As many of you may well know, there are many rumours doing the rounds regarding the difficulties that have occurred in the Godshill free car park when coaches arrive. We approached the Old Smithy and Steve has kindly gone to great lengths to explain the situation to us.
In a nutshell, the situations have arisen when unexpected coaches arrive at the height barrier to the Old Smithy car/coach park. Covid regulations have dictated the way in which the Old Smithy needs to handle all coaches. Essentially, all coaches MUST pre-book their arrival with the Old Smithy. No booking – no entry.
Steve also explained that they have gone to extraordinary lengths to inform all of the coach operators, hotels and other accommodation providers of the need to pre-book their parking. The information can also be clearly found on the Old Smithy website. Steve has even published the information in the coach magazines such as RouteOne.
So, the coaches which have pre-booked their visits can gain admission to the Old Smithy car park and the system works well. It is the rogue coaches who think they can just turn up and they are entitled to parking that cause the problems. Surely in the current climate, any driver from a reputable coach operator will have checked traffic and parking before setting out with a coach load of passengers.
CLICK/TAP here for further, more detailed information from Steve at the Old Smithy.