I agree, and that's why I said that the test I'm using is to assume that nobody will be there with a car. Wherever we pick, it needs to be somewhere that public transport serves.I think you will find that that was noted in 2 very recent posts, a compromise needs to be made on the place to hold this to accommodate the need to be closer to the station without compromising on the views or the cost of staying.
The reason for that is simple - we can't guarantee anyone with a car will be there or that anyone with a car will be willing to do 40 minute round trips to pick people up from the station. The majority of the Knightmare community do not drive. Of those that do, many do not have access to a car.
Now I'm lucky enough that I have a car, will almost certainly drive and am generally willing to ferry people. But I'm not going to allow anyone to rely on me for that in case I have to drop out or don't feel up to it at the time.
The issue is whether someone will be willing to use up two days holiday. Previous experience shows that, in general, people won't do this. They'll travel after work on the Friday because nothing is scheduled for Friday daytime. I suspect that was Kieran's intent in designing his excellent programme.Regarding booking the time off, I believe even the most unreasonable of employers would struggle to refuse leave requested on 3 months+ notice, which I think is good that the social is being discussed now, rather than 6-8 weeks prior.