It's time I started doing trip reports too!

[D6130]

At the beginning of September, I did a one week first class All Line Rover in the company of a retired French railwayman friend with whom we stay in Paris en route to and from our place in Italy. He is on a long-running mission to visit all the heritage railways in the UK and was travelling with an eight day first class BritRail pass....although, due to commitments in Paris, he was only able to use it for seven days. This was not a frenetic 'bash as much track as you can' type of trip, but more a way of travelling between various heritage lines in relative comfort and sampling some of the remaining TOC meal services....plus covering a few scenic lines which he had not yet done. We do a similar trip together for a week every September (2020 and 2021 excepted for obvious reasons), but usually in standard class with me using my retired staff passes and he using a BritRail pass, as retired French rail staff are not entitled to free travel in the UK. This year we had decided to visit the Mid-Hants, Bodmin & Wenford, Churnet Valley and Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railways....as well as the 'Steam' Museum in Swindon. We had also planned to visit the Dean Forest Railway, but that has had to be shelved until next time as we couldn't get a reservation for their only operating day that fitted in with our schedule. I had invested £70 in a three year Senior Railcard which reduced the price of the All Line Rover to £539.90 - the combined prices still being considerably cheaper than a full price first class ticket.

TUESDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2022:

I set off from Hebden Bridge at a relatively civilised hour to meet my friend from the 12 29 Eurostar arrival at St Pancras for lunch and then a slightly circuitous route to Alton for the following day's journeys on the Mid-hants "Watercress Line":

1J02, 08 33 Hebden Bridge-Leeds via Halifax: 195 021/020
1A20, 09 45 Leeds-Kings Cross: 801 203 (Breakfast on board: Orange juice, vegan sausage roll and Earl Grey tea)
Lunch at the excellent Blue River cafe, Northdown Street, Pentonville....discussed previously in another thread.
9J35, 14 15 St Pancras International-Redhill: 700 148
1V54, 15 43 Redhill-Ash: 165 103
2J42, 16 33 Ash-Farnham: 450 058
1A47, 16 56 Farnham-Alton: 450 014/010/107

Overnight at the Alton House Hotel, five minutes walk from the station and dinner at a good quality Indian restaurant in the town centre.

WEDNESDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 2022:

After a leisurely breakfast, we ambled over to the station, noticing that the adjacent Catholic Church was giving South Western Railway a run for their money by offering Monday-Friday commuter parking in the church car park at very competitive prices. The MHR was operating a one train service with Schools class "Cheltenham", which I needed for haulage, so that was a good start to the week.

12 00 Alton-Alresford: 30925 (Consist: S4549/35329/3738/1851/4224)
13 00 Alresford-Ropley (shed visit): 30925
14 25 Ropley-Alresford (sandwich lunch): 30925
15 00 Alresford-Alton: 30925
1A54, 16 24 Alton-Aldershot: 450 030/089/081
2N54, 17 00 Aldershot-Ascot: 450 078
2C51, 17 43 Ascot-Reading: 450 106/127
1C94, 19 31 Reading-Plymouth: 802 105

We had intended to have dinner on the latter train but, unfortunately, by the time I'd got around to booking it there were no places left, so we had to stock-up on sandwiches at Reading station. Overnight at the clean and comfortable - but unattended - One Carrera guest house, five minutes walk from Plymouth station.

THURSDAY 8th SEPTEMBER 2022:

A quick breakfast in the station buffet, then on to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway:

1C69, 08 45 Plymouth-Parkway: 800 318
11 00 Bodmin Parkway-Bodmin General: 4612 (Consist: W232W/S4037/W4963/W25807)

At this point my friend, having not had a cooked meal for more than 24 hours, decided that he would forego the pleasures of the Boscarne branch in favour of lunch at a cafe or pub near Bodmin General station. Unfortunately however, by the time we had found a suitable place, there was insufficient time for a sit-down meal before we had to catch our train back to Parkway....so we legged it back to the station and enjoyed a re-heated pasty each from the Railway's own cafe.

13 15 Bodmin General-Bodmin Parkway: 4612
2U24, 14 05 Bodmin Parkway-Plymouth: 43 162+43 097
1E63, 15 27 Plymouth-Bristol Parkway: 43 321+43 207
1L28, 17 56 Bristol Parkway-Swindon: 800 024/025

At last we managed to have a decent meal at an Italian restaurant in Swindon, before a good night's sleep at the local Travelodge.


FRIDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2022:

The friendly staff at the Swindon Travelodge told us that they weren't permitted to look after our luggage while we visited the museum, but suggested that we pay for a late checkout for one of our rooms and put both our bags in it....so that's what we did and had a very interesting and enjoyable visit. On returning to pick up our bags from the hotel, we headed for the station....but we had to change our original plan to go via Gloucester to Cardiff Central due to a delay on the GWR Paddington-Cheltenham service. Instead we took a direct train to Cardiff for the main act of the day:

1B17, 14 40 Swindon-Cardiff Central: 800 021/008
1W96,17 16 Cardiff Central-Chester: 67 025

After the disappointment of the missed dinner on the Reading-Plymouth journey a couple of nights earlier, my friend's face was a not very pleasant picture when we left Cardiff with no catering crew on board....but all was revealed on arrival at Newport, where the chef, steward and several boxes of food came aboard. Phew! The very friendly lady chef was happy to give my friend a full tour of the mark 4 kitchen and even let him take photos. Dinner was served just after Hereford and heck, was it good! I had a warm falafel salad followed by asparagus, pea and butternut squash risotto and my friend had some sort of fishy starter followed by a steak. Unfortunately we were delayed by half an hour at Shrewsbury awaiting a member of traincrew but, luckily, the frequent service between Chester and Crewe meant that we still comfortably made our last connection of the day.

1K96, 20 40 Chester-Crewe: 175 112
2A77, 21 21 Crewe-Stoke on Trent: 170 534

Overnight at the North Stafford Hotel opposite Stoke station - amid the faded grandeur of a fine former railway hotel now being run into the ground by the dreaded Britannia Inns group.


SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2022:

A quick bus ride up the hill to Hanley bus station for a swift sandwich breakfast and then another bus ride through very pleasant North Staffordshire scenery to Cheddleton. A nice 15-20 minute walk along the idyllic canal towpath brought us to Cheddleton station, where we picked up the mighty USA Transportation Corps 2-8-0 which was ideal motive power for the second steepest (1 in 27) gradient on a British heritage railway.

10 54 Cheddleton-Ipstones: 5197 (Consist: E3809/S4392/M35343/M80030/M13236/W4786)
11 40 Ipstones-Consall: 5197

Lunch and a couple of pints were taken at the wonderfully situated Consall Forge Inn. The two young ladies behind the bar were very friendly and helpful....but they had such broad Stoke accents that I had great difficulty understanding what they were saying - and my French friend had no chance whatsoever!

15 32 Consall-Kingsley & Froghall: 5197
Taxi: Kingsley & Froghall-Stoke station
1M49, 16 32 Stoke on Trent-Manchester Piccadilly: 220 004/016
Metrolink tram: 3081 Manchester Piccadilly-Manchester Victoria
1J22, 17 58 Manchester Victoria-Hebden Bridge: 195 102

Overnight back at the ranch.


SUNDAY 11th SEPTEMBER 2022:

1B21, 10 42 Hebden Bridge-Preston: 195 120
1Z50, 11 55 Preston-Oxenholme: 390 016 (managed to have tea/coffee and biscuits served on the 29 minute journey!)
2C12, 12 45 Oxenholme-Windermere: 195 124
Bus: Windermere-Bowness
M.V. "Swan": 13 55 Bowness-Lakeside (sandwich lunch on board)
14 50 Lakeside-Haverthwaite: 42073 (Consist: M9218/4760/4255/3962)
Bus: Haverthwaite-Ulverston
1U99, 17 05 Ulverston-Preston: 195 119
1B40, 18 42 Preston-Hebden Bridge: 195 132

Dinner at "Il Mulino" Italian restaurant, Hebden Bridge


MONDAY 12th SEPTEMBER 2022:

2I05, 09 15 Hebden Bridge-Leeds via Brighouse: 158 753
1A25,10 45 Leeds-Kings Cross: 800 113 (Breakfast: Vegan sausage in bread roll for me and bacon roll for my friend - plus tea/coffee)

After seeing my friend off at St Pancras, I returned North on:

1D17, 14 03 Kings Cross-Leeds: 91 114 (Lunch: Can of beer, Asparagus and herb tortellini in butternut squash sauce, two glasses of red wine, lemon posset and a cup of Earl Grey tea). I came home a slightly long way round for haulage by a required 'Cat':
1F72, 17 00 Leeds-Manchester Victoria via Huddersfield: 68 021
1E72, 18 20 Manchester Victoria-Hebden Bridge: 195 133

All-in-all a very enjoyable and not-too-intensive week in good company with fine weather for the most part. Considering the current state of the railways, punctuality was remarkably good and we only encountered two delays of more than five minutes.

We are already laying early plans for next years trip, which will be predominantly Scotland- and Wales-focussed....starting with a trip on the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William, the Caledonian Railway, The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway, Snowdon Mountain, Llanberis Lake, Welsh Highland or Festiniog, Tallyllyn, Bala Lake, the Dean Forest Railway, Gwili Railway - and possibly Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr and Blaenavon if time and running days permit. This may turn out to be over-ambitious, but we'll see how it goes!

 

[87electric]

Sounded like a cracking week to me. Well planned, relaxed, a few Indian and Italian meals in the evenings, preserved lines and a sneaky 68 in at the end. My kind of trip to be honest.

 

[Iskra]

That sounded an excellent week. Very bold of you to sample a Britannia hotel! I'd never noticed the Stoke accent to be too strong though, so that's an interesting observation. Good to hear that the WAG first class food is still decent. Which was your favourite preserved railway?

Next years sounds great too!

 

[D6130]

Very bold of you to sample a Britannia hotel!

I'm afraid we didn't have a great deal of choice to be honest....arriving at about 22 00. All the other reasonably priced hotels seemed to be a long way from the station. To be fair, it wasn't too bad for one night. The staff were friendly and had no hesitation in allowing us to leave our large bags in the cloakroom until we returned in the late afternoon. The main problem was the fact the lift was out of action, so we had to lug our baggage up and down four flights of stairs. Looking at Tripadvisor reviews, this seems to be a recurring problem with Britannia hotels....they don't seem to want - or to be able - to pay for repairs and maintenance. Being a glutton for punishment, I've booked myself into the Britannia (formerly Premier Inn) at Charing Cross for the Glasgow Forum meal on 30th November. Looking at their recent reviews, it would appear that it has gone downhill rapidly since the change of ownership in the Summer and at least one of its three lifts is already out of action. If it's really bad I won't being staying there again!

Which was your favourite preserved railway?

I think probably it was a toss-up between the Mid-Hants and the Churnet Valley, with the latter just having the edge scenically. Although the views from the Bodmin line were lovely, the Lakeside line seemed to be too hemmed-in by trees and bushes to have any reasonable views. The latter two also seemed to be much more commercialised set-ups, largely looking to reservations for the coach/boat package holiday trade rather than the casual visitor or enthusiast.

 

[Techniquest]

That was certainly a lot more relaxed than my First Class ALR which I did last week! I think you and your friend did things better than I did, I'm worn out from my ALR!

I did a Britannia hotel in Wolverhampton many years ago, and it was awful. A few years later (I think), I did the Britannia one in Birmingham. That one was worse! You two were brave souls, and if you can I'd be booking somewhere else in London. It sounds like you're going to have a nasty night if you go through with that Britannia!

 

[D6130]

That was certainly a lot more relaxed than my First Class ALR which I did last week! I think you and your friend did things better than I did, I'm worn out from my ALR!

To be honest, I've reached the age where I can't really cope with madly dashing about trying to cover as much mileage as possible. My wife and I had to do a bit of that the following week in Ireland, but for different reasons (see my next trip report....watch this space!)

I did a Britannia hotel in Wolverhampton many years ago, and it was awful. A few years later (I think), I did the Britannia one in Birmingham. That one was worse! You two were brave souls, and if you can I'd be booking somewhere else in London. It sounds like you're going to have a nasty night if you go through with that Britannia!

We stayed at the Britannia hotel in Wolverhampton for a conference back in 2007 and it was pretty awful then....heaven knows what it will be like now. I stupidly booked the one in Glasgow before reading the latest reviews, as I have fond memories of it when it was a Premier Inn and it's 30 seconds walk from Charing Cross (Glasgow) station and 5-6 minutes walk from the venue of the Forum meal. Unfortunately, if you book a Britannia hotel on-line, there is no cancellation, change of date or refund....so I'm stuck with it for one night. Luckily for her, my wife won't be with me on this occasion. BTW, I'm thoroughly enjoying your trip reports from your ALR last week and eagerly awaiting the next instalment!

 

[xotGD]

If I ever did an All-Liner, I don't think I would be able to cope with having a valid ticket in my pocket but not using it.

I would end up doing six overnights to and from Scotland bashing 92s and 73s with assorted fill-in moves in the daytime.

 

[D6130]

If I ever did an All-Liner, I don't think I would be able to cope with having a valid ticket in my pocket but not using it.

Ah....but you're a few years younger than me - from what I recall of our one and only meeting! Always up for a beer and chinwag though, as we live fairly close to each other!

 

[Andy Pacer]

We do a similar trip together for a week every September (2019 and 2020 excepted for obvious reasons),

A really enjoyable read, thanks for sharing. Not done a 1st ALR since early 2020 myself.
Out of interest what was the "obvious reason" for 2019 to be cancelled?

 

[Iskra]

I'm afraid we didn't have a great deal of choice to be honest....arriving at about 22 00. All the other reasonably priced hotels seemed to be a long way from the station. To be fair, it wasn't too bad for one night. The staff were friendly and had no hesitation in allowing us to leave our large bags in the cloakroom until we returned in the late afternoon. The main problem was the fact the lift was out of action, so we had to lug our baggage up and down four flights of stairs. Looking at Tripadvisor reviews, this seems to be a recurring problem with Britannia hotels....they don't seem to want - or to be able - to pay for repairs and maintenance. Being a glutton for punishment, I've booked myself into the Britannia (formerly Premier Inn) at Charing Cross for the Glasgow Forum meal on 30th November. Looking at their recent reviews, it would appear that it has gone downhill rapidly since the change of ownership in the Summer and at least one of its three lifts is already out of action. If it's really bad I won't being staying there again!

I think probably it was a toss-up between the Mid-Hants and the Churnet Valley, with the latter just having the edge scenically. Although the views from the Bodmin line were lovely, the Lakeside line seemed to be too hemmed-in by trees and bushes to have any reasonable views. The latter two also seemed to be much more commercialised set-ups, largely looking to reservations for the coach/boat package holiday trade rather than the casual visitor or enthusiast.

I agree about the Lakeside and Haverthwaite having an obscured view of the prime lakeside views at least you got a decent loco though

 

[D6130]

Out of interest what was the "obvious reason" for 2019 to be cancelled?

Sorry....senior moment there! I meant to write 2020 and 2021. We cancelled 2021, because several of the heritage railways that we wanted to visit were either still not operating, or only operating limited services for group reservations. Post edited . Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[D6130]

A HECTIC WEEK IN IRELAND:

Hard on the heels of my first class All-Line Rover, my wife and I decided to spend a week in Ireland - for the first time in five years - visiting as many of our friends there as possible, using our standard class retired staff passes for IE and NIR. It would have been nice to have been able to make a leisurely circuit around the island - as much as the mainly Dublin-centric network allows - but, unfortunately the short notice availabilty of our various friends didn't allow this, so we ended up dashing about from one corner of Ireland to the opposite one and back again. En route, we decided to visit my sister in Cardiff and have dinner with her for a family catch-up. This gave us the chance to cross to Ireland via the Fishguard-Rosslare route, which I hadn't used for nearly ten years:


TUESDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2022:

1J09, 09 56 Hebden Bridge-Manchester Victoria: 195 006/013
Metrolink tram Manchester Victoria-Manchester Piccadilly: 3136
1V40, 11 31 Manchester Piccadilly-Cardiff Central: 175 112
2D52, 15 31 Cardiff Central-Heath High Level: 769 003
2P83, 17 49 Heath High Level-Cardiff Central: 150 253

A quick tea with my sister and her family in the Northern suburbs of Cardiff, followed by a return to the city centre for an excellent dinner at a chain French restaurant....then overnight at the Cardiff City Travelodge, less than five minutes walk from Central station.


WEDNESDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2022:

1B05, 09 42 Cardiff Central-Swansea: 800 309
1B06, 11 01 Swansea-Fishguard Harbour via Carmarthen avoider: 153 369/921 (Dogbox nostalgia....glad I didn't have to drive it from the small cab!)
Stena Line, 13 00 Fishguard-Rosslare: M.V. "Stena Europe"
17 30 Rosslare Europort-Bray: DMU 22302/22402/22202

My first ever visit to Ireland in June 1978 was via this route....and boy, what a change. Then I arrived at Fishguard on a 12 coach boat express directly from Paddington, hauled via the Swansea District Line by 47 484 "Isambard Kingdom Brunel". The lovely smooth, quiet Sealink turbine steamer "Avalon" tied-up at the old pier at Rosslare Harbour with two trains waiting as we walked down the gangway straight onto the platforms via a very cursory customs check. Small GM, no. 183, was waiting with three Bulleid/Park Royal coaches and a generating steam van (GSV) to take me to Waterford for my first night on Irish soil. Now the few remaining foot passengers are driven into the bowels of the huge ferry in a single decker bus, which makes the crossing with them and drives them off at the other end. On arrival at Rosslare, we were driven off the ferry to a covered customs examination shed where, during a brief stop, a very friendly young Ban-Garda (female Irish police officer), accompanied by an equally-friendly sniffer spaniel, gave the bus a quick once-over and then waved the driver on. Then came the really frustrating bit....the bus drove round in a big semi-circle - passing what now passes for the railway station - and back to the ferry terminal building, almost alongside the ferry. We then had an equally circuitous ten minute walk back to the station/halt, accompanied by all the noise and fumes from the huge trucks disembarking from the ferry. Luckily the weather was fine - as it was for virtually all of our stay - otherwise, had it been normal Irish weather conditions, we would have been drenched too! Our three car Rotem Inter-City diesel railcar departed on time and we were able to sit back and relax, while enjoying what is arguably Ireland's most scenic rail route, as the Sun slowly set. On arrival in Bray, we were met by our friends, with whom we were staying for the next two nights. A late, light dinner was followed by a sound night's sleep.


THURSDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2022:

A relaxing day off the rails with a short walk to Killruddery House - the stately home of the Earl of Meath - at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. We couldn't access the house on this occasion, as filming was in progress, but we had some lovely walks in the grounds and an excellent lunch in the Grainstore Restaurant in the converted farm buildings - highly recommended if you're ever in the area....and with good vegan choices for @Techniquest and others. The evening meal consisted of a good Indian takeaway from a restaurant in Bray town centre and was followed by another good night's sleep.


FRIDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Off to visit friends in Westport, Co Mayo, out on the West Coast. Unfortunately, they were unable to accommodate us and all the hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs in the town were full. However, we managed to find a room in a nice country pub a few miles out of town, which provided a nice venue for dinner and a couple of pints of the black stuff with our friends.

11 35 Bray-Dublin Connolly: EMU 8604/8504/8503/8603
LUAS tram Dublin Connolly-Dublin Heuston: 3025
14 45 Dublin Heuston-Westport: DMU 22346/22446/22246+22230/22830/22430/22330


SATURDAY 17th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Now on to Belfast - nearly twice the distance by rail as in a straight line. We couldn't actually find any affordable accommodation in Belfast itself, but found a very comfortable new hotel in the recently-regenerated city centre of Lisburn.

09 45 Westport-Dublin Heuston: DMU 22213/22813/22413/22313+22351/22451/22251
LUAS tram Dublin Heuston-Dublin Connolly: 3002
15 20 Dublin Connolly-Portadown: DL 228+DVT 9004
17 15 Portadown-Lisburn: DMU 3023

After checking-in at the hotel it was time to head into the city to meet our friends and experience the full-on Belfast Saturday night with beer and pizza!

18 37 Lisburn-Belfast Great Victoria Street: DMU 4005
23 11 Belfast Great Victoria Street-Lisburn: DMU 4007


SUNDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Another long day on the rails....all the way from the North-East corner of Ireland to the far South-West - to visit friends living between Tralee and Dingle in Co Kerry.

10 34 Lisburn-Portadown: DMU: 4005
11 36 Portadown-Dublin Connolly: DVT 9004+DL 228
LUAS tram Busaras-Dublin Heuston: 3026
15 00 Dublin Heuston-Mallow: DL 225+DVT 4007
17 25 Mallow-Tralee: DMU 22324/22424/22824/22224

Overnight and dinner at Benner's Hotel, Tralee.


MONDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2022:

After breakfast at the hotel, we were met by our friends and taken on a very scenic car journey to the fishing port of Dingle - about 35 miles away - for lunch. The outward journey was via Stradbally and the Connor Pass, where we stopped at the summit for a leg stretch and a photo session. We returned to Tralee after lunch by the 'main' road via Lispole, where the rusting steel girder viaduct which carried the 3 feet gauge Tralee & Dingle Railway until 1953 is still just about standing.

15 05 Tralee-Mallow: DMU 22224/22824/22424/22324
16 46 Mallow-Dublin Heuston: DVT 4001+DL 215
LUAS tram Dublin Heuston-Busaras: 3026
19 56 Dublin Connolly-Bray: EMU 8318/8118+8320/8120+8317/8117

Another dinner and overnight stay with our friends in Bray, followed by a very kind lift early the following morning to Dublin Ferry Terminal.


TUESDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Stena Line 08 15 Dublin Port-Holyhead: M.V. "Stena Adventurer"
1K42, 12 53 Holyhead-Chester: 221 111
1H89, 14 52 Chester-Manchester Oxford Road via Earlestown: 175 115
1P81, 16 00 Manchester Oxford Road-Manchester Victoria: 185 123
1E68, 16 22 Manchester Victoria-Hebden Bridge: 195 112

....and so to a few days' rest before our Autumn trip to Italy!

(Apologies for the lack of photos to accompany my trip reports. Every time I try to upload a photo from my Android phone to the Forum I get a message saying 'file too large to upload'. Any ideas from you techies out there?)

 

[Techniquest]

I can't help with the photo issues, but that was clearly a beast of a trip! What did you think of the Rotem DMUs? If you want something proper noisy and thrashy, you want the 29000 Class DMUs. I haven't been on one in a long time, but think 185s on steroids As for 22000s, I like them. They were my first IC experience on a 2012 Irish Trekker pass, and they were brilliant to travel on in my experience. I liked the loco hauled stuff too, of course.

Thanks for the tip on that restaurant by the way, I'll be sure to remember that when I eventually get back to exploring Ireland. I haven't been for years, it was to be done after the extensions of the Luas north through the city centre but even that was years ago now. High time I got back there I think!

 

[Iskra]

A HECTIC WEEK IN IRELAND:

Hard on the heels of my first class All-Line Rover, my wife and I decided to spend a week in Ireland - for the first time in five years - visiting as many of our friends there as possible, using our standard class retired staff passes for IE and NIR. It would have been nice to have been able to make a leisurely circuit around the island - as much as the mainly Dublin-centric network allows - but, unfortunately the short notice availabilty of our various friends didn't allow this, so we ended up dashing about from one corner of Ireland to the opposite one and back again. En route, we decided to visit my sister in Cardiff and have dinner with her for a family catch-up. This gave us the chance to cross to Ireland via the Fishguard-Rosslare route, which I hadn't used for nearly ten years:


TUESDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2022:

1J09, 09 56 Hebden Bridge-Manchester Victoria: 195 006/013
Metrolink tram Manchester Victoria-Manchester Piccadilly: 3136
1V40, 11 31 Manchester Piccadilly-Cardiff Central: 175 112
2D52, 15 31 Cardiff Central-Heath High Level: 769 003
2P83, 17 49 Heath High Level-Cardiff Central: 150 253

A quick tea with my sister and her family in the Northern suburbs of Cardiff, followed by a return to the city centre for an excellent dinner at a chain French restaurant....then overnight at the Cardiff City Travelodge, less than five minutes walk from Central station.


WEDNESDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2022:

1B05, 09 42 Cardiff Central-Swansea: 800 309
1B06, 11 01 Swansea-Fishguard Harbour via Carmarthen avoider: 153 369/921 (Dogbox nostalgia....glad I didn't have to drive it from the small cab!)
Stena Line, 13 00 Fishguard-Rosslare: M.V. "Stena Europe"
17 30 Rosslare Europort-Bray: DMU 22302/22402/22202

My first ever visit to Ireland in June 1978 was via this route....and boy, what a change. Then I arrived at Fishguard on a 12 coach boat express directly from Paddington, hauled via the Swansea District Line by 47 484 "Isambard Kingdom Brunel". The lovely smooth, quiet Sealink turbine steamer "Avalon" tied-up at the old pier at Rosslare Harbour with two trains waiting as we walked down the gangway straight onto the platforms via a very cursory customs check. Small GM, no. 183, was waiting with three Bulleid/Park Royal coaches and a generating steam van (GSV) to take me to Waterford for my first night on Irish soil. Now the few remaining foot passengers are driven into the bowels of the huge ferry in a single decker bus, which makes the crossing with them and drives them off at the other end. On arrival at Rosslare, we were driven off the ferry to a covered customs examination shed where, during a brief stop, a very friendly young Ban-Garda (female Irish police officer), accompanied by an equally-friendly sniffer spaniel, gave the bus a quick once-over and then waved the driver on. Then came the really frustrating bit....the bus drove round in a big semi-circle - passing what now passes for the railway station - and back to the ferry terminal building, almost alongside the ferry. We then had an equally circuitous ten minute walk back to the station/halt, accompanied by all the noise and fumes from the huge trucks disembarking from the ferry. Luckily the weather was fine - as it was for virtually all of our stay - otherwise, had it been normal Irish weather conditions, we would have been drenched too! Our three car Rotem Inter-City diesel railcar departed on time and we were able to sit back and relax, while enjoying what is arguably Ireland's most scenic rail route, as the Sun slowly set. On arrival in Bray, we were met by our friends, with whom we were staying for the next two nights. A late, light dinner was followed by a sound night's sleep.


THURSDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2022:

A relaxing day off the rails with a short walk to Killruddery House - the stately home of the Earl of Meath - at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. We couldn't access the house on this occasion, as filming was in progress, but we had some lovely walks in the grounds and an excellent lunch in the Grainstore Restaurant in the converted farm buildings - highly recommended if you're ever in the area....and with good vegan choices for @Techniquest and others. The evening meal consisted of a good Indian takeaway from a restaurant in Bray town centre and was followed by another good night's sleep.


FRIDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Off to visit friends in Westport, Co Mayo, out on the West Coast. Unfortunately, they were unable to accommodate us and all the hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs in the town were full. However, we managed to find a room in a nice country pub a few miles out of town, which provided a nice venue for dinner and a couple of pints of the black stuff with our friends.

11 35 Bray-Dublin Connolly: EMU 8604/8504/8503/8603
LUAS tram Dublin Connolly-Dublin Heuston: 3025
14 45 Dublin Heuston-Westport: DMU 22346/22446/22246+22230/22830/22430/22330


SATURDAY 17th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Now on to Belfast - nearly twice the distance by rail as in a straight line. We couldn't actually find any affordable accommodation in Belfast itself, but found a very comfortable new hotel in the recently-regenerated city centre of Lisburn.

09 45 Westport-Dublin Heuston: DMU 22213/22813/22413/22313+22351/22451/22251
LUAS tram Dublin Heuston-Dublin Connolly: 3002
15 20 Dublin Connolly-Portadown: DL 228+DVT 9004
17 15 Portadown-Lisburn: DMU 3023

After checking-in at the hotel it was time to head into the city to meet our friends and experience the full-on Belfast Saturday night with beer and pizza!

18 37 Lisburn-Belfast Great Victoria Street: DMU 4005
23 11 Belfast Great Victoria Street-Lisburn: DMU 4007


SUNDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Another long day on the rails....all the way from the North-East corner of Ireland to the far South-West - to visit friends living between Tralee and Dingle in Co Kerry.

10 34 Lisburn-Portadown: DMU: 4005
11 36 Portadown-Dublin Connolly: DVT 9004+DL 228
LUAS tram Busaras-Dublin Heuston: 3026
15 00 Dublin Heuston-Mallow: DL 225+DVT 4007
17 25 Mallow-Tralee: DMU 22324/22424/22824/22224

Overnight and dinner at Benner's Hotel, Tralee.


MONDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2022:

After breakfast at the hotel, we were met by our friends and taken on a very scenic car journey to the fishing port of Dingle - about 35 miles away - for lunch. The outward journey was via Stradbally and the Connor Pass, where we stopped at the summit for a leg stretch and a photo session. We returned to Tralee after lunch by the 'main' road via Lispole, where the rusting steel girder viaduct which carried the 3 feet gauge Tralee & Dingle Railway until 1953 is still just about standing.

15 05 Tralee-Mallow: DMU 22224/22824/22424/22324
16 46 Mallow-Dublin Heuston: DVT 4001+DL 215
LUAS tram Dublin Heuston-Busaras: 3026
19 56 Dublin Connolly-Bray: EMU 8318/8118+8320/8120+8317/8117

Another dinner and overnight stay with our friends in Bray, followed by a very kind lift early the following morning to Dublin Ferry Terminal.


TUESDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2022:

Stena Line 08 15 Dublin Port-Holyhead: M.V. "Stena Adventurer"
1K42, 12 53 Holyhead-Chester: 221 111
1H89, 14 52 Chester-Manchester Oxford Road via Earlestown: 175 115
1P81, 16 00 Manchester Oxford Road-Manchester Victoria: 185 123
1E68, 16 22 Manchester Victoria-Hebden Bridge: 195 112

....and so to a few days' rest before our Autumn trip to Italy!

(Apologies for the lack of photos to accompany my trip reports. Every time I try to upload a photo from my Android phone to the Forum I get a message saying 'file too large to upload'. Any ideas from you techies out there?)

A way around it may be to email the photo's to yourself from your phone (as size large, not actual size), save them on your computer and then upload it from there.

Sounded a good trip, I've never considered the ferry as a way to getting to Ireland.