Cyber Diary
Day Trip to Ireland (Rosslare/Wexford) - Tuesday 29th
June 1999)
Author: Nigel
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Whilst staying with our friends Ian and Judith in their cottage in Newquay (Wales), we
hit on the idea of crossing the Irish Sea for a day trip to Ireland. Judith had some
brochures from Stena, advertising a range of day trips to the Emerald Isle. A phone call
to Stena's booking service and all was set for our trip, all we had to do was turn up at
the port (Fishguard ) the following morning to catch the 11:00am sailing on the Stena Linx
III (High Speed Catamaran).
The Stena Linx III is the latest in the Linx series of High Speed Catamarans, very
impressive. It carries vehicles as well as foot passengers and travels at speeds of up to
45 knots to complete the Fishguard/Rosslare crossing in about 99 minutes. The traditional
ferry takes about three hours. We were in Rosslare by about 12:45 and in Wexford not long
after 1:00pm. A coach was ready and waiting in Rosslare to take us to Wexford, all part of
the deal.
We spent the first hour wandering around the thin streets of Wexford, seeking out a
suitable watering hole. Well if you're in Ireland you've just got to try a genuine Guiness
from an Irish pub. By the way, its true what they say about Ireland, there's a pub on
every corner, in fact there's probably more than that. We eventually found a reasonable
looking pub and sampled their lunch time food, and of course their draft Guiness, and very
good it was too.
Suitably fed and watered we spent the next couple of hours visiting the shops (coach
scheduled to pick up at 5:00pm) . Wexford is full of small and interesting shops each with
colourful frontages. There doesn't seem to be any of the traditional large stores like
Marks & Spencers, Boots etc, just lots of small shops meandering around long, yet
quite narrow streets. They provide plenty of interest and opportunity to explore.
Coach turned up on time and returned us to the port where we caught the 18:00 sailing back
to Fishguard. All that was left to do was pick up the car from the car park and make the
75 minute drive back to Newquay.
Verdict
Not a bad day out if you're already staying near Fishguard, and not bad value only. It cost £25.50 each, all in, plus a £3.00 charge for the car park. If you've never been to Ireland and would like to sample some of that country's local culture, this isn't a bad way to do it if you're time is limited. Stena day trips to Ireland from Fishguard also include Ballikissangel (of TV series fame) and Waterford (famous for its Waterford Crystal glass).