To think this is grabby?

[QuestionableMouse]

We visited a railway museum today to see the Flying Scottsman.

It was £30 for a day's parking in what looked like a building site.

We wanted to ride on the train and went to buy tickets. The tickets were £5 each, which is fine. They charged us the full price for a newborn baby in a sling. I can understand it if the baby was taking up a seat but it was standing only. Aibu to think that's a bit grabby?

YANBU it is pretty standard for babies to be free at most attractions. £5 for newborn is unreasonable and probably one of those things where the person on the gate was taking a rule too far/not using common sense. Older babies in a sling might love a train ride so I can see how a charge could apply, might be too complicated to set an age where babies need to pay, also people might start off with bigger babies on lap then move them into a seat, there might be extra bags involved taking up space

I'll be honest I don't know the museum or area, but £30 for parking is a bit steep. And charging for a babe in arms is poor. I think I can beat you though, cost us €53 to get up Vesuvius the other week.

I live across the line from the museum. It's a charity and needs money to stay open, if you don't pay for the additional extras, the museum will close and you won't be able to go and see the trains.

You were ripped off on the parking though, not sure who you paid as we were told at the residents meeting that the only parking available at the site would be VIP ticket holders (£100 a ticket) or blue badge holders only so I really don't think the parking was anything to do with the museum.

If it was the NRM in York just park elsewhere, there are heaps of other car parks andyork is easily walkable.

I don't mind paying for stuff, it just felt wrong to be changed for a baby who was being carried.

I'd have happily spent more than £5 in the gift shop but it kinda soured the experience and I didn't spend anything.

It sounds like a rip off to me!

I am confused about this. NRM are constantly fighting closure of course, so might be doing this now, but that parking cost seems out of step with their hikes.
Of course flying scotsman is massively in debt. Perhaps the new ownership are desparately trying to ride the current publicity (other steam does run on mainline specials and heritage railways are out there).
Trains are expensive to run. Our one is a ride on. Eye watering costs that bloody thing. Plus we don't actually see the money, the society that run the railway use it for the site etc.
Babies being charged for is a bloody pisstake.

I've never heard of a baby being charged an entry fee. Seems pedantic and rather stupid. Complain

It's the museum at Shildon.

Yes but where did you park? There is no parking at the museum for £30, it's either £100 for VIP which comes with free t-shirts, 10% off at the gift shop, a footplate ride and unlimited rides on the train or free for blue badge holders. Which suggests to me you've paid an enterprising land owner for parking. All the road signs in the area immediately around the museum are pretty clear that the only cars allowed in the museum car park are VIP, BB or taxis dropping off/picking up.

I've also been there with DS2 when he was a newborn, admittedly it was just for the steam gala and the visiting engine wasn't as impressive as the Scotsman, but we categorically were not charged for him. But we would have paid even if we had been.

I'm not sure why you mentioned the £30 parking in your original post if you didn't pay it? That's what's thrown everyone.

Anyway I can only apologise for the 'grabbiness' of the folk of County Durham

I've no idea who was trying to charge you £30, because there is no public parking while this event is on. It's either park and ride or VIP access. So it may have nothing to do with the museum at all. I know people in the area charge a few quid to park on their drive.

The £30 has, indeed, thrown everyone.

Ops mum was disabled. According to the website there is a small amount of disabled parking. If that is full the staff should tell you where the drop off points are. Sounds like the staff at the museum didn't know this and possibly the op should complain. Op says staff inside the museum told her to use the £30. But no car to attached to the museum charges this.

The museum advocates the park and ride. They don't have a car park they charge £30 at.

The op didn't pay the £30. It maybe a staff error if the op did talk to staff inside the museum.

Honestly op, the flying Scotsman isn't cheap to run. I would rather pay for my baby to go on it, rather than prices go up for everyone or it not be there at all.

If there is a limit to the number of heads they can allow on at one time then I can see why they charged for the baby. To not charge would have meant the loss of £5 on that trip.

I wonder if the £100 places aren't full they sell them on the day for £30 but don't advertise it.

The £5 for the baby is just wrong. Send an email about that at least.

I don't think it is unreasonable, if the user normally a disabled space,, that she thought she might get parked at the museum. It sounds like she want informed of drop off either.

Unexpected, the baby would have taken up less room than some of the bags people were taking on and the museum wasn't charging for those!

That's true - but they may have to count the number of humans and they have to keep to a certain number.

If they'd charged a pound a head extra for entry and not charged for the newborn, I suspect you wouldn't have thought it was "grabby". Get over it.