Travelling down to Dublin by train was a revelation, even though the trip was conducted on one of the main business trains from Belfast, for someone more used to being crammed onto a crowded London commuter train so close to the person next to you, that the next action should be to go home and meet their parents, the carriages were surprisingly empty and also even more surprisingly cheap.

From Carrickfergus just outside Belfast to Dublin was 29.50, which when you consider the distance and compare it to any 2 hour inter-city journey in the UK is absolutely amazing.

Setting out on the 6.50 commuter train from Carrickfergus (a class 450 DMU 8454 ironically Carrickfergus Castle) on a freezing cold February morning, where the temperature was a bitingly cold -2 degrees, we arrived in Belfast at 7.25, ready for a short wait until out train left at 8.00. Fortunately Belfast central station has a coffee shop just outside the ticket barriers and the ticket staff are very accommodating and don't have a problem with you popping out for a shot of caffeine to get your brain moving.

Soon we were under way. In the vestibule of each of the De Dietrich coaches is an excellent map with coloured LEDs showing the route, which change of red to green as the train proceeds, so you can instantly see where you are. It was a very foggy day and most of the Northern Irish landscape was obscured by mist but the journey was smooth, broken only by the passing of the catering trolley and at 9.55 on the dot we pulled into Dublin Connelly. From there its a 10 minute walk into the city center, and a warming hot chocolate at Bewleys. Unfortunately even though I had my camera all day, I didn't actually point it at anything except one photograph of the Liffey just after we arrived. Dublin usually has so much going on that its hard to stay focused and remember to take photographs

The trainspotter in me immediately came out on the trip down once we crossed the border especially once the livery changes to Orange, as I have always had a soft spot for the trains in the Irish Republic. As a bonus once we got to Drogheda I even got to see some of the new MK4 coaches in their quite striking new green liveries. It looks like another trip will have to be planned to go and see how comfortable these are.

This is the only photograph I took while in Dublin that day, not really one of my best efforts, but I thought I would include it here, as it was a superb, frosty, crisp winters day and with no wind the Liffey was largely ripple free.

Dublin is one of my favourite cities and there is always lots to do, from shopping through to the newest discovery during my trip. The Dead Zoo or to give it its proper title the Natural History Museum is a must, this is an institution that could only exist in Ireland, as its stacked to the roof with stuffed animals. Everything from small worms right through to a stuffed elephant, some of them dated around the turn of the century. Some of the animals are looking a little dusty, but where else would you get to look eye to eye to a wolf.

After a spot of food and a chat with some of the locals about the prospects of Irish rugby at the excellent Elephant and Castle in Templebar, it was time for the walk back to Connelly for the return trip to Belfast. The train was a little busier than the trip down, and we actually had to share our table until we reached Drogheda as the train was full of commuters on their way home, but the rest of the journey was uneventful as it was dark outside so there was nothing to look out for, and by 9pm we were back in Belfast, ready to catch the train back to Carrickfergus.

For this trip we crossed from Scotland on the P&O Larne - Carnryan ferry which only takes approx 2 hours, and we stayed in Carrickfergus in the Clarion Hotel, which we can thoroughly recommend. We booked our hotel rooms while sitting in the car at Carnryan waiting to board the ferry.