They say that a picture can tell a thousand words: which is a shame as I’m an unethusiastic photographer. I’m going to attempt to tell a story in the old-fashioned way therefore, borrowing liberally from other people’s photos on Flickr, of my recent trip to Wales and Ireland!
So last Thursday, I caught one of these trains from Manchester to Chester, followed by a two-car variant through to Bangor. My first bus in Wales took us onwards to Caernarfon where we stopped the night. The following day, it was over to Anglesey on a Red Rover ticket: back to Bangor on a non-standard interior Arriva bus, and then over the strait to Beaumaris on a spritely Padarn Bus – returning to Menai Bridge the following day would see a similar vehicle via the inland route.
Ireland beckoned on Saturday via a train from Llanfairpwll to Holyhead, the inter-terminal transfer bus at the port and Ulysses ferry to Dublin followed by the connecting bus to the city centre. Sunday night was spent in the countryside of County Longford: travel in the form of the train, but not an intercity DMU as hoped, rather a stand-in commuter DMU in both directions. Back in the capital, and Tuesday saw trips on the tram as well as the open-top bus tour.
Back to Manchester on Wednesday, via the shuttle bus to the port, and then driven onto the Stena Adventurer ferry onboard one of two buses. Onto the first of two trains (change at Chester again) but not before accidentally witnessing one of Arriva’s new double deckers on the North Wales coastliner route near Fflint.
virtualnostril 