Len Brown
Working on the Dart, Riverlink Kiosk, Len Brown
What do you do? I sell the tickets for all the Riverlink services e.g. trips to Totnes or Greenway, the harbour cruises as well as tickets for the Paignton & Kingswear Steam railway. We can sell upwards of 500 tickets a day during the height of the season. I’m also an unofficial tourist guide as we get asked all sorts of questions by visitors to the town. I’ve been doing this for 13 years but this year have semi-retired – I now have the winters off!
What’s your background? I moved to Dartmouth 35 years ago from Birmingham when I bought a local business. I’ve since owned a green-grocers in Torquay.
What hours do you work? In the summer months, from 8am to 4pm, 5 days a week.
What changes have you seen over the years? The biggest change was when the railway took over Riverlink. Before then, we competed fiercely for customers. Now we can coordinate people’s experience of all that’s on offer in the Dart valley. The profile of tourists hasn’t changed that much although we seem now to get many more foreign language students from Torbay visiting Dartmouth. We get great feedback about the town and the river from visitors.
What’s the best and worst part of your job? In the summer, the fresh air, fantastic views and meeting all different sorts of people. In winter, it can get very cold in these kiosks!
First Published July 2008 By The Dart