UK ports

[Jbluebird]

We are cruising this summer and will be going to 8 different ports.  We will have plans for 2 of them, including a private tour for at least one. However, it's been a little overwhelming to figure out excursions/tours for the other 6 ports.  Is there a way to find out if any of the ports disembark within walking distance of towns/sites so we might not have to have anything scheduled (the ports include Inverness/Loch Ness Scotland, Glasgow, Belfast, Holyhead Wales, Cork Ireland, and Dover England)?  Thank you in advance for any help/suggestions!

[sgmn]

Have you tried the UK ports of call pages of CC

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

[Jbluebird]

11 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Have you tried the UK ports of call pages of CC

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

No, I didn't realize that was a page.  Thank you, I'll post there as well.

[gumshoe958]

Many of the ports you mention are in small towns some distance from the cities they claim to serve and will require catching a train or bus if you want to experience anything more than a few local shops and restaurants.
 

Inverness: the port is in Invergordon, which is about an hour north of Inverness itself (and longer still from Loch Ness). There’s not much to do in Invergordon so you’ll need to catch a train or bus into Inverness, or take a tour if you want to explore Loch Ness. Invergordon’s train station and bus stops are easily walkable from the cruise terminal. The trains are infrequent so check times carefully.

 

Glasgow: the port is in Greenock, which is about 45 minutes west of Glasgow and again there’s not much of interest locally so you’ll need to catch a train or bus if you want to explore the city. Trains are cheap and frequent (normally 2 or 3 an hour) and the station is walkable from the cruise terminal.

 

Belfast: the cruise terminal is in a very industrial area out to the east of the city and while the centre is technically walkable it’s not pleasant and isn’t really recommended. There is a limited bus service on the road adjacent to the terminal but it’s VERY infrequent so this is one port where I’d really recommend booking a tour or a cab. The Titanic experience is excellent and mustn’t be missed, and if you want to explore Belfast’s troubled recent history and famous murals there are several bus tours you can just turn up for and buy on the day. The Giants Causeway is a couple of hours away and really requires an organised tour.

 

Holyhead: it’s a small, not very nice town with very little to do! The station is right by the ferry terminal though and there are trains roughly every hour to places like Bangor, Llandudno (seaside resort) or Conwy (beautiful castle). Or book a private tour if you want to explore Snowdonia.

 

Cork: the port is in Cobh which is another small town with not much to see. But the rail station is right next to the ship and an hourly train will take you into Cork in about half an hour so that’s a no-brainer really!

 

Dover: it’s a reasonably big town but not a particularly nice one although its saving grace is its castle which is worth seeing. The town centre is walkable from the ship as is the rail station from where you can catch an hourly train to Canterbury.

[John Bull]

Full and excellent advice from Gumshoe, but a few add-ons..........

 

Invergordon has nothing of interest unless you like seeing oil rigs being refurbed. Inverness is easy by train but quite limited. For Loch Ness or the Highlands you need a pre-booked tour - because Invergordon doesn't get many cruise ships there only a few tour operators, so book early.

 

Ditto Greenock, so either train to Glasgow or - if countryside is your thing - a pre-booked tour to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

 

Holyhead. An hourly train service to Conwy- super waterside castle.

https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/conwy-castle

But Conwy is one of the UK's few  "request stops" so you need to tell the guard or driver that you want to get off at Conwy otherwise it'll roll straight thru without stopping 😬. And for the return be on the platform at Conwy to hold out your hand (just like at bus stops) for the train back to Holyhead. Or if that worries you, use Llandudno Junction station just a couple of miles further on & take a short taxi hop. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Or a tour geared to your ship by BusyBus https://www.busybus.co.uk/sightseeing-day-tour-to-north-wales-from-holyhead-cruise-terminal/ (again, book early). The video is of their tour from Liverpool cruise terminal, but most of the sights are the same.

 

I'm guessing that Dover is your disembarkation port, but if you spend time there visit Dover Castle - one of the UK's best castles, with over 1,000 years of continuous history. (steep hill, take a short taxi ride - and arrange for the driver to collect you at an agreed time. Well worth about 4 hours.) 

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/history-and-stories/history-dover/ 

 

BTW - from Dover to central London is easy by train or (much slower) by bus. But Dover to Heathrow or Gatwick airports by public transport is slow, a little complicated, and tedious with luggage - its one of the few journeys that I'd recommend by ship's transfer bus. Or cheaper by pre-booked private transfer for three or more.

 

JB 🙂

Edited January 2, 2023 by John Bull

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, John Bull said:

Inverness is easy by train but quite limited.

 

Even more than "quite limited."  🙂   Having just spent a few days there this fall as the jumping off point for touring the Highlands, I would advise the OP, with just one day in port in Invergordon, not to spend any time in Inverness but to find a good Highlands tour that takes in whatever may be of interest to them, be it the gorgeous natural beauty, the history (Battlefield of Culloden), plain fun (looking for Nessie), whatever.   🙂 

[VMax1700]

On 1/2/2023 at 9:45 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Cork: the port is in Cobh which is another small town with not much to see. But the rail station is right next to the ship and an hourly train will take you into Cork in about half an hour so that’s a no-brainer really!

Disagree with this comment, as Cobh itself is a lovely little town and perfect if you need a 'lazy' day.  Most cruisers head off on tours to Blarney Castle etc, but Cobh itself is quite walkable (except for the climb up to St Colman's Cathedral) and during a cruise ship visit has a bit of a buzz going with animation teams and music on the promenade.  There is also a Titanic Museum in the old White Star Line building, from which the last passengers embarked as Cobh was the last place visited by Titanic before heading towards her fate.

https://www.titanicexperiencecobh.ie/

[ontheweb]

On 1/2/2023 at 8:08 AM, John Bull said:

 

 

BTW - from Dover to central London is easy by train or (much slower) by bus. But Dover to Heathrow or Gatwick airports by public transport is slow, a little complicated, and tedious with luggage - its one of the few journeys that I'd recommend by ship's transfer bus. Or cheaper by pre-booked private transfer for three or more.

 

JB 🙂

We did an excursion from the ship in Dover to Heathrow. It included a walk around Dover and a visit to Canterbury. I would recommend doing that. It makes everything easy, plus it felt like we were still on our cruise vacation instead of just travelling back to the airport. 

[MELSMOM47]

On 1/2/2023 at 4:45 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Many of the ports you mention are in small towns some distance from the cities they claim to serve and will require catching a train or bus if you want to experience anything more than a few local shops and restaurants.
 

Inverness: the port is in Invergordon, which is about an hour north of Inverness itself (and longer still from Loch Ness). There’s not much to do in Invergordon so you’ll need to catch a train or bus into Inverness, or take a tour if you want to explore Loch Ness. Invergordon’s train station and bus stops are easily walkable from the cruise terminal. The trains are infrequent so check times carefully.

 

Glasgow: the port is in Greenock, which is about 45 minutes west of Glasgow and again there’s not much of interest locally so you’ll need to catch a train or bus if you want to explore the city. Trains are cheap and frequent (normally 2 or 3 an hour) and the station is walkable from the cruise terminal.

 

Belfast: the cruise terminal is in a very industrial area out to the east of the city and while the centre is technically walkable it’s not pleasant and isn’t really recommended. There is a limited bus service on the road adjacent to the terminal but it’s VERY infrequent so this is one port where I’d really recommend booking a tour or a cab. The Titanic experience is excellent and mustn’t be missed, and if you want to explore Belfast’s troubled recent history and famous murals there are several bus tours you can just turn up for and buy on the day. The Giants Causeway is a couple of hours away and really requires an organised tour.

 

Holyhead: it’s a small, not very nice town with very little to do! The station is right by the ferry terminal though and there are trains roughly every hour to places like Bangor, Llandudno (seaside resort) or Conwy (beautiful castle). Or book a private tour if you want to explore Snowdonia.

 

Cork: the port is in Cobh which is another small town with not much to see. But the rail station is right next to the ship and an hourly train will take you into Cork in about half an hour so that’s a no-brainer really!

 

Dover: it’s a reasonably big town but not a particularly nice one although its saving grace is its castle which is worth seeing. The town centre is walkable from the ship as is the rail station from where you can catch an hourly train to Canterbury.

Thank you Gumshoe. Are cabs readily available at most of these ports?

 

[gumshoe958]

23 minutes ago, MELSMOM47 said:

Thank you Gumshoe. Are cabs readily available at most of these ports?

 

That I don’t know. You’d think any cab driver with any business sense at all would know where to be when a big ship’s in town but many of these ports are in quite small towns which won’t have many cabs in the first place (Belfast being an obvious exception). 

 

So it would certainly be worth researching reputable cab companies in advance and pre-booking if you think you’ll need one as there likely won’t be long lines of cars plying for trade in places like Invergordon and Holyhead.