|
After leaving the train in Holyhead on
Thu evening I’d walked straight through to the ferry terminal
building to wait for the ferry. There were few people about at first
but as the 02:30 sailing time approached many more arrived.
Eventually the staff turned up and we had go through a similar check
in process to getting on a plane, except that a passport wasn’t
needed, though I had mine just in case. I wheeled my bike through
and it was given a tag and I a corresponding baggage reclaim ticket.
Through the doors a man took the bike so it could be loaded in a
separate vehicle with all the other checked in baggage. We then had
to endure another waiting room before going down an escalator to a
ramshackled bus. |
|
|
|
£4.95
breakfast on the ferry |
|
|
The drive in to the ship's hold seemed
to take ages. We were on deck 5 and I climbed flights of stairs up
to a lounge where they served food. A fry up breakfast along with a
hot drink was on offer at £4.99 so I had that. It was good value. I
think I managed about one hours sleep on the crossing. We reached
Dublin on time around 05:45 but it took a long time to get off the
ship. At the terminal building I waited at the carrousel for the
baggage van to arrive where I was able to reclaim my bike. |
|
|
|
View of
Dublin from the ferry |
|
|
I refitted the two bags I’d removed
then set off along the long straight roads of the dock area. In
Dublin city I followed roads and cycle tracks by the River Liffey.
After 5 miles I reached Heuston Railway Station to buy a single
ticket to Galway. I was horrified at the cost for me it was 36.65
euros and another 8 euros for my bike. They seem to charge for dogs
as well. The first train out was the 07:35 to Athlone where I would
have to change trains. |
|
|
|
|
|
Considering I’d paid so much for my
bike the bike compartment was way too short to fit a bike in and
mine had to go diagonally. It’s a good job nobody else turned up
with a bike. The ride was uneventful and at Athlone many people
changed to the Galway train. I had to put up with the same type of
cramped cycle space. We reached Galway at 10:10 under overcast
skies. |
|
|
I took my time as I cycled away from
the station as I was trying to find a WiFi signal for my phone.
Being away from the UK my O2 service is not available so text
messages now have to be paid for. I found a WiFi signal outside a
guest house as I left the town. |
|
|
My first objective was Loughrea along
the R446. It was mostly long straight sections with fast traffic but
thankfully a wide section at the side where I could ride my bike
unhindered. It was mostly flat and I had a helping wind on the way.
Through Loughrea I followed a minor road through Tynagh to Portumna. |
|
|
Just before entering the town I
stopped at an Aldi store to buy a 5lt bottle of water for 1.29 euros.
In the town I still couldn’t find a WiFi signal. To the east I
crossed a double bridge across the River Shannon and by a roundabout
found a camp spot in long grass. It was near the road but mostly out
of sight. |
|
|
|
Return to
Whittle Wanderer
