Ten Days in the UK – April and May 2019

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The Scotia in Glasgow is representative of pubs across Great Britain.

This trip was a crash course in the United Kingdom. We flew into Glasgow where we stayed two nights, then two nights in York, three nights in northern Wales, and two nights in Dublin. This may seem like covering too much ground but it also gives me the chance visit a lot of places in a short time. Here’s what happened…

My friend, Tony, and I concocted this trip while drinking at, where else, an Irish Pub in Madison, Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve. I was itching to go to Islay to see the whiskey distilleries and Tony was ready to go anywhere. We decided to fly to Glasgow and fly home from Dublin and figure out the rest later. This post describes the trip in general, but check out the specific links to learn more about each city.

We landed in Glasgow at 8am and dropped our bags at the Airbnb on the corner of Stockwell and Howard Streets. We couldn’t check in until 3pm so we wandered around town to stay awake all day. We walked through a huge park to the east called Glasgow Green and then took a very cool little subway to the Kelvinbridge neighborhood where an extensive, free Botanical Garden kept us busy for a couple hours. We visited a couple coffee shops and caught the subway back downtown. After settling in our lodging, we ventured out for some early nightlife. The Scotia and La Clutha were both cool bars very near our apartment and made for a great meal and couple of pints! The next day at 8am we flew to Islay which you can read about here and then we flew back to Glasgow at 6pm. Back to The Scotia for our last evening in Glasgow and tomorrow we’re off!

The train to York leaves from the Glasgow Queen Street station with a transfer in Edinburgh.

We got the train to York, England. About four hours of traveling were vastly improved when the Hen Party showed up. This is the equivalent of a bachelorette party, and they were very entertaining. We got to York, settled into the Airbnb on St Mary’s Lane and walked into town. We met Andy, a friend of mine, who was a tour guide extraordinaire! During our 48 hours in York, we walked the wall, saw music both nights, visited the Railway Museum, had several excellent meals, drank pints with the locals, and wandered the lovely, medieval streets. But then it was time to move on…..

York is on the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), one branch of the UK rail system that links England and Scotland.

To travel by rail from York to Llandudno, Wales, one has to change trains at Manchester Oxford Road. The three and a half hour trip stops at the very end of the line. We walked 10 minutes to our Airbnb on St Seiriol’s Street and headed out to explore the town. We had the luxury of staying in this place for three whole nights! There were some great restaurants and pubs and even a couple of trivia contests that we managed to lose. We rented a car, and I learned quickly how to drive on the left side of the road. There were great adventures including visiting three castles and climbing the very slaty Moel Siabod. More to read here. Then off to the last city….

Irish Ferries is one company that navigates the Irish Sea to carry up to 1,885 passengers and 1,200 cars on each journey. We rode the busiest route, from Holyhead, Wales to Dublin.

The ferry from Holyhead, Wales to Dublin is two and a half hours with beautiful views of coastlines on each side of the Irish Sea. After parking at our last Airbnb on Primrose Street, we headed to Grafton Street and the Temple Bar neighborhood for some pints and a nice dinner. The next day was a major highlight, a visit to Newgrange, the oldest building in the world and worthy of it’s own separate post here. On our last night, we saw music at a couple places and packed up for the 8 hour flight home. More about Dublin here. I enjoy these trips with many short stops because it highlights both the differences between cultures and the amazing warmth and welcome that people share everywhere I go!

Total cost for this trip was $2,469 –

  • Flight (O’Hare to Glasgow on Wednesday; Dublin to O’Hare on Saturday)    $658
  • Food and Drink (eating out, groceries, alcohol)                                             $550
  • Lodging (My share of nine nights in two-bedroom Airbnbs)           $549
  • Flight (Round trip Glasgow to Islay, same day, Friday)                      $227
  • Train (Glasgow to York, York to Llandudno, Llandudno to Holyhead)         $158
  • Transport to Airport and Parking                           $80
  • Intracity Transport (bus, subway, tram, bike, and lots of free walking!)            $73
  • Car Rental (North Wales Car Hire, Llandudno, 2 days, with insurance)        $63
  • Admission Fees (Newgrange, Laphroaig, and lots of free exploring!)           $57
  • Ferry (Holyhead to Dublin, passenger, no car)                                              $54