Railtrail Annual Brochure 2018 UK

Grand Tours by Rail – Derry to K

38 years ago Michael Palin’s first ‘Great Railway Journey’ to Kyle of Lochalsh prompted Dave to organise his first tour. This prompted us to recreate Palin’s second ‘Great Railway Journey’ from ‘Derry to Kerry’! Experience the fabulous line from Coleraine to Londonderry and the scenic East Coast Line from Dublin to Wexford, enjoy the contrasts of Belfast, Dublin, Waterford and Tralee, and wonder at the natural beauty of the Causeway Coast and the Ring of Kerry, all rounded off with a final shindig in Dublin. Cead Mile Failte!

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 1 Customers booking our rail-inclusive package will begin their holiday with the ‘Burns Country Line’ through Galloway to our hotel for one night, the North West Castle Hotel in Stranraer. (D) DAY 2 Our morning ferry crosses from nearby Cairnryan to Belfast Port. A local coach awaits our arrival for the transfer to Belfast itself, where we visit the popular Titanic Experience . The world’s largest Titanic visitor ★ ★ Standard Class rail travel in Ireland ★ ★ Ferries and coach travel, as described ★ ★ Services of experienced Railtrail Tour Manager ★ ★ Hotel Porterage ★ ★ Marvel at the Giant’s Causeway, a unique natural phenomenon ★ ★ Arrive at the Causeway aboard the Bushmills Railway ★ ★ Taste Bushmills Whiskey at the distillery ★ ★ Experience Northern Ireland’s great scenic rail journey ★ ★ Tour the walls of Derry-Londonderry ★ ★ Visit the Titanic Experience in Belfast ★ ★ Sightsee in Dublin’s fair city ★ ★ Take in the Irish Republic’s most scenic railway along the East Coast ★ ★ Learn about Ireland’s emigrant history at Dunbrody Emigrant Ship Museum ★ ★ Explore Waterford and visit the famous Waterford Crystal ★ ★ Trundle through the Suir Valley on the heritage Suir Valley Railway ★ ★ Enjoy the fabulous views of the Ring of Kerry ★ ★ Let your hair down with a final night’s dinner and Irish Show in Dublin Also included in your Tour Fare: ★ ★ Dinner every evening ★ ★ Rail travel & seat reservations from your Home Station to/from the mainland ports (Standard or First Class)

Fares From £1695

Giants Causeway

© Shutterstock

DAY 4 Today we head along the Antrim coastline to Bushmills . Here we board the Giant’s Causeway & Bushmills Railway , a railway built to the Irish narrow gauge of three feet and running for two miles along the track of the former Giant’s Causeway Tram. At the Giant’s Causeway we visit the Visitor Centre and walk the short distance to the stones. Returning to Bushmills, we visit the Bushmills Distillery for a tasting of their malts. (B,D) DAY 5 Transferring to Ballymena, our train takes us through Antrim to Belfast. Changing trains, we continue southwards, with the Mountains of Mourne in the distance, crossing into the Irish Republic. From Drogheda to Dublin the railway skirts a pretty coastline of beaches and harbours . In Dublin we stay for two nights at the Academy Plaza Hotel. (B,D)

attraction is housed at the spot where it all began. We then continue to the unspoilt Antrim coast and our hotel for three nights, the Londonderry Arms in the seaside village of Carnlough. (B,D) DAY 3 Transferring to Ballymena, we join arguably the most scenic stretch of railway on the island of Ireland . From Coleraine the line runs alongside the River Bann before passing through Castlerock and Downhill tunnels, the longest in Ireland. From the seaside village of Castlerock we pass Binevenagh Mountain, the track running alongside the golden sands of Benone Strand, with views of unspoilt beaches and rolling waves from the Atlantic Ocean. Arriving in Derry-Londonderry , we enjoy a guided walk on the city walls of Ireland’s only completely walled city, before retracing our tracks to Ballymena. (B,D)

The Great Railway Journey Coleraine to Derry-Londonderry

Waterford & Suir Valley Railway

Blowing Waterford Crystal

© WSVR

© Irish Tourism

© Translink

Book now – online at www.railtrail.co.uk or telephone: 01538 382323

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