Coming soon to a town near you!!
NOTE NEW IMPROVED VENUE !!!----------------------------
DATE & TIME
Saturday 15th October 2011, 3-7pm approx.
By aiming for a Saturday afternoon, the hope is that those who don't want to stay over will be able to travel there and back within the day, saving on hotel bills. Also, by holding it in the afternoon, the pub shouldn't be as packed out as the evening and people won't need to wander round the streets in the dark. Alternatively, for those wanting to stay on, food and hotel info is provided below.
VENUE
Our former venue had gone downhill quite a bit last year and was attracting rather undesirable clientèle. Notices were up advising that it was to be refurbished but there was no sign of that earlier this year so it was time to move. In the process, we've found somewhere that's much more open-plan, airy and flexible, with food served all day for those who can't stay on for our usual evening meal. There's also the advantage that the loos could grace a swanky hotel rather than having a height restriction of 5ft and their own 'atmosphere' like in the old place AND there's even free 24 hour parking in the retail park at Vernon Street down by the river, just over the main road, according to Parkopedia.
The Friar Penketh,
4 Barbauld Street,
Friars Gate,
WARRINGTON,
WA1 1EX
See for yourself here
Bill's excellent blog about his visit to the Warrington Splunch is here (but ignore the venue section which is obviously now out of date!).
IDENTIFICATION:
Could I suggest that a convenient way of identification without attracting attention is to carry a map, perhaps an A-Z or Ordnance Survey map? We'll put one on the table.
TRAVEL:
The 3 maps below show the approaches and detail. As you can see, the reason we've settled on Warrington is because it's very easy to get to, being almost enclosed by motorways and railways. (Click on each map to get a decent sized view.)
DRIVING:
On hand are the M6 (Birmingham - Scotland), the M62 (Liverpool - Manchester - Leeds - Hull) and the M56 (N. Wales - Manchester) so it's only 25 mins from Liverpool, Manchester and North Wales. For a full route map, put your postcode and that of the destination (WA1 1EX) in the route planner here (on the RHS). For those using Motorways, the useful Traffic England website gives live updates of motorway delays.
TRAINS & BUSES:
Easily available are the West Coast Main Line (London - Birmingham - Preston - Carlisle - Glasgow) calling at Warrington Bank Quay station (¼ mile) and there's the Trans-Pennine route (Liverpool - Manchester - Leeds - York) calling at Warrington Central station (¼ mile). The main bus/rail interchange is just close at hand too. (See below for a useful link to all bus & train timetables.)
FLIGHTS:
Liverpool Airport is just visible on the bottom left hand edge of the wider map (below) and there are so many cheap flights (it's an EasyJet/RyanAir hub) and easy transport connections to it these days that those travelling a distance might find it simpler to fly in! (Terribly environmentally unfriendly, mind.) Arriva bus 501 runs every 15 mins to Liverpool South Parkway station (10 mins away) and then you get a 12-15 minute ride to Warrington Central.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT INFO:
For those needing to find land-based public transport links, this excellent site enables you to put in your postcode (if you're in the same region) and that of your destination (WA1 1EX) and it gives you all the alternatives, even including walking time to bus stops with street by street walking directions and super-detailed maps if you click the relevant buttons!
For those travelling across the regional boundaries of that site (and, therefore, probably by train), the TrainTimes site provides a splendid simplified interface to the National Rail times and fares info but bear in mind that the data is provided by National Rail so tends to be only as good as the data they use for their own site (which means it won't necessarily show you the fastest or cheapest route, just the ones that are 'allowed' within their route-planning structural rules!). For those who prefer the good old-fashioned (and more reliable) paper 'bible' timetable, you'll need Table65.pdf for the West Coast Main Line to Warrington Bank Quay (only 1h45m from Euston!) or Table 39 for the Trans-Pennine route from the East Coast to Warrington Central.
Since rail privatisation, we all know how ludicrously complicated it is to establish the cheapest fare, sometimes having to split the journey into multiple tickets to get best value.
For those travelling by train, there are certain circumstances where you can get spectacular value using the good old (and not widely publicised) 'RailRover' and 'Day Ranger' tickets. The companies usually don't promote these as they can make a lot more selling you conventional tickets!
To give an example, for exactly the same price, someone travelling from Hexam (near Newcastle) to Warrington, staying overnight and returning the next day can use the 'Freedom of North West' ticket [any 4 days in 8]. Using two of the days for this trip, there are then two days of unlimited travel on an area that encompasses Dumfries & Lockerbie in Scotland, the Cumbrian Coast and Lake District, the Settle-Carlisle and down as far as Leeds, Stockport, Chester and the Wirral (even a smidgeon of North Wales).
So, you could use it to come to the meeting then have two 'free' days of unlimited travel any time up to and including the following Sunday! (Just watch out for the time restrictions, listed on the pages shown below.)
For most people, it'll be cheaper to just buy the return ticket but, before you do, just check these out if they sound relevant:
Cheshire Day Ranger (Map)
Coasts & Peaks [4 in 8] (Map)
Freedom of the North West [4 in 8] (Map)
Greater Manchester PTE Wayfarer (Map)
If I've whetted your appetite and you want to look up promotions in your own area, this page lists them all.
BEHAVIOUR etc:
Although the last thing we want are 'rules', following much 'discussion' on another thread about a different splunch down south a few years ago, could I suggest that we all think carefully about how we might scare away nervous wammers if we're not careful. (This is a kink, after all.) Those who are confident about the way they are may not appreciate that they may scare people away from coming along to say hello. Could I suggest that we should treat everyone with respect and try not to draw attention to ourselves. We're in a provincial town-centre pub on a Saturday afternoon, not Soho on a Saturday night. I'd suggest dressing normally rather than 'flamboyantly' (e.g. best to leave the cross-dressing and rubber gear at home! LoL.), using people's real names rather than using their kink name, and talking quietly when discussing any kinky issues which could cause embarrassment. Remember that people who work with any member of our group might be in the same pub and not everyone wants their kinks broadcast!
FOOD:
Following on from a previous visit, we found a nice little tapas bar with good reviews and a reasonsably economical menu only 200 yards from the afternoon pub. Those wanting to stay on could go for a meal there, though it may be necessary to book a table in advance so indications of who wants to do that nearer the time would be useful.
HOTEL:
For those travelling from farther afield who wish to stay overnight, the town centre Travelodge is only about 400 yards away from the pub and tapas bar. It's only ¼ mile from each station too, conveniently between the two. At the time of posting this message, rooms are at the 'saver' rate, listed at £35.75 but this will change over time and with availability. Travelodge, Warrington (In the words of the late Fred Pontin 'Book Early'!) Check in is from 3pm (unless you want to spend an extra £10, from midday) so you could check-in, dump your stuff and get to the meet by 3.30pm. [Note Bill's recommendations about breakfast here in his blog.
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So who's up for a meet then? Just a chin wag and a drink for people to get to know each other - no actual wamming, of course. (The purpose of these meetings is to enable those who might want to do so to arrange that separately if they wish. Otherwise it's just a friendly afternoon in the pub with people of similar interests - what more could you want?!)
Regards,
C_W.
*squelch*
