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Düsseldorf & Wuppertal – Exploring the Rhine-Rhur Region

Having arrived into Düsseldorf late the night before, I had not explore the city other than catch the S-bahn out to Gerresheim where my hotel was. With just under 48 hours in the German city, I wanted to make sure I explore both it and some of the surrounding area, and so the morning after my arrival, I headed back to the S-bahn station to catch a train east. This would take me not into Düsseldorf itself but out along the Wupper river valley to the nearby city of Wuppertal, home of a very interesting railway.

BRU-DUS Eurostar – Standard

Having arrived into Bruxelles-Midi onboard a Eurostar service from London, I had just over an hour to kill before I continued my trip to Düsseldorf by boarding another train bound for Dortmund. This would be another Eurostar service, although one formerly operated by Thalys before their merger with Eurostar, and I was looking forward to seeing the differences between the ‘red’ Eurostar that was new to me and the ’blue’ Eurostar that I was used to. However, before catching that train, I had some time for some dinner and so headed outside the station to find some food!

STP-BRU Eurostar – Standard

Less than four weeks after my quick trip to Ireland, I was heading back down to London ready to start another trip. This time I wasn’t heading for Ireland via Heathrow, but for Germany via St Pancras, a journey I’d be completing by just two international train services. My ultimate destination was Düsseldorf, but for the first leg of the trip was from St Pancras to Brussels, travelling with Eurostar in standard class.

300+ Miles of ScotRail Inter7City HSTs

Back in September 2024 it was announced that the process would be started to replace ScotRail’s Inter7City fleet, their short-set HSTs, marking the beginning of the final chapter of the iconic HST’s operation in the UK. In November 2024 I was in Scotland for work and with most of a day free, I found myself at Glasgow Queen Street early one morning with a plan to ride these iconic trains for more than 300 miles over some of Scotland’s railways. My plan for the day would see me travelling onboard four different Inter7City sets, as I headed to Montrose, Edinburgh, Perth and finally back to Glasgow.

DUB to BHX Aer Lingus Regional Economy

Having had a busy 24 hours in Ireland, it was time to head home and rather than catch a ‘boring’ Airbus or Boeing back across the Irish Sea, I’d timed my return to England to fly onboard one of the two daily Aer Lingus Regional flights from Dublin to Birmingham. Operated by Aer Lingus’ regional partner, Emerald Airlines, these flights use one of the airline’s 18 ATR 72-600s, offering something a bit different to the usual narrowbody jets that operate between Ireland and the UK. I have flown on one of these Aer Lingus Regional flights previously, back when they were operated by Stobart Air, but it had been a few years, so this was a good opportunity to try the ATR out again.