Former work colleagues have been fondly remembering “Auntie Mair” on the 50th anniversary of Ffestiniog Travel, a business that has organised holidays for thousands of rail enthusiasts over the past half century.
Ffestiniog Travel founder and director, Alan Heywood, explained Mair Watson’s key link to the origins of the overseas railway travel company, which now employs eight staff, runs more than 40 tours a year and has a turnover of £2.5 million.
Alan, who is now retired but works on a voluntary basis, was traffic manager at Ffestiniog Railway in 1969 when Mair, who had been working at Butlins, joined as booking clerk at Harbour Station.
“One of the things we did, apart from selling tickets for the FR, was to sell British Rail tickets,” he explains. “This arrangement had been in existence since the mid ‘60s after the Dr Beeching cuts.
“British Rail wanted to de-staff the stations along the line but not to close the railway. This was a bit of a political hot potato. People perceived it as wanting to close the Cambrian Line but what British Rail wanted to do was to save money and close the booking offices.
“So, they asked Ffestiniog Railway to take over as a type of clearing house for ticketing. Mair and I inherited this task, together with the late Alan Skellern.
“In a way, Ffestiniog Travel owes its very existence to something Mair said. We were selling domestic rail tickets for the UK, but people who were on holiday here, particularly from the Netherlands, would come to the booking office and ask for travel to get home.
“Mair was able to get them as far as the ferry port at Harwich but no further. She came to me and said, ‘Can we apply for a licence to sell the Sealink ferries and continental rail?’ I said, ‘we can ask’ …and we did!”
At the time, British Rail was dubious about the request and felt there wasn’t enough business to be had in a rural area such as Porthmadog, as setting up an international rail bureau would mean training a team and installing new equipment and systems.
Alan wasn’t to be defeated. “I had at the back of my mind that the Ffestiniog Railway Society had about 5,000 members and they would undoubtedly support us when it came to booking tickets at continental railways as railway enthusiasts,” he added. “Then we weren’t just relying on local people.”
“We should pay tribute to Mair as, in a manner of speaking, it was the start of where we are now.”
Mair was with the company until she retired and worked very closely with Alan to build a huge amount of experience selling continental rail journeys and running the ticket office.
Alan remembers Mair, who died in 2009, with affection. “We nicknamed her Auntie Mair as I was 29 when we started working together and she was older than all of us and in her 30s,” he said.
Her granddaughter, Leah Watson, is now manager of Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways’ Spooners bar and restaurant. She remembers Mair, her nan or ‘nain’, would put her and her siblings on the train in the summer holidays and send them to Blaenau Ffestiniog with money for a Mars bar and drink.
“Nain would be waiting for us on the platform when we got back and check with the guard we had been good!” said Leah.
Mair was also a kind and thoughtful colleague and friend to all who knew her. Whenever help was needed, somebody to work late or cover a Saturday duty, or even babysit for colleagues with young families, Mair was first to volunteer.
Beddgelert Station mistress, Sarah Buchanan remembers ‘Auntie Mair’ handing out hydration drinks to the loco crew in the guards’ room on hot days and insisting they drank it all, however nasty it tasted.
“She was a whizz with numbers and knew all of the jobs in the booking office inside out,” said Sarah. “She was able to work out in moments why figures weren’t adding up when anyone else would have been pouring over them for ages.”
Although Ffestiniog Travel’s existence is thanks to Mair, she wasn’t one to travel for work and turned down the offer to run tours, preferring to run the railway back at base.
This October, there is a celebration tour to the same destination as the original tour in 1974. “We are taking a group out to Switzerland which was our first destination,” added Alan. “Not quite the original itinerary with no Eurostar in those days! I am looking forward to leading the very special celebration tour.“
Maria Cook, general manager of Ffestiniog Travel, said: “Over the years, we have earned a reputation that is second to none. The team work hard to keep it, ensuring that customers receive the highest level of customer satisfaction and a quality product with every booking.
“As a result, growth has been an organic process and we have managed to stay true to our roots as a small specialist operator specialising in rail holidays.
“We are extremely proud to boast that we have around 60% repeat business, which is a rarity in the travel industry. However, we are victims of our own success as we must deliver a tour programme every year that includes something new for our regulars. At the last count, the total number of countries visited was over 60!
“Ffestiniog Travel has developed into a company that offers escorted and tailor-made holidays in the UK, Europe and worldwide destinations, specialist private group tours plus rail and flight tickets.
“We have an average annual turnover of £2.5 million and have donated £1.3 million to the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways to date.
“Ffestiniog Travel has had to evolve over the years to survive but one fundamental area of the business has always been the European Ticketing department, Auntie Mair’s legacy!”
