Bilbao – Capital of the Basque Country – Part 1

The largest city in the Basque Country and the tenth largest city in Spain, Bilbao is set 10 miles inland from the Bay of Biscay on the Nervión river. Founded in the 13th century, Bilbao has plenty of history, mixed with a modern revival over the past few years and so I was looking forward to seeing what it had to offer. Having arrived in Bilbao on what had turned out to be quite enjoyable flight with Vueling from Gatwick I was ready to head into the city to start exploring.

A Winter Visit to Yorkshire – Part 2

After a wintery couple of days to start our mini-break in North Yorkshire, day 3 dawned much clearer and warmer, and we were optimistic for a less dramatic attempt at reaching Whitby than the day before. We had decided that rather than risk train cancellations again that we would drive directly to Whitby, which would also allow to stop off at other places on the way back if we wanted.

A Winter Visit to Yorkshire – Part 1

Back in early January, with the Christmas and New Year chaos over and done with, we decided to have a few days away from home somewhere in the UK. North Yorkshire ended up being our destination, with a little cottage on the edge of the North York Moors National Park being our home for a few nights. As it turned out, the start of our mini break coincided with a snowstorm hitting the UK and so on the morning we were driving north, we woke up to a blanket of snow covering large parts of the UK.

Belfast – Northern Ireland’s Capital

Having arrived at Belfast International Airport on an easyJet flight from Luton, it was time to head into Belfast itself to do some exploring. Two express bus routes, the 300 and 300a, provide an every-15 minutes connection to the city, with the journey to Grand Central bus station scheduled to take around an hour. In reality, our rather packed journey into the city took around 45 minutes, although I’d recommend waiting for the second bus at the airport, as the one that arrived at Grand Central shortly after us was pretty much empty.

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.

An Irish Trio – Cobh, Cork and Dublin

Having arrived at Cork airport on an Aer Lingus flight from Heathrow, I made a very quick exit from the aircraft with it taking just seven minutes from touchdown to reaching landside. Unfortunately, this quick exit was then slowed down by the wait for a bus into the city centre, with me waiting more than 20 minutes for a 225 or 226 bus to appear. Signs around the bus stops and in the terminal suggest buying your bus ticket on an app, however I couldn’t get this to work and ended up buying a physical ticket from the machine just inside the terminal by bus stop A. Physical tickets are €2.20 instead of €1.35 on app, however make sure you buy before you board as the buses themselves only take cash.