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I’m going on the train

richardg said:
Ebike, car, foot, don't go is my philosophy.

I have to use the ferry every 6 weeks and that winds me up enough.

Not much beats the feeling of not relying on any transport services at all when traveling.

However, about once a year I do Strasbourg Paris by train. It does 180mph, no connections, only one stop en route, no peage, no car charges at the other end, I can take my ebike and it's only 100 euros return in advance. Takes 1hr 40 vs 4 and a half hours by car.

In summary, some, but hardly any journeys I make are better by train.
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Maybe on this continent you're right, but elsewhere, wrong IME.
 
I rode the train from London to Copenhagen in June. Eurostar to Amsterdam. Train to Hamburg. Stay the night in Hamburg then train Hamburg to Copenhagen. I hope the last of those trains runs better for you than it did for me - the Danes put too short a train on and those with seat reservations in coach 12 were a little bit pissed off to find there was no coach 12 ... Any of the suggestions in Seat61 will work.
 
I remember taking the train from Copenhagen to Paris once, to meet up with a flame. A real adventure, with a ferry crossing at Rodby, and an overnight stay in some sidings in Aachen. Real exciting and romantic stuff.
And yes, she was worth it!
 
Planning to go to Brussels from Dublin at the end of August.

The London to Brussels part seems pretty straight forward, the Dublin to London maybe not so straight forward.

What are the best sites to book train tickets on for the Holyhead to London journey?

I see from seat61 that I can buy a ticket from the ferry company that will allow a train journey to London but where then do I find details of available train options? From having spent a few years following my daughters on their Erasmus and masters years around continental Europe I find the UK train situation baffling.

I remember travelling from Dublin to London in 1985, simple walk to train from boat and then train direct to London on British Rail, which everyone in Ireland was dead jealous of at the time.

is there an app or is this asking too much?

.sjb
 
Sloop John B said:
Planning to go to Brussels from Dublin at the end of August.

The London to Brussels part seems pretty straight forward, the Dublin to London maybe not so straight forward.

What are the best sites to book train tickets on for the Holyhead to London journey?

I see from seat61 that I can buy a ticket from the ferry company that will allow a train journey to London but where then do I find details of available train options? From having spent a few years following my daughters on their Erasmus and masters years around continental Europe I find the UK train situation baffling.

I remember travelling from Dublin to London in 1985, simple walk to train from boat and then train direct to London on British Rail, which everyone in Ireland was dead jealous of at the time.

is there an app or is this asking too much?

.sjb
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IIRC that’s part of the west coast line that Avanti hold the franchise for, I see the trains pass through Chester, so the Avanti website or app.
 
The trouble with rail apps is they don’t keep you up to date with all the industrial action on the U.K. rail network at the moment.
 
1985 was a lifetime ago before Easyjet and with Ryanair only a tiddler. With a combination of low cost airlines and the politically broken rail 'system' in the UK I would fly unless there are health issues that prevent it.
 
I did Nantes to Edinburgh by train and thoroughly enjoyable it was too- well the French part at least was. I’d always wanted to do the Channel tunnel but living where I do, it was never an efficient travel option to Europe not least on cost grounds.
 
I’ve booked a sail and rail from Dublin to London and then Eurostar to Brussels. Staying over in London on both legs although could probably manage Dublin to Brussels in the one day if one could be fully sure of the Holyhead -> London connection.

This is a test run to our daughter in Brussels overland to see how easy(!!!) it is.
She is expecting her first child, our first grandchild, and always travels home overland herself so we feel we want to support her and our grandchildren by not needlessly adding carbon.

it sure shows how much work needs to be done to make overland travel via public transport anyway practical. We’re lucky we can afford the extra expense and we are doing it as a proof of concept journey as much as anything.

I still can’t get it through my head that Brussels is just over 2 hours from London by train!

.sjb
 
Good on you. I hope you have a good trip.
Did you book the rail travel bit as a through ticket? I can’t remember what it’s called, but for a small supplement, you can protect against missing trains at St Pancras Int.
I still get a frisson of pleasure when I think about international rail travel. Much better than air. Mostly.
 
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