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Cruise to victory!
MERSEY
Ferries’ popular Manchester Ship Canal Cruises have been crowned
Merseyside’s best small visitor attraction. The Ferries
scooped top honours at The Mersey Partnership’s Annual Tourism
Awards on Wednesday 28 May 2008, a celebration of the very best of
Merseyside’s booming tourism economy.
The news comes just weeks after the Manchester Ship Canal Cruises,
consistently breaking records for visitor numbers year on year, took
top spot in the Waterways Renaissance Awards, run by The Waterways
Trust and BURA (British Urban Regeneration Association).
Over the last few years, demand for the cruises, one of the jewels
in the Mersey Ferries crown, have rocketed – 22% in 2007 alone.
They are proving so popular that Merseytravel, which owns and
operates the Mersey Ferries, has committed to extra cruises
throughout 2008.
Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- “This is
yet another fantastic accolade for the Mersey Ferries. The Ship
Canal Cruises have gone from strength to strength and demand from
visitors is exceeding all our expectations. We hope they continue to
be such a success.”
Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel
added:- “The fact that they are proving more popular, year on
year, justifies our decision to continue to invest in the ferries.
The ferries business is incredibly important to us and we’re
particularly delighted with the success of the cruises. It has taken
a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make them the success they
are today. They are a key part of the region’s tourism economy.”
Merseytravel has spent millions of pounds over the last 10 years
making improvements to the 3 ferries and the terminals, including
new attractions such as Spaceport at Seacombe, the emerging new
Beatles Story attraction at Merseytravel’s new £10.5million Pier
Head terminal and U-534 at Woodside.
Also short-listed for
awards at the gala were Merseytravel’s Mersey Tunnel Tours (Best
Small Visitor Attraction) and The Beatles Story (Best Tourism
Website).
Manchester Ship Canal Cruises
Cruises usually depart from Liverpool’s Pier Head on Saturday’s and
Salford Quays on Sundays.
They take in the spectacular scenery of the Manchester Ship Canal,
leaving passengers with a sense of how its construction shaped the
region. The 6 hour, 35 mile cruise includes a live commentary
giving an insight into the facts, history and dramas of one of
Britain’s most important waterways.
Mersey Ferries vessels carry passengers in comfortable modern
surroundings following their multi-million pound refits. The Ferries
have a bar and food is available to purchase in the lounge areas.
The cruise costs £33 per head (£31 for senior citizens), with a 10%
discount for groups of 20 or more, and includes bus transportation
to take passengers back to their starting point at the end of the
cruise.
Tickets are only available by advance booking.
Contact Mersey Ferries on 0151 330 1444 or book
online. |
Deal struck for Wirral schoolchildren
MERSEYTRAVEL
and Wirral Council have struck a deal that could save Wirral
secondary school children, and their parents, hundreds of pounds on
school bus travel. Serving West Kirby and Calday Grange
Grammar schools, the Wirral “F” buses were, up until this
school year, the only block of school buses in the county provided
by a local education authority. Merseytravel agreed to take
over supporting the F bus routes this school year following removal
of the Council subsidy.
However, following high-level negotiations between Chair of
Merseytravel Councillor Mark Dowd and Wirral Council Leader
Councillor Steve Foulkes the provision will now be taken over and
subsidised by Merseytravel permanently from September. The
deal will mean that children using the F Buses will now only pay 50p
per trip (or use a SOLO travelcard), instead of some £500 a year.
Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- “It is
important we bring these buses into our countywide school bus
network and create a level playing field across the region. School
children using the F Series of buses should be paying the same as
every other Wirral school child using their tickets on other bus
services that we subsidise. There is a lack of commercial bus
routes for children from these two schools, so it is important that
something was done to support them as best we can. We hope
parents and children will be the beneficiaries of this deal and that
this goes some way to helping reduce costs for school bus travel.”
As yet, Merseytravel is currently awaiting tender bids from
operators to run the F bus services. In total, Merseytravel
currently supports 67 buses, serving 27 schools in Wirral.
IF
IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ALAN SUGAR…
AS the BBC’s
award-winning series ‘The Apprentice’ reaches its climax, and
the nation tunes in to see who will win the challenge to train and
work with Sir Alan Sugar, there is a real world of Apprenticeships
that exists much closer to home… and it isn’t quite as harsh!
With 68% of young people turning to their parents for advice about
their career options, now is the time to find out more about your
son or daughter taking up an Apprenticeship. Becoming an apprentice
is not just for competing business tycoons on TV. Perhaps your son
or daughter has the desire to get hired, if so an Apprenticeship can
offer them the opportunity to succeed.
Apprenticeships are now one of the most successful options for
raising skill levels and helping young people to achieve their
goals. Not just about the money, the main prize in becoming an
apprentice is gaining experience and a hands-on understanding of the
job – a priceless opportunity that young people across the region
can seize for themselves through one of the hundreds of
Apprenticeship programmes, funded by the Learning and Skills Council
(LSC).
Although Alan Sugar is notoriously hard to please, real life
Apprenticeships are not as daunting as they appear to be in his
boardroom, yet the opportunities they offer can be just as exciting.
From business administration to information technology, plumbing to
joinery, travel to hospitality, there are now over 200
Apprenticeships available across 80 industry sectors. As
Apprenticeships allow young people to study for nationally
recognised qualifications whilst gaining hands-on experience at work
and earning a wage, apprentices can ensure they have both the skills
and the experience that employers look for. Choosing between the
world of work and continuing to study can be a difficult decision to
make and by opting for an Apprenticeship, young people can have the
best of both worlds.
John Korzeniewski, Regional Director for the LSC in the North West
said:- “Programmes such as ‘The Apprentice’ are helping to
highlight Apprenticeships as a viable route to achieving career
goals. Putting the Apprenticeship programme centre stage, the show
emphasises how important it is for young people to have the right
skills and the right attitude in order to succeed.
Apprenticeships provide a chance for young people to get on to the
career ladder and excel in their chosen profession and with so many
Apprenticeships now available, there is a choice for everyone.”
If you would like to find out more about Apprenticeships log on to
www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
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