Hi all, please forgive my ignorance. My daughter and I plan to go from London to Cardiff to see the Doctor Who stuff and from there, the plan is to take the train to Northern Wales, stay a night and see some castles, then go to Holyhead and take the ferry to Dublin where we will be flying out. I have the train bit to Cardiff and the ferry bit from Holyhead. My question is: how do I do the rest? What train to take to North Wales? Where to stay? Must be near a rail station, as we obviously won't have a car and have reasonably (cheap) priced B&B or hotel, plus be able to see things AND get to Holyhead to catch the ferry at 11:50am. Thank you in advance.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
For the trains, use National Rail Enquires with Cardiff and Conwy (and then Conwy and Holyead) as your points. It's going to take about four hours for the long run and about an hour to get across Anglesey.
With the limited time, the only castle you can see will be Conwy.
Posted by
OP
37 posts
Thanks Ed. I actually was thinking just that. Do you have any recommendations for where to stay in Conwy?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Nope. Nobody likes my lodging ideas, so I stay out of it. However, I've been known to eat and drink in the George and Dragon and they have rooms.
But, it's only a five-minute walk from the station to the castle so anywhere inside the city walls would be fine.
Edit: After reflection, I can't ever remember spending the night in Conwy, so don't take the pub as a sneaky room recommendation - - it was just an observation.
Posted by
2404 posts
Direct trains go from Cardiff to Holyhead (via Conwy) every other hour. www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk operate the trains. www.nationalrail.co.uk is excellent for showing fares & schedules.
Fares will be cheaper for advance booking. You will need to buy separate tickets for each leg of the journey. It is regrettable that you are travelling to Wales but not giving the Country enough time.
www.visitwales.com
Plenty of hotels near Cardiff rail station:- Maldron, Marriott, and http://sleeperz.com
Also see my response here:https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/day-trip-to-cardiff-bay
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
154 posts
Looks like you have received some good advice so far. As mentioned National Rail is great for train schedules and prices for the UK. You can look up bus options also with National Express.
Posted by
2404 posts
National Express do not operate buses between south & north Wales.