Applying for jobs - are informal visits not usual?

[hazelnutlatte]

I'm thinking about applying for a new job but don't want to waste my time filling in the application if the job isn't what I'm looking for. The job is advertised on NHS jobs and there is a contact email for queries. I emailed to ask if I could arrange an informal visit to find out a bit more about the job and the response was that I should read the job description and person specification and then google the job title!
I have of course already done this and don't need to google the job title as I already have a reasonable idea about what the job is, but I was wanting to find out about this specific job. The job description is very vague. Are informal visits before application unusual? I'm a nurse and have seen job descriptions mentioning informal visits before. Should I even bother applying now as they clearly have me marked down as an idiot now if they think I need to be told to google!

Hmm. I don't know - I guess it must vary from one person's work to another.
As a teacher, I've ALWAYS gone for a walk round / chat before applying - it's save me time by not applying for some, and save them the time sifting through my application and potential interview (and of course they may have discarded someone else to put me on the shortlist, which means they miss out if I don't then take the job). Makes a lot of sense to me - helps get the right people applying, although I can see it does take some time initially, it also saves time later in the process.