I am really starting to feel like this trip is cursed! The person who told me off for using a car will doubtless be cackling with gleeful schadenfreude. Nonetheless, we will try again NEXT SATURDAY (11th), weather and transport permitting...
ETA: I have sent a txt to the people who originally said they'd come along for whom I have mobile numbers, viz.:
I do not have mobile numbers for
BTW I appear to have three mobile numbers for