not have a vulgar meaning (!) but are the initial letters of Faroese Oil (actually Foroya Orkufelag). In the same way Esso derives from Standard Oil.

The company specialises in fuelling the shipping industry of the Islands.

In today's blog we will be filling up at Sorvagor ... 

... and chugging off to Mykines as per the sign in the main street!

It is a 45 minute sail but not the most frequent timetable during winter months!

The daily summer schedule is more endearing!

fbb assumes that the boat does return from Mykines at 1800 otherwise there would be a lot of vessels clogging up the minimalist harbour on the Island. In Summer the service runs seven days a week.

The ferry has a capacity of about 60, but, were it to be full, some would be obliged to sit inside and some on top. Whichever would be advantageous would depend on the amount of rain! 

Inside looks quite comfortable ...

... outside, less so at times!

On board refreshments are available ...

... paid for via an "honesty box"

And didn't fbb say that the rover ticket was valid on the ferries as well?

But not this one! On-line info is a bit coy about what the fare actually is ...

... but you have to book on-line; which is why a man checks you off on a computer printout as you board.

There would appear to be other boats used for this run. In addition to the "service" vessel with the 60 seats ...

 ... smaller boats offer a"private hire" service for pre-booked groups. 

But whether the fare is 40 Krona (£4) or 60 Krona (£6) single, the scheduled ride is wonderful.

But there is a snag.

You are charged £50 to get off at the Island terminus! 

Really?

This is reduced to a modest £40 if you book at least a day in advance.

????

It turns out that the Island is privately owned and does not benefit from any state revenue from the Faroese administration. So, apart from a few sheep, the only income sustaining this glorious Island comes from visitors.

Is the price worth it? See for yourself!

The £50 does include guided walks.

fbb might find the hills difficult with plenty of huffin' and puffin.

GROAN!

More tomorrow.

 Next Fares Ferries & Fairies blog : Thurs 9 Jan  

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