Comments on: Web log beg: travel 2

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:22:09 +0000

I think you’ve sold me on the scenic route, Chris!

By: Chris Williams

Chris Williams — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:01:50 +0000

I tend to use laterooms.com or Smooth Hound for rooms. You can also sort the trains through the Network Rail site. The mainline train to Conwy via Crewe and Chester is the quickest, but for premier Welshness, go up from Cardiff via Abergavenny and Hereford to Shrewsbury and then turn left onto the slow train for Pwhelli. Savour Dovey Junction – a station which it is impossible to leave, save by train. Get off at Portmadog, get the Ffestiniog to Blenau Ffestiniog, then transfer back to standard gauge to get to Conwy. It’ll take about a day and cost a packet (esp the Ffestiniog) but look really nice.

How are Britrail passes? I think that you (unlike us poor saps, who each give the various collections of shysters who run it about £60 a year in subsidy) can get 4-day ones which are quite a good deal.

By: JDK

JDK — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:13:02 +0000

Hi Brett,
We usually use the ‘Book a Bed Ahead’ (the great acronym ‘baba’!) service by popping in to the Tourist Information bureaus in each town as we travelled around. (About the only thing we don’t do online.) It’s intended primarily for the Bed & Breakfast market, but we’ve rarely had a problem, and it generally works well – you can specify your budget and where you are aiming to stay. The TI staff are knowledgeable about their local market, and in my experience (having worked with one team) very professional – you get the benefits of local knowledge.

Just a suggestion, not often found.

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:09:01 +0000

That’s a handy site for trains. Are there any good sites for booking accommodation? I used a travel agent last time …

By: Nicholas Waller

Nicholas Waller — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:12:20 +0000

As for trains, thetrainline.com shows, for instance, eight no-change trains on a weekday (about every couple of hours) between Cardiff Central and Llandudno Junction, which is the station for Conwy (or you could go on to Bangor or Holyhead on the same train, and catch a jet cat for Dublin).

Takes about 4 hours as it winds through the countryside (I did it the other way once, well, as far as Newport, where I was changing for Bristol). Also, there are another 8 or so trains with one stop.

By: Nicholas Waller

Nicholas Waller — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:57:31 +0000

Thanks! Those pics were all taken around Llyn Ogwen, a lake on the A5 overlooked by Tryfan. I wasn't planespotting - these were all shots I happened to take during walks I was on. Basically the aircraft zoom down the A5 from the west, then turn right (not quite a right-angle, but it looks like it from the ground) and follow the road northish.

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:23:43 +0000

Thanks for all the advice! Okay, I’m persuaded that Truro would be a good base in Cornwall. Cardiff and Conwy look like goers for Wales. (Nice action shots, Nicholas!) I like the sound of a scenic train ride through Wales too. As for Portsmouth, I think I can probably do that as a day trip from London, which simplifies matters.

By: Ian Evans

Ian Evans — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:45:00 +0000

South Wales is good for a visit if short on time and using public transport. No more paddle steamers across from North Devon alas (and I think September is a bit late fot the Waverley). Fast train from Bristol (lots of Brunel) to Cardiff. National Museum of Wales is close, they had the Watkins Monoplane on display, Morane-ish first Welsh aircraft. Cardiff Castle nearby is mostly fake (fun though), but the old central keep is unmucked about, you can go below the modern walls to the excavated Roman wall below and there is a regimental museum (welsh, not legionary) in the grounds. The reinvented Cardiff Bay area is worth a wander round, even a boat trip. There’s a fast train service to Swansea for the Welsh Shipping and Industrial museum. I haven’t seen it since it was enlarged and rebuilt but it absorbed the museum that was in Cardiff docks as well as the original Swansea collections. Lots of steam, rail, shipping and mining, not sure if there’s any aviation beyond a few aero engines. If going for the Dylan Thomas option, Brain’s bitter is excellent; but I used to find the Red Dragon (well, several) gave me stabbing pains behind the eyeballs.
I believe there is a train service to North and Mid Wales, but probably only one a day, taking all day. Very scenic though. It’s a long time since I tried travelling from South to North using public transport.
Ignore rude comments from the other side of Offa’s Dike (”Nuclear strike on Cardiff; several pounds’ worth of damage done”), and it doesn’t rain every day in South Wales (though I suppose you might find that an interesting novelty).

By: Ross Mahoney

Ross Mahoney — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:24:24 +0000

Brett your best bet is probably Truro as a base in Cornwall if you are planning to try and see most of the county. If you are thinking more West Conrwall then Penzance is good. Hey if you get really stuck I have a futon if you need it!! Though I am in St Just in West Penwith. Lovely are though.

By: Tom Goskar

Tom Goskar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:06:46 +0000

A good base to stay in Cornwall would be Penzance or Truro. They both have excellent transport links, and plenty of places to eat of an evening.

From Penzance, you have easy access to the archaeological sites (stone circles, standing stones, quoits, hillforts, etc) of West Penwith, as well as the Minack Theatre (perched on a cliff – a must see!), and regular busses to St Ives, and down to the Lizard. And of course, you can see St Michael’s Mount from much of the town. Penzance railway station has regular services up to the rest of the county and beyond.

From Truro (which is as central as you can get), there are trains up and down country, to Falmouth, Penzance, and a big bus station with busses going everywhere. It’s a very pleasant city (a town-sized city). St Austell (for the Eden Project) is 25 minutes away by train, and you can even get a boat down to Falmouth if you tire of bus and train.

Have fun!