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.

Helsinki – Pearl of the Baltic

Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and part of Finland’s only metropolitan area, Helsinki is the capital of Finland and the most northerly capital city of the European Union. Both city and country have an interesting history, having previously been part of both the Swedish and Russian empires, and this history has made an impact on the architecture, culture and spirit of Helsinki. Helsinki was my base for my two-night stay in Finland and whilst I took a trip north to explore Tampere, I had plenty of time to explore the Finnish capital and fall in love with it.

Tampere – Manse, Manchester of the North

With my first full day in Helsinki having started quite early to allow me to make the 0720 VR service from Helsinki to Tampere, it was just before 0900 when I arrived into Finland’s second city. Just as the city was starting to open up and come alive, I was able to enjoy a short walk (less than 10 minutes) along one of the main streets to the river Tammerkoski and main square.