I then went to the pub, another pub, had a wander around the sorry streets - full of boarded up shops including a dead Woolworths.



I headed back to the terminal.






LEG 3
Holyhead to Dublin Stena Line £26

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And dozed off.

And waited.

And waited.



Finally it was time to board.

The ship is some way away from the terminal, so after 'check-in', you wait for a little bus to drive on board. The same bus drives you off when you arrive in Dublin.

Our ship was called The Stena Adventurer. How exciting.






I had a wander around again, it felt like a massive Executive lounge!





By this time I was whacked so I booked a cabin. And got this.


It was surprisingly comfortable and I had a good couple of hours sleep. The gentle vibration of the ships engines was almost like a lullaby and I slept well.

I awoke at around half five, to these scenes:









TOP TIP!
When boarding - remember which deck your little bus dropped you off at.

I went to the wrong deck and was darting in between massive trucks looking for it. Very scary!

I finally found it, and marks deducted from Stena because the driver hadn't put the lights on so those on board stood or sat in darkness. Not good.

Stena operate a free bus to the railway stations, and I headed to Dublin Connolly for Leg 3 - Dublin to Belfast.



LEG 4
Dublin to Belfast 1st Premier Walk on fare: €66.00

The Dublin to Belfast train was, for many years, the only international rail service in the British Isles. That's before the Channel Tunnel arrived.

It's marketed as "The Enterprise" and has been since 1947. The trains have their own branding, distinct from the colours of Iarnrod Eireann and Northern Ireland Railways.



Despite vast improvements to the Dublin Belfast road, this trainis still busy, as the size of the waiting room shows. Mind you, at 0635 it was pretty quiet.



Tickets were checked prior to boarding the train.

It's quite cosy inside, the seats are power assisted. Which is odd as they haven't yet installed WiFi or power points.



The complimentary service in First Class (along with a newspaper)



Next, the best value breakfast on a train, anywhere! £8.95 gets you all this, AND a cafetiere of coffee which is refilled when you like!

The staff were very friendly on this train, and they did a roaring trade with a range of good value breakfast options.



Another uneventful journey with just four stops - Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry and Portadown. Our arrival in Belfast, like all the trains during my journey, was on time.



I then went to check-in at a wonderful little hotel: Tara Lodge. No. 1 on Trip Advisor!

So - here are my observations:

VIRGIN TRAINS
On time, train clean, didn't smell at all. (Strange that it should be a consideration. Good to see they've finally fixed that toilet smell!)
Staff indifferent. Overrated, but at £22 whose complaining?

ARRIVA TRAINS WALES
For the short hop from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury.
On time, train looked tired. Trolley service passed twice in thirty minutes.

ARRIVA TRAINS WALES Premier Service
On time, service surpassed all my expectations. I never thought I'd say that in the same breath as "Arriva"!

STENA LINE
On time, staff odd, ship spotless.

ENTERPRISE
On time, staff great, train clean.


Now, I wasn't going to go home the easy way either. Look out for that report!!