Surprise trip to Colonsay is ‘ruined’ as ferry times change
A SURPRISE birthday trip to Colonsay was ‘ruined’ after ferry times were changed, resulting in one couple’s time on the island being slashed, according to a woman from Hull.
Caroline Gordon wanted to treat her partner, Mark Chatterton, to a trip to the island, as his great-grandmother was a McPhie and McPhies originated on Colonsay.
She intended to catch a ferry from Oban on Saturday afternoon and leave the island at 7pm on Sunday.
However, as part of the ferry reshuffle, timetables were altered and the Sunday ferry was rescheduled for 11am.
Caroline said: ‘We had no time at all to do the things we planned. I had been planning the trip secretly as a surprise for months.’
The Hull woman explained that, in order to catch the morning ferry, they only had time to have breakfast and then take a ‘wander up the road’ before they had to head back.
‘I spent a lot of time and effort planning the trip,’ Caroline added. ‘To be honest, no amount of compensation can make up for the disappointment but I feel that CalMac has treated me with indifference.’
Caroline has complained, however, but is angry at CalMac’s lack of action. She said: ‘They have come back to me and told me they are not going to do anything. It’s awful. It was not weather-related.
‘I was really, really disappointed. I do think they were out of order.
‘Mark has always wanted to go. It was a surprise for his birthday. The weather was so beautiful, I don’t suppose we will be that lucky with the weather again. It was so stunning.’
A CalMac spokesperson said: ‘The timetable change experienced by Ms Gordon earlier this month was part of the wider timetable changes applied across our network due to the delays to the MV Clansman’s repairs.
‘We greatly regret the inconvenience which our customers, including Ms Gordon, experienced as a result of these changes which were necessary to ensure every island had a service operating.
‘We fully understand how disappointing it was for her to have to cut her visit short and have apologised to her directly for the impact on her visit to Colonsay.’