30 JUNE 2011
A trip report with a slight difference - I wanted to travel to Belfast but had quite a lot of time on my hands. I wanted to travel slooooooow and so I did!
I am slightly concerned that one reason for travelling this way was to do a trip report for this very website*. A case of the tail wagging the dog? ):
*not entirely true. Originally posted on VFlyer.
My route, by choice, was London > Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton > Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury > Holyhead, Holyhead > Dublin, Dublin > Belfast.
So here goes...
If you are travelling to Ireland, there's a little known ticket called RailSail.
You can buy it on the day and it includes rail travel to the port and the ferry crossing. From London to Dublin, the fare starts at £32.00. But that's standard class and I knew there were bargains to be had in 1st Class. However you have to buy those tickets separately.
LEG 1
LONDON to WOLVERHAMPTON Virgin Trains 1st Class £22.00
On weekday services free food and alcohol is included in 1st Class. They also allow access to their First Class lounge at Euston. In retrospect this is a mistake as the lounge was packed and any sense of exclusivity is lost.
Some of the refreshments today included Strawberries & Cream, all self service. Which I didn't like.
The train was called soon enough and this was one of the First Class carriages. It remained virtually empty throughout.
I found my seat, and was pleased to see that the crockery was clean. (Compared to last few trips on rival East Coast)
The announcements were practically unintelligible. A few orders barked about having the correct ticket, but a pet hate of mine was announcing the arrival times casually, Like "we'll arrive in Wolverhampton at about quarter past three". No, we will arrive in Wolverhampton at fifteen thirteen hours. We can understand 24 hour clock you know! The same person checked tickets and was a cheerless lump. I wondered if he was the one who famously called the police after an old lady got on the wrong train?
Tea and coffee was served almost immediately, by charmless staff, and the complimentary 'light bites' included a chicken and brie roll, with chilli jam. I really liked it. Crisps, fruit and juices were also offered. I opted for a G&T. And a banana. And crisps.
The train journey was uneventful - I noticed the train tilting a few times which is awesome as you do feel a sense of speed with these trains.
Before long, I arrived in Wolverhampton and waited for the next train - a short hop to Shrewsbury.
Wolverhampton Station.
Shrewsbury is a lovely town and I was sad that I only had a few hours to kill here. I did that by heading to the local coffee shop.
I nursed a coffee as a threatening sky was developing!
Thankfully the weather cleared again and I waited for the next train.
LEG 2
Shewsbury to Holyhead Arriva Premier Service 1st Class £54
This was the reason I travelled via Shrewsbury. Arriva operate a special train between Holyhead and Cardiff which has a fab 1st Class service - a three course dinner is included in the price.
The train is a good old fashioned one - hauled by a growling locomotive that just oozes power, with comfy seats that line up with the windows!
I will let the pictures do the talking for this one:
This soup was really tasty!
I dived straight into the divine main course without pausing to take a pic. Sorry! It was the chicken leg braised with cider and bacon, with onion and mustard mash. The passenger sitting opposite had seabass...
I ordered a bottle of wine which was extra - £12.95.
The staff on this train were superb. Had a chat with the hostess and the chef as we approached Holyhead and they both loved working on it.
The train arrived on time, to a gorgeous evening in Holyhead...
I had several hours to kill - the drawback of my route was that I would arrive in Holyhead hours before the 'official' boat train. There's not a great deal to do in Holyhead at 9pm on a Thursday evening. So to start, I watched the train I was on being prepared.
This was the walkway into town...
