A leading member of the Orange Order locally, who didn't want to be named, said the prices being charged to ferry participants to showpiece event, which will be held in Rasharkin this time around, had hit Lodge coffers hard.

"It's a real drain on resources," he said.
"We appreciate that with fuel costs going up all the time a certain amount of that will be passed to the customer but we are being quoted nearly £350 per bus from Ballymoney to Rasharkin. It's just a few miles down the road for goodness sake.

"With the number of members heading it's impractical to all take cars so buses are the more sensible option.
"Also for many people, particularly the elderly, their only way of getting to the parade is by bus. The prices just don't seem justified."
A 53-seater bus from Ballymoney to Rasharkin is priced at £348 for July 12.

And another local Lodge are also said to be feeling the pinch following the dramatic price hikes.
A source told the Times that last year they forked out £199 to rent a bus to Cloughmills from the village, a distance of approximately 10 miles.

This year, it will set them back £366 for the same transport to Rasharkin - roughly 13 miles away.
With petrol prices across the UK approaching £1.20 per litre and diesel over £1.30, many transport companies are having to put the extra costs onto their customers.

And recently Stenaline added 15 minutes journey time from Belfast to Stranraer in order to economise on fuel.
A spokesperson for Translink said: "Translink have been liaising with Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland in order to negotiate suitable arrangements.

"While we work hard to keep costs as low as possible the continued rising cost of fuel has made some increases inevitable this year.
"We are keen to continue to offer cost effective transport arrangements .

"In spite of this we are confident we continue to offer value for money in terms of price and convenience."