Good_Will

We will be travelling from Truro to Holyhead by train and on to Dublin by fast catamaran next summer.

After leaving Truro, where should we stay in Wales for 2 nights before moving on to Holyhead and then Dublin ?

Thanks for your help.

flanneruk

You can't do this journey "through Wales" except by car.

The straightforward train route takes you to Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham, Chester then along the North Welsh coast. There's no South to North railway line through Wales. If you want to cymricise your journey a bit, you COULD go from Bristol to Newport (if you believe Monmouthshire's in Wales), then take the train along the Marches through Hereford abnd Shrewsbury to Chester - but only the first half hour or so is in what even the "Monmouthshire is Welsh" claim is Wales.

Now we can give you suggestions about where to break one of those journeys. But if you actually want to see the Brecon Beacons or Snowdonia, you need to replan your journey.

Personally, I'd get the train through South Wales, taking in Mumbles and the Brecon Beacons, and get the boat or catmaran from Fishguard to Rosslare.

Good_Will

Thanks - that's helpful. Will check out the Fishguard - Rosslare option also.

This change of plan arose because I took the advice given on an earlier post not to visit Melton Mowbray District.

So I was thinking that maybe we could take the main line north and after Bristol to a town near to the Snowdonia Railway, visit that and local district and then travel on to Holyhead. I have not got into the detailed research yet, but I also understand that the 40 mile steam railway project will also be completed before we travel next summer.

I'm planning early because we are putting together a 4+ continent itinerary to celebrate the 30th A

flanneruk

Yes, but - and I'm no train expert - I don't think you'll be able to get a train from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, except via the drab North Wales coast, even when the Highland Railway's finished.

You can already go from Shrewsbury to the mid Wales coast, then up the coast to Portmadoc. The new link will take you to Caernarvon. But there's no mainline railway there - so you'll have to get a bus or taxi to Bangor to get the train to Holyhead. How long all this is likely to take is anyone's guess (or rather something that'll take a bit of work on the National Rail and Festiniog websites). I'd be surprised if it could be done in two days.

Good_Will

Thanks again flanneruk.

On the big Thomas Cook Rail Map I have of Europe and the UK, the track between Mostyn and beyond Bangor is marked as highly scenic. Your opinion of the northern coast of Wales contradicts that view and you may very well be right based upon my experience of scenic rail ratings.

I guess that is what led me to consider the Holyhead to Dublin catamaran as well as 2+ hour journey across the Irish Sea.

However the route that you suggest from Fishguard to Rosslare is only 2 hours by catamaran and the rail into Dublin from the south also looks good. I will consider all that and also check out the new steam rail journey and see if I can make use of it in the itinerary.

janisj

&quot;<i>This change of plan arose because I took the advice given on an earlier post not to visit Melton Mowbray District.</i>&quot;

Huh? If I remember correctly, you were given <b>tons</b> of suggestions of things to see/do near Melton Mobray. The town itself is no great shakes - but nearby are all the wonderful things that were recommended. Plus - I thought it was a &quot;must&quot; because you were ancestor hunting.

Instead of this convoluted journey from Cornwall to Dublin by train, if you just want to get to Ireland - you can fly directly to Dublin from Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, or Cardiff.

flanneruk

&quot;the track between Mostyn and beyond Bangor is marked as highly scenic.&quot;

Possibly the doziest rating of scenery anywhere, ever. It really HAS to be a misprint.

From about Conway or Penmaenmawr on to Holyhead, it's fine going on really very nice in parts. But Mostyn's main asset is a (now dead, I think) ironworks) which isn't even attractive to industrial archaeologists. From there, the line goes along the drab Dee estuary, mostly dull ex-industry, then along the flat, beachy, Irish Sea coast - mostly cheap and dismal seaside resorts for Liverpool and Manchester. Unusually, the more or less parallel road, a mile or so away and a couple of hundred feet up, goes through a fair bit of nice rolling countryside.

Now the messy alternative, from Shrewsbury west to the coast, then up with a taxi connection, DOES have nice scenery - but it is far more challenging to plan.

Good_Will

Thanks again flanneruk. I will get into this detailed research tomorrow. Quite tired tonight having fought the One World Alliance (BA, Qantas, BA etc.) today to find the rare seats to redeem a mass of frequent flyer points for 2 around the globe business class tickets. Almost impossible nowadays !

As for the Thomas Cook Rail Map, other than north coast as previously mentioned, the map marks as highly scenic = Pwllheli to LL Junction and to Newton. Also Shrewsbury to Kidwelly and to Moreton in Marsh and to Aberavenny.

Sorry janisj; I tried, but my wife's ancestry is questionable I think we have as much chance in Northampton as in Harby and Stathern. I do know that my mob came from Holland and settled in Cornwall and as well as that we need to visit Doc Martin in Port Wenn - LOL.

Also we are spending enough time on aircraft this trip; so trains, where there is scenery, are preferred to short commuter flights. Thanks again.

hetismij

I agree with flanner that going through south Wales makes more sense. Explore the glorious Pembroke coast maybe before heading for Ireland. Or visit Laugharne, a castle and Dylan Thomas there. Or Cardiff.
Much as I love North Wales it seems a long way round to get to Ireland, especially with only two night to spare. It made sense to go to N Wales when you were planning on visiting Melton Mowbray, but not now.

Mucky

As much as it hurts me, I agree with Flanner.

South Wales route makes more sense.

Pop into Cardiff, get the train West , stopping off to visit the Pembrokeshire area, I agree, Laugharne is lovely I was there only a few weeks ago, this train is available directly from Cardiff and I suspect there is an easy bus or train route to Fishguard.

Beware though the Irish sea is famous for being rough and the cats are more often than not cancelled due to the weather. I have tried many times and always had the cat cancelled at the last minute so good luck with that.


Muck

annhig

hi goodwill,

I do know that my mob came from Holland and settled in Cornwall and as well as that we need to visit Doc Martin in Port Wenn - LOL&gt;&gt;

just looked at my map of Cornwall - no Port Wenn!

:-S

you probably already know this, but it's Port Isaac you need, and no, the trains don't go there either. but buses do - have a look at www.cornwall-online.co.uk.

as for your onwards travel, the train journey form Truro to Plymouth becomes interesting just as you are crossing the tamar, then again the other side of Plymouth on the way to Exeter, where the line follows the coast. after that it's boresville to Bristol.

at the risk of repeating unwelcome advice, you are really adding greatly to your travel problems, and time, by deciding not to fly into dublin. you could train to exeter, then cab to the airport very easily, thus freeing up loads more time for lovely cornwall.

but in the end, it's up to you.

good luck with whatever you decide.

regards, ann

PS - did you know that returning Cornish people, or their descendants, are known as &quot;cousin jack&quot;? there are societies of cousin jacks all over the world, including australia.

Good_Will

Thanks Ann. Yes I know Port Wenn is fictional, but I did not know about Cousin Jack We do look forward to the next series of Doc Martin down here. We have a car while in Cornwall and will also walk the path north of Pt Isaac. Hopefully Doc Martin is not being filmed at the time or we will not get near Port Isaac.

As for Wales, I am interested in visiting rather than bypassing. I will see if I can work up an itinerary including a visit on the Snowdonia or 40 Mile Railway. We move rather quickly and only need a couple of days in this 7 week around the globe workout.

We are now focused on leaving Fishguard by catamaran around midday (2 hour crossing) and coming up the southern coast of Ireland and into Dublin by train. These distances are quite short compared with the time we take in Australia to move from place to place. Thanks again.

annhig

hi will,

I started to reply to this, and then decided to try to look at the timetable for the fishguard-roslare hydrofoil [you might cause some confusion by calling it a catamaran]

I'm afraid after 10 minutes I gave up - the web-site is appalling.

I did discover that they seem to have 11.30am &quot;fast&quot; services some days, [is this the noon service you talked about?] and that the drive to Dublin takes about 3 hours, with train connections from the ferry port to the direct line to Dublin too.

it looks as if it'll take you most of a day to get there, even once you've got to fishguard.

where are you planning to stay the night before? I recall from a trip we made on the hydrofoil about 10 years ago that Fishguard itself isn't much to write home about.

regards, ann

regards, ann

Good_Will

Hi ann
I find =
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
is the best place for train and ferry details/timetables anywhere in Europe. Not sure yet where the night before travel from Fishguard will be. Still doing lots of research on many places for this trip. The biggest logistical and time consuming problem has been cashing in the frequent flyer points to find the flight sectors. Best wishes from the Antipodes.

annhig

hi will,

silly me, i used the ferry timetables, or tried to!

obviously the german railway information system is the way to go.

who'd have thought it!

I'll try to remember that for my next trip by ferry.

regards, ann

rogeruktm

I was reading this thread with interest until I read the comment that one of the places they want to visit is a TV location! Is this true or a joke?

annhig

hi roger,

you are clearly behind the times. there is a whole industry in visiting &quot;Herriott country&quot;, the set of corrie, the village where &quot;last of the summer wine&quot; is filmed&quot;, etc. etc.

Cardiff has never looked back since they started filming Dr. Who there.

I enjoy watching Wycliffe in order to spot the cornish locations as see what they do with/to them. going to see somewhere you've seen on Telly is a short distance from that.

and haven't people been visiting the homes of authors like the Brontes, Austen, Wordsworth, Kipling, for years?

regards, ann

Good_Will

Yes Roger, Port Isaac came to our attention from the Doc Martin series. The coastline there looks wonderful and very different to anything we have previously seen live or in the media.

I would be interested to hear any opinions of other villages on that northern coastline of Cornwall that might be more appealing to us than Port Isaac.

If any of those coastal villages have hotels or B&amp;Bs with great views/reputation/large beds, please share your secret with us ?

annhig

Hi Will,

Port Isaac is indeed a very picturesque and beautiful area of north cornwall. there are similarly lovely stretches of coastline near St. Agnes, and further down near St. Ives.

most places are pretty crowded in high summer [the school summer hols from about mid July to end august] but outside these weeks they aren't too bad.

hope this helps,

regards, ann

Good_Will

Thanks Ann. We will be there 2nd week in June fortunately.

Now back to the question of where to stop in Wales.

I would greatly appreciate any opinions on which is the best stop for one night. The choices are Newton, Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Aberdovey, Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech, Porthmadog and Blaenau Flestiniog ???

Thank you all for your assistance.