Day 5 — Crossing to the Emerald Isle

Thursday’s journey was somewhat the foundation of our trip. I read a blog before the pandemic where a man traveled from Ireland to England by ferry and train. It looked amazing! Since viewing that blog, I knew I wanted that adventure added to our trip.

So, Thursday morning we left London by train, traveled to Holyhead and then crossed the Irish Sea to Dublin. You will see our journey on the map included. The scenery changes were amazing from the bustling city of London to the farming communities and coastal areas of Wales back to the bustle of a city.

To be honest, I was most nervous about this part of the trip. I had never traveled by train (excluding the time I rode the train from Walnut Ridge to Imboden when I was in Head Start, pre-kindergarten days) and definitely not boat. I didn’t want to miss a connection or miss the boat leaving port. I was a bit nervous, but I found out an important travel tip on this leg of the journey: if you miss a train, another will come along (I had a college professor who told me that about men) or if you miss a stop, on the next stop, you can get on a train going in the other direction. The last part of that bit of information was actually tested and proven to be accurate on our train ride.

We left London and boarded the train at Crewe. It was an almost empty train, except for a few singles here and there, and a group of four ladies. The ladies sat caddy-corner from us. They got “refreshments” from the snack car (I love a country that has snacks and bathrooms readily available), which to me was a bit early for that type of refreshment but who am I to judge? Being so close in proximity, it was not difficult to hear the conversations which ranged from open marriages to fashion, mostly critiques of other people’s clothes, to a women whose skin was “loose” and needed surgery to tighten some flesh up. It was very entertaining. I found that Katie and I did little talking and a lot of listening. And then the discovery happened. Apparently, they should have left the train at the station in Chester, which if you look at the map, is the next stop from Crewe. I’m not sure which stop we were at exactly when they made the discovery, but we were well into Wales. I think one of them commented they had ridden through four stops too long. Wraps and purses started flying, and stories started being collaborated. “We will just tell them the train was late…” (which it was, but not that late) And my favorite, “We’ve missed the Lunch.” The remaining part of the journey was quieter, but not nearly as entertaining.

We arrived in Holyhead and boarded the ferry, which was a five-level vessel, with the first few levels being used by cars and 18-wheelers (I don’t think my truck-driving son-in-law would have liked traveling that way with his rig). We had seats in a lounge area with recliners and a magnificent view of the Irish Sea. Which when you tell the non visitors that you crossed the Irish Sea, you get the same reaction, a knowing nod. Translated, that means you are going to need a barf bag. It was a bit rough. I was going to tough it out; I didn’t take anything for the plane ride, so I might be fine. I wasn’t. About half way in, I gave in and took a motion sickness pill. Let’s just say, the rest of the trip was much better.

We arrived in Dublin and awaited a ride to the Castle, which would be our home for this trip to Ireland.