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.

The alarm goes off telling me to get myself up as today is the start of the Rail Race. As anyone with RA will know planning for a day like this means an early start to allow time for any morning creakies.  I was up at 4.30, to give myself time to jump into the shower before a few buckets of tea with some toast and marmite to start the day. My travelling companion Charlie reserves his space in the rucksack so he didn’t get left behind.

Charlie ensures he's not left behind,

I headed in the taxi into Birmingham for the 07.30 train to Cardiff, which left on time and then shortly after called at one of the local stations between my home and New Street, I could have had an extra hour in bed! Before long we were leaving the suburbs of Birmingham and are heading down the Lickey incline through the Worcestershire countryside and then into Gloucestershire. The train calls for brief stops at Cheltenham and Gloucester before heading off down the picturesque line through Lydney and Chepstow towards Newport and Cardiff.

Chepstow Station

As we skirted along the river Severn the sunshine battled with dark clouds over who was going to win the battle for the days weather. We arrived in Cardiff a few minutes late, due to station congestion, there’s a surprising amount of rail traffic through there.

I left the station and caught the number 6 (BayCar) bendybus service to Cardiff Bay, only a short ride from Central rail station. A few pics of the impressive and well known landmarks, before a rogue grey cloud decided that the sun wasn’t going to have it all it’s own way and decided on a short sharp shower. I also thoroughly checked the entrance to the secret Torchwood lair, but alas I failed to find any aliens, Captain Jack or Eve.

Millenium Centre

oooh shiny

I headed back to the train station, and had about 30 mins before the next train on my journey, it was at this point I noticed the ominously named Platform 0 (announced as Platform Zero) which sounds like the title of a low budget Hollywood espionage thriller, with some ropey actor in the lead role.

Platform Zero

Starring Steven SeaGull

The service to Holyhead comprised of a 2 coach train, with trolley service, I was glad I had reserved seats, but luckily the train didn’t get too full. After heading out of Cardiff the line follows the wonderful border between Wales and England, skirting through Abergavenny, Hereford and Ludlow before arriving in Shrewsbury. Then it was on to Wrexham, Chester and along the North Wales Coast to Holyhead.

View from the train

Most of the journey the sun shone, I tweeted when I got a decent signal to update my location as we headed along the coast, the hills and valleys on one side and the sea on the other, as Snowdonia impressed it’s beauty despite the top of some of the peaks being shrouded from view despite the sunshine. After leaving Bangor the train had filled with school children making the trip back home to Anglesey, some amazingly rugged looking places outside and a coach of really well behaved teenagers busy chatting away about the sonisphere festival and the usual school popularity issues. Of course there is also THAT station, that used be known as Llanfair PG in the timetables. I wonder how those automated systems would handle you saying you want to travel to from or to this place.

I'm not tweeting that!

Our train arrived into Holyhead a few minutes early, and after a short walk I had checked in at the Irish Ferries desk. After a short wait everyone was put through security and then onto an airport style bus for the numerous foot passengers to the high speed ship.

Last time I went to Ireland by sea, we left in the small hours of the morning, and didn’t arrive in Dún Laoghaire until 6am. My journey today would take around 2 hours. into Dublin port. I climbed the stairs of the swift service and was met with a spacious area with large windows either side, bar, games room and a little cinema area playing cartoons to amuse the younger travellers.

I headed up to the top deck as we slowly left the berth, but before long it got far too windy as the ship went to full power, it can certainly get a wiggle on! The smokers and tourists on the top deck all quickly headed for the lounge area and I parked myself close to the bar. I grabbed a ham and cheese pannini and a pint of the black stuff! They both went down a treat, the journey flew by.

Leaving Holyhead

Bar aboard the HSS Jonathan Swift

Coming soon "Platform Zero"

Fuel

As I got engrossed in my Terry Pratchett book the next thing the captain (who sounded amazingly like the captains you find on aircraft, you know with the posh name and RP English) was telling us we’d be arriving in Dublin shortly and that car passengers could head down to their vehicles.

Approaching Dublin Port

A few minutes later and we had docked in Dublin, with the wind and showers making an appearance. Onto another airline style bus to the terminal building and then onto the regular bus service into Dublin. This didn’t take too long, getting to Dublin but as we headed for Dublin Bus station we passed Connolly Rail Station, Most people on the bus stood up hoping to get off, but the bus did a long tour around several streets in a large circle avoiding the tram service that has appeared since I was last here, before finally stopping at the bus station.

Fortunately it was only a short walk though a blustery rain shower and I soon found my hotel (which we had also passed on the mystery tour to the bus station) I entered the reception of the Ripley Court hotel reception, which had a really nice feeling about it, there was a bar opposite the check in desk and a joyful hum of banter and laugher carried around the lobby. As I was filling in my details and having the payment for my stay taken, the staff member Jill knocked £10 off the room price when I told her about my fundraiser, and said I could add it to the pot, what a lovely and unexpected gesture. She also said that she had recently done a 10K for charity for a scheme where volunteers go in and help people who may be housebound either through age or disability. So a BIG thank you to Jill from the Ripley Court hotel in Dublin!

I headed up to my room, it was a lot larger than I expected and the wonderful bonus that it’s only a couple of minutes from Connolly station, which will be ideal for tomorrow.

Charlie claimed the single

Charging

Creature Comforts

So after unloading the essential gadgets and getting them onto some power, I freshened up a little and caught up on the news on RTE one while sat in bed, by 10pm I was ready for some sleep it’s been a long day. The mattress was lovely, better than the one at home! So I soon nodded off only to wake every couple of hours, not through any noise or anything like that, but that strange thing you do when you know you have to be up early….right lets try again………Sweet Dreams (are made of this)

Tune in next time to the next exciting episode of.. Jo’s Great NRAS Rail Race, when she’ll be at Belfast and Edinburgh.

Due to the sleeper from Edinburgh berths being unavailable, I’ll now have to make an extra trip back to Glasgow and get on the sleeper service from there instead. Both portions of this train combine at Carlisle so my arrival time in London won’t be affected.

So while I was en route to London today, I’ve worked out the extra trip which will be the 21.14 from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central, arriving at 22.27 and gives me plenty of time to get to the sleeper which leaves at 23.40 already pencilled in the haggis, neeps and tatties with Inverness sauce as my evening meal, as it was so enjoyable last time I used the Caledonain Sleeper service.

Hopefully there won’t be any more problems,

I’d like to thank a wonderful lady in Ireland for the offer of accommodation overnight, it’s just a shame that I have an early departure from Dublin that morning.

So baring any last minute problems I should be getting under way next Wednesday, gadgets are charged, memory sticks cleared ready for photo’s and useful apps installed on the phone (including a bargain game or two I picked up over the weekend)

I’d like to thank everyone for their support, which is all in the aid of a wonderful charity.

Both of my ferry journeys are now booked and confirmed, and I’d like to thank the staff of both Irish Ferries and Stena Line Ferries for their help.

I’ll be updating this blog as I progress through my journey, there is also a twitter account which you can find HERE  I’ll also be using the #NRASRailRace hashtag.

Thank you to everyone who have supported me in my fundraising activities.

Timings for the trip are as follows:

Day 1

Birmingham to Dublin via Cardiff

Birmingham New Street        07.30
Cardiff Central    09.29

Cardiff Central        11.21
Holyhead    16.15

Holyhead
Holyhead Harbour    30 Minute Transfer

Holyhead Harbour        17.15
Dublin Ferryport    19.15

Day 2

Dublin to Edinburgh via Belfast

Dublin Connolly        07.35
Belfast Central    09.45

Belfast        11.45
Stranraer     13.45

Stranraer         14.43
Ayr    16.04

Ayr        16.13
Glasgow Central    17.09

Glasgow Central
Glasgow Queen Street    20 Minute Transfer

Glasgow Queen Street        17.30
Edinburgh    18.24

Day 2

Edinburgh – London

Edinburgh        23.40
London Euston    06.43

I’ll be tweeting, blogging and taking pictures throughout the journey, I’ll post more details of how to keep up to date with my travels, here soon. I’d like to thank everyone for their encouragement and support for me to embark on another Rail Race

Donations can be made via my Just Giving Page

All done in my best rail announcer voice (takes peg off nose and stops rustling the empty crisp packet I used for the authentic announcing experience)

Birmingham > Cardiff > Holyhead > Dublin > Belfast >Stranraer > Glasgow > Edinburgh > London > Birmingham

The trip is being undertaken as a fundraiser for the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) A UK charity which supports people with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

I’ll post more details as I confirm them. including where you can make a donation.

Thank you for all your support on the previous Rail Race, and last years abseiling event.

I’m hoping that unlike some movie sequels, the second rail race will be bigger and better than the first. I’m still in the planning stage at the moment, busy planning the route, connections, transfers etc but I think I’ve got the bulk of the work done.

This year NRAS will be 10 years old, and I’m planning the Great NRAS Rail Race 2 to be part of a number of events I’m going to be taking part in to help raise funds and awareness for this wonderful charity to allow them to continue their work.

I can’t give you full details about the trip just yet, keep popping by for the latest updates.

Thank you again to everyone who donated to the last one, the money raised was a great help to NRAS and the people throughout the UK they support with their Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The train departs Inverness bang on time, and until I reach Perth I’ll be travelling along the same stretch of line the sleeper train took on it’s journey northwards. We head through the breath taking scenery once more and the sun shines down. The coach around me is filled with the clinking of beer cans and bottles, laughter and the happy buzz of passengers chatting to one another. I chat with a gang of guys sat in the seats the other side of the aisle, who are on their way to the match, they offer me a beer, but say it’s a wee bit early, and tell them of my past 24 hours.

The journey passes quickly, and I may even have had a snooze at some point. Snoozing on trains is something of a speciality and people often fear missing their stop, I had years of experience so no chance of it happening to me

We arrive into Perth and I leave the train bound for Glasgow, wishing the guys all the best for the game later, with bottles raised and grins all round they wish me a safe  trip.

Again it’s not a long wait at Perth, I cross over to a bay platform where my train to Edinburgh will arrive, and a few minutes beforehand, the inbound service arrives. There’s only a few people on board and it remains that way all the way to Edinburgh.

After my arrival in Edinburgh I met up with a long time friend Becky, who had taken a slightly extended lunch break, and we grabbed some lunch. Becky recommended the pasty shop on the station (yes I am Edinburgh not Penzance) the pasties were excellent, washed down with a cuppa and a chat on the bustling Waverley station.

I’m starting to feel the effects of not getting much sleep on the Caledonian sleeper, but the spectacle of the scenery and the wonderful morning meant I spent most of my journey to Inverness hanging out of the window with the camera (hooray for proper trains)

Due to my limited time at Edinburgh, we headed over to the platform far too soon, then the doors were closing and as Becky waved me off, the voyager unit accelerated out of Waverley station. One benefit of the voyager though is the at seat 3 pin plugs, which allowed me to charge my laptop and mobile phone at the same time.

As we head along the east coast I grab a few pics as we skirt the coast as we head towards Alnwick.

Another view from the Voyager

View from the Voyager

So far my journey has been amazing, the only delay I had encountered was my train from Plymouth to Penzance which was late leaving Plymouth by only a few minutes but soon made back the time.

Many of you will know I love rail travel, and this journey has only made me want to do more, especially in Scotland, I’ve always had an affinity with the place, and seeing those amazing sights this morning has me planning another (yes I had started planning something before I left for this one) by rail you see some really amazing views.

My journey has been greeted with wonderful staff on all the rail companies, and the food on the Caldedonian sleeper was delicious, my first taste of haggis, accompanied by neeps and tatties, as well as the red currant and whiskey sauce, all for a bargain £5, washed down with some adnams ale. and a very generous chap who donated £10 to the fund after we shared a table in the lounge car on the Caledonian sleeper. When we switch on the news all we hear is doom and gloom, but if nothing else, my fund raiser has shown that people do still care, big time, my original target of £250 was soon broken by the generosity of people, some who only knew me though a friend’s posting in a forum, to long time friends and members of NRAS.

We’ve just left Alnwick, so are about 25 mins from Newcastle, the sun shines down, while cotton wool clouds drift by in the blue sky. The patchwork of fields range from gold to green and freshly ploughed earthy brown.

Another 125 this time at Newcastle

As we speed south towards Darlington, the sun continues to shine, since hurtling through Hungerford yesterday the sun has been a welcome accompaniment to my journey, making for some fantastic scenes this morning.

The train is starting to get busy as folks on the East Coast head home from school, college or work. I’m quite surprised how full the First Class accommodation is as we head away from York, I’m now around 155 miles from the end of my journey. The complimentary drinks are brought round and I plump for another tea, while typing notes into my laptop.

This final leg is really racing by, updates via my mobile to Twitter start counting down the miles until I arrive back in Birmingham, the train is bang on time as we head past the crooked spire of Chesterfield, and down towards Derby.

Derby has changed quite a bit since I was last up this way, the station is getting a makeover and looking much better for it, new buildings have appeared on what used to be part of the old BR works, you remember when we actually made things here in the UK, like the Intercity 125 I was on down in the west country.

41 miles to go as we leave Derby, and a non stop run now to Birmingham, the train heads through Burton, past the large breweries either side of the line. At Tamworth we’re above the West Coast mainline, that late last night the Caldedonian Sleeper was hurtling along. As we hit the outer regions of Birmingham, we pass the old Metro Cammel works, again a remnant from our great engineering days and building of our own rail vehicles that are in use all over the world.

Outside the sun is still shining, a perfect end to a wonderful trip, we descend into the Derby tunnel as we make the final approach to New Street station, the dark and depressing hole in the ground that doesn’t reflect some of the wonderful improvements Birmingham has seen over the last 10 years. We arrive 4  minutes early, the guard announces that the train continues it’s journey down to Plymouth, and a sense of deja-vu comes over me as I leave the train.

Some 36 hours after I started my trip, I’m back in Brum, I’ve had a wonderful time and it’s all been worthwhile with over £500 being raised for NRAS.

Again I can’t express my thanks enough to everyone who donated, it was really touching and I thank you all for your kindness, generosity and support for my fund raiser.

Now.. these plans I have for my next trip…..