![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Ireland and England Trip - Day 7 of 11
Aug. 29th, 2025 11:59 pmFRIDAY
We rose at 4:30 as scheduled, packed our bags and consumed all the food and drinks remaining in the room before leaving about six. Gary checked out and, after a brief pause to update the app, I called for a taxi using Uber. The taxi turned out to be a large van, driven by a pleasant gentleman with close-cropped hair named Paul Kelly. We arrived at the terminal and were seated in the departure lounge with our bags checked in about ten minutes to seven. It wasn't long before the fast ferry departure scheduled for 7:30 began boarding, followed by our boarding call at about 7:30 for the 8:05 sailing.
We boarded the Ulysses on deck 7, ascended the stairs to deck 9, then found the entrance to the Club Class lounge via a lift to deck 11. We found seats on a nice banquette with a view out the bow windows. I took a few pictures in port and visited the head (toilet) as boarding continued. As we began to get underway, I had selections from the light breakfast buffet of small pastry items, cold cuts and cheese, washed down with Coke. The ship did a complete turn around to get pointed out to sea, then slowed dramatically until we reached the harbor light. Gary got breakfast shortly after we left the harbor, then I went downstairs to exchange my euros for pounds at the reception desk. For €110 I received almost £90. From that point we spent the rest of the voyage alternately nodding off and either reading or taking pictures.
When we arrived at Holyhead, we were told to assemble on deck 9 by the reception desk and await further instructions. These came in the form of a nice-looking otter-pup wearing a hard hat and hi-vis vest, who led us down the stairs to deck 5 where a bus awaited us. After circling around the ship deck and falling into queue behind a truck, the bus traveled across the dock and deposited us at the terminal, which happens to be attached to the train station. Passport control and customs were quick, and Gary asked whether the ticket needed to be exchanged or was good to board the train. On hearing the latter, we found seats near the café to wait the hour until the train was scheduled.
I left my bag with Gary and took the five-minute walk into town. The walking path led first to Track 1 of the three tracks leading to the station, then to a curious structure incorporating a staircase and a spiral ramp. These lined up with a bridge across the rail tracks and the level of the street on the other side. The town of Holyhead was clearly built into the hillside. Gary suggested I look for a clock tower in the middle of the street. I found two objects that almost fit that description: an obelisk in the far distance behind the station, and a smaller monument topped with a Celtic cross. There were also many buildings under renovation and, consequently, many construction bears in hard hats and hi-vis vests. I crossed paths with about 4 of the latter while waiting to take a picture at the town end of the bridge. I returned to the station just in time to board the train at quarter to one.
The weather was nice and sunny throughout today's travels and there were several spots with a nice view of the Welsh countryside. Our first station stop was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (shortened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll in pronunciation and Llanfairpwll for purposes of the "next stop" display). The views alternated between hills and the occasional cliff edge on the right side and tide flats and the Irish Sea on the left. At Chester, there was a jarring announcement that our train was immediately going out of service and a replacement train was over on platform 7a (we were on track 4, but we didn't have to cross tracks 5 and 6 as they dead-ended a bit further along the platform). We rode a few stops standing until a party of four or five ladies alighted. The train stopped just short of Deansgate to allow other trains to pass at the wye.
When we arrived at Manchester Piccadilly Station, it was a shorter walk to the hotel than expected. We checked in and cashed out for a few hours. We met Tim and Mark at 7 in the lobby and walked a few blocks to a place called Try Thai. On the way back, we stopped for drinks by the canal and returned to the hotel around 9:30. I watched the news briefly before Gary nodded off, then finished journaling and got to sleep around midnight.
We rose at 4:30 as scheduled, packed our bags and consumed all the food and drinks remaining in the room before leaving about six. Gary checked out and, after a brief pause to update the app, I called for a taxi using Uber. The taxi turned out to be a large van, driven by a pleasant gentleman with close-cropped hair named Paul Kelly. We arrived at the terminal and were seated in the departure lounge with our bags checked in about ten minutes to seven. It wasn't long before the fast ferry departure scheduled for 7:30 began boarding, followed by our boarding call at about 7:30 for the 8:05 sailing.
We boarded the Ulysses on deck 7, ascended the stairs to deck 9, then found the entrance to the Club Class lounge via a lift to deck 11. We found seats on a nice banquette with a view out the bow windows. I took a few pictures in port and visited the head (toilet) as boarding continued. As we began to get underway, I had selections from the light breakfast buffet of small pastry items, cold cuts and cheese, washed down with Coke. The ship did a complete turn around to get pointed out to sea, then slowed dramatically until we reached the harbor light. Gary got breakfast shortly after we left the harbor, then I went downstairs to exchange my euros for pounds at the reception desk. For €110 I received almost £90. From that point we spent the rest of the voyage alternately nodding off and either reading or taking pictures.
When we arrived at Holyhead, we were told to assemble on deck 9 by the reception desk and await further instructions. These came in the form of a nice-looking otter-pup wearing a hard hat and hi-vis vest, who led us down the stairs to deck 5 where a bus awaited us. After circling around the ship deck and falling into queue behind a truck, the bus traveled across the dock and deposited us at the terminal, which happens to be attached to the train station. Passport control and customs were quick, and Gary asked whether the ticket needed to be exchanged or was good to board the train. On hearing the latter, we found seats near the café to wait the hour until the train was scheduled.
I left my bag with Gary and took the five-minute walk into town. The walking path led first to Track 1 of the three tracks leading to the station, then to a curious structure incorporating a staircase and a spiral ramp. These lined up with a bridge across the rail tracks and the level of the street on the other side. The town of Holyhead was clearly built into the hillside. Gary suggested I look for a clock tower in the middle of the street. I found two objects that almost fit that description: an obelisk in the far distance behind the station, and a smaller monument topped with a Celtic cross. There were also many buildings under renovation and, consequently, many construction bears in hard hats and hi-vis vests. I crossed paths with about 4 of the latter while waiting to take a picture at the town end of the bridge. I returned to the station just in time to board the train at quarter to one.
The weather was nice and sunny throughout today's travels and there were several spots with a nice view of the Welsh countryside. Our first station stop was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (shortened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll in pronunciation and Llanfairpwll for purposes of the "next stop" display). The views alternated between hills and the occasional cliff edge on the right side and tide flats and the Irish Sea on the left. At Chester, there was a jarring announcement that our train was immediately going out of service and a replacement train was over on platform 7a (we were on track 4, but we didn't have to cross tracks 5 and 6 as they dead-ended a bit further along the platform). We rode a few stops standing until a party of four or five ladies alighted. The train stopped just short of Deansgate to allow other trains to pass at the wye.
When we arrived at Manchester Piccadilly Station, it was a shorter walk to the hotel than expected. We checked in and cashed out for a few hours. We met Tim and Mark at 7 in the lobby and walked a few blocks to a place called Try Thai. On the way back, we stopped for drinks by the canal and returned to the hotel around 9:30. I watched the news briefly before Gary nodded off, then finished journaling and got to sleep around midnight.