Pet owners who travel by Great Western Railway (GWR) train this Christmas can take advantage of a special train that has been designed to make their journeys easier.
In a joint venture between B Corp pet food brand, Lily's Kitchen and Great Western Railway, a specially designed Lily's Kitchen train, the “Santa Paws Express” will operate the railway's network this Christmas.
The train has a Christmas sack full of treats and is the first of a number of initiatives that aim to make it easier for pet owners to travel with their pets by train during the Christmas season.
Veterinary surgeon Rory the Vet from children's television channel CBBC will be providing travel tips and advice, whilst Lily's Kitchen has created a map that highlights those Great Western Railway stations that have convenient areas for pet owners nearby to exercise their pets before departure to avoid any awkward accidents on the train.
In the lead-up to Christmas, thousands of festive meals and treats made from the very best natural ingredients will be given away to four-legged travellers. They will be given away at a number of Great Western Railway customer service desks at stations including Oxford, Bath Spa, and Bristol Parkway, and on trains travelling to Bristol on Wednesday, 7th December.
On Thursday, 8th December, visitors travelling with their pet by train to Bath's famous Christmas Markets can take advantage of samples from Lily's Kitchen at Bath Spa station where helpers will be handing out ulti-MUTT treats.
Passengers wanting to take their cat away with them this Christmas will know that cats can be nervous passengers. Lily's Kitchen advises that cat owners should pre-book seats in a train's quiet coach and travel at quieter times. In particular, they should avoid travelling on Friday evenings or Sundays, which are two of the busiest times for leisure rail travel.
As an incentive for people to travel with their pets and proving that pet travel isn't just for Christmas, pets can travel for free with Great Western Railway throughout the year.
Quite like the livery. Very nice.