Day 2 Capitals – Belfast & Edinburgh Another early start, I set the alarm for 4.30, but got up at 4.50 after dozing a little longer, bed was really comfortable, the mattress much better than the one I have at home, made my way into the lovely en suite shower, set nice and warm for a few minutes to loosen the joints a little. I ensured the phone was fully recharged, for the tweeting/gps today via the laptop as none of the services I used yesterday had any power sockets. Breakfast isn’t served until 7am, so I’m going to take a stroll just after 6 get a few pics of early morning Dublin if I can, I have to pop into Dublin Connolly station too to get a priv ticket for my journey to Belfast as the booking office was closed by the time I got here last night (8pm) I really must come over to Ireland again sometime soon. It’s changed so much, and now that I know how quick, easy (and cheap) it is to get here I’ll have to plan a trip.
Ripley Court Hotel
I headed out of the hotel about 6.15, the night porter gave me a hearty good morning with a big grin on his face, a lovely clear blue sky overhead welcomed me as I got outside as the city wakes up. I didn’t head too far as my train to Belfast is at 07.35 and I’m hoping to get some breakfast at the hotel before checking out. Heading towards Connolly station, a few pics of the old building and the new area underneath where the trams terminate.
Dublin Connolly Station
Dublin Connolly Station
A short distance away I came across a sculpture with a flame inside, commissioned by Amnesty International in 1995 Universal Links on Human Rights‘ is by Tony O’Malley was located on a busy traffic island near The Custom House. I Headed back towards Connolly station and bought my ticket to Belfast.
Dublin Custom House
Universal Links on Human Rights
A short walk back to the hotel and the lobby was full of American tourists, getting ready for their journey home, a really nice atmosphere at this hotel from the staff and guests. I head back to my room and get my rucksack packed and head down to breakfast. I found a long queue for breakfast, and looking at the time I was worried I might have to skip it before checking out and getting over for my train. But the staff serving were really on the ball, toast, sausage, scrambled egg and tomato (I could have had more but was worried I wouldn’t have time to eat it all) , a choice of cereals was also available, but with a long day ahead the protein will keep me full for longer (well that’s my excuse) Breakfast eaten, it was around 7.20, I went and checked out and again wonderfully friendly service, I headed to Connolly station which only takes 2-3 minutes (depending on how lucky you are with the lights on the crossing, if you just miss them, you’re waiting a while) and found the Belfast service on platform 2. The Enterprise service has a fleet of new trains, but my service was a loco hauled. A quick picture and I got onto the train. I sat at a table seat, at the seat in front were some American and Canadian tourists who were doing a tour with a guide from Railtours Ireland. They were heading up to Belfast and then going on to the Giants Causeway.
Enterprise
After leaving the Dublin suburbs we headed out into the beautiful countryside, the refreshments trolley came through and the cheerful Michelle served me with a nice hot cup of tea. The guide on the tour was giving lots of information on route, certainly a good way to explore Ireland. We headed over the River Boyne and continued north. A few pics from the train window en route and before long we were heading into Belfast.
Are we there yet?
View from the train
A lovely blue sky greeted me here in Belfast too, and I now had a walk from the station to Belfast City Hall, where I had to catch a bus service to the port. The Google Navigation app on my phone certainly came in handy at this point. As I got closer I found that City Hall is a wonderful building, I didn’t really have enough time to spend long, but I had to take a few quick pictures while I was here.
Belfast City Hall
Part of City Hall Belfast
Hopped onto the bus, and again a wonderfully cheerful driver greeted me. The journey to the port didn’t take too long, The Stena Line service is also a HSS, and after checking in I waited in the lounge with the other foot passengers, there was also some hells angels grabbing some refreshments.
Onboard the Stena Line HSS
Once onboard the ship had a variety of coffee bars, and food outlets, there was an arcade area with a few machines. Again the trip would only take 2 hours, and the journey flew by before long the Scottish coastline came into view and a quick look on the smartphone the GPS told me were were passing the Corsewall Lighthouse. Into Loch Ryan and then the ship was turned ready to dock in Stranraer. After getting off the ship it was good to find the rail station was right outside the ferry terminal. The 2 car 156 unit was shut down as the numerous passengers climbed aboard. The engines roared into life a few minutes before departure and we left on time along the single line, with the train stopping at various signal boxes en route for the tokens for the next section. Again some wonderful scenery as we threaded our way to Ayr, where I had a change of trains.
The service to Glasgow was on one of the fleet of new class 380 electric trains (with plug sockets!) similar to class 350 desiros we have in the West Midlands, but the corridor connections seem to have a jaunty angle when not in use. We headed towards Glasgow and I noticed they were laying new track in parts where it had been ripped out years before, after a quick Google when I got home I found the work is part of the £170m Paisley Corridor Improvements (PCI) project will upgrade the track and signalling on the busy rail corridor between Shields junction in Glasgow and Paisley Gilmour St station. I arrived in Glasgow Central, and walked over to Queen Street for my journey to Edinburgh as I was a little creaky I mssed my intended 17.30 service, but fortunately the next one was only 15 minutes later. My arrival in Edinburgh Waverley was greeted with lovely blue skies again. So I grabbed a bite to eat before taking a few pics in close proximity to the station. I had a few hours in Edinburgh, but didn’t really feel up to venturing far, fatigue and creaky joints played a part.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
I had to head back to Glasgow, as the Edinburgh portion of the Caledonian Sleeper service was full, so I had to add an extra leg to my trip back to Glasgow Central and board the portion from there. The 21.14 Cross Country service arrived on time and It was nice to see one of the refurbished Inter City 125’s many folks might not see why older trains were better, but for me, there was a place for luggage in each coach, they had a guards van for a multitude of cycles or large amounts of luggage etc. The new trains while very nice inside, if you have more than a few people with anything larger than a rucksack end up blocking isles, or having to put their luggage on the seats.
The train was fairly empty as we heading out of Haymarket, the sun starting to set on the horizon, it was a lovely sight, as the skies overhead took on a orange and purple glow. A guy opposite said it was moments like this that made central Scotland look stunning. We called at Motherwell and then headed into Glasgow. On arrival at Glasgow I headed for the Caledonian Sleeper and after chatting with the attendant headed off to my berth in coach N I was shattered at this point, and after freshening up I got into my PJ’s and got into bed.
Charlie has Déjà vu
I remember us leaving Glasgow on time, then woke when they joined the portion from Edinburgh at carstairs but soon fell asleep again. I awoke next as the train trundled to a stop, a quick look out of the window blind revealed It was 06.02 and we were at Watford Junction.
Day 3 Capital – London
I got up and got dressed, shortly after the attendant came along with my cup of English breakfast tea and my continental breakfast. The train picked up speed on the section to Euston and we arrived 15 minutes ahead of the advertised time at 06.30. My journey was complete, I had been to all the capitals of the UK in Ireland under my 48hr target and covered over 1100 miles (yes I’ve been anorak enough to work it out) 
. I really didn’t fancy heading anywhere in London during the rush hour, so was lucky to get the 06.43 Virgin Service back to Brum.
So my Rail Race was complete, I feel a lot worse than I did after the one two years ago, but I’ve covered a lot more miles this time. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me with a donation to NRAS, the staff at the Ripley Court hotel in Dublin for their wonderful service and donation and to all the service providers for the great service I encountered from staff en route.
Lovely travelblog. I enjoyed reading about your journey.