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| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 15:45 #1338 | |
afro09
167 posts |
While I have had no internet I have been doing some digging around and found a number of locations that have, rooms for €45 per night, a free function room and free Wifi, which means people can sig at the meet in the usuall hosting method and people unable to attend the meet can also join in the sigging. All the locations are within a 20 min bus journey from both Dublin Airport and Dublin ferry port. I was also looking at Irish and UK calenders and have ear marked the October bank holiday weekend as a possible date as it happens that the bank holiday falls on the same weekend in both calenders. So if people wanted to make a short break out of it and come over for the weekend I could also arrange a trip to the Guinness brewry, A DART trip along the coast from Dublin Connolly to Dun Laoghaire (a 25 min journey) which was the worlds first ever suburban railway line and a trip to the national transport musem. And there is also half day and day long rail tours running on a dialy basis from Dublin Connolly and Dublin Heuston which are both in walking distance from city centre hotels. Have a think about it guys and disscuss it among yourselves and if the demand is there I will organise everything. Alan. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 15:45 #9515 | |
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afro09
167 posts |
While I have had no internet I have been doing some digging around and found a number of locations that have, rooms for €45 per night, a free function room and free Wifi, which means people can sig at the meet in the usuall hosting method and people unable to attend the meet can also join in the sigging. All the locations are within a 20 min bus journey from both Dublin Airport and Dublin ferry port. I was also looking at Irish and UK calenders and have ear marked the October bank holiday weekend as a possible date as it happens that the bank holiday falls on the same weekend in both calenders. So if people wanted to make a short break out of it and come over for the weekend I could also arrange a trip to the Guinness brewry, A DART trip along the coast from Dublin Connolly to Dun Laoghaire (a 25 min journey) which was the worlds first ever suburban railway line and a trip to the national transport musem. And there is also half day and day long rail tours running on a dialy basis from Dublin Connolly and Dublin Heuston which are both in walking distance from city centre hotels. Have a think about it guys and disscuss it among yourselves and if the demand is there I will organise everything. Alan. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 17:29 #9516 | |
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JamesN
1575 posts 
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There is no Bank Holiday in England between August and Christmas :S - As such, which weekend are we referring to?
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| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 18:21 #9518 | |
GeoffM
6282 posts
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25th October by the looks of it. It's a bit close to the mid-November meet (which, as I understand it, Chris Law is already deep into the research of) which could be a bit tricky for some people. I'm in favour of it though.
SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 19:16 #9520 | |
Peter Bennet
5360 posts
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I suspect that's half-term, which is not quite the same thing unless your a teacher. Half-term in Dublin has an appeal but I suspect the idea of us going there and then me dissapearing for a day would not go down too well. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 19:39 #9523 | |
postal
5190 posts |
Do many expats go home for the Bank Holiday? Could make flights/ferries rather harder to come by. However, a Dublin meet does sound like a nice idea. Maybe we could go quarterly rather than 3 times a year with a London/somewhere boring in the UK/Derby/somewhere exotic routine in the future? JG “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 21:12 #9526 | |
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clive
2738 posts |
Ferries shouldn't be a problem. You can buy a rail/ferry/bus ticket from anywhere in Great Britain to Dublin via Holyhead for about 30 quid each way. No quotas, no advance booking required - buy them at the station as you depart. Use DCL as the destination in any planner; ticket machine code is M499.
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| An Irish meet? 07/06/2010 at 22:31 #9527 | |
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postal
5190 posts |
Clive Some of us don't live on the main metropolitan routes. The National Rail web-site gives me a single connection each way; the outward route from Alnmouth via York, Manchester Picc and Chester, inward via Bangor (Gwynedd), Crewe, Carlisle and Edinburgh. It will not quote a price for the journey. On that basis, the car starts to look like an option which is why I queried the ferry availability. “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 08:25 #9528 | |
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Peter Bennet
5360 posts
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The idea of a long weekend in Dublin seems to have been received more enthusiastically than I'd thought- though it would mean taking my son out of school for the Friday which might be a problem. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 13:08 #9537 | |
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Quizman
276 posts |
Was planning a trip to the Emerald Isle at beginning of Oct so if anything arranged in the first two weeks could join the party.
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| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 13:40 #9538 | |
MJD
149 posts |
Yes this sounds a great.
Mike. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 17:12 #9542 | |
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afro09
167 posts |
Wow, I am astonished at the support for a Dublin meet. JG's idea of a quaterly meet is an excellent one. With regards to the big bosses concerns over the close timing to the November meet, as far as I am aware the preperation for Derby has already started so I would give preference to that as it has become a SimSig tradition. I will discuss dates with the organisers of Derby when the football fixtures are released. If an Irish meet is to close to the November then maybe we could look at JG's idea for the 2011 meets. I would like to hear Geoff's thoughts on this. Alan. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 17:48 #9543 | |
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postal
5190 posts |
Of course, I forgot to add that going quarterly would mean that some meetings would probably take place with no new releases or updates due to the pressure on developers. Still, as long as the beer and company are good . . . .
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 18:29 #9544 | |
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GeoffM
6282 posts
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The date itself is not a problem, have one every week if you want. But I just question how many would be able to afford going to both meets within about 3 weeks of each other, or be able to get weekend passes from their other halves where appropriate. I don't think it would dent the numbers at Derby, despite Dublin seemingly so cheap to get to (though 9-12 hours on trains and ferries each way is not necessarily my idea of fun). I can't remember whether you made it to the Peterborough meet or not, Afro, (lots of beer since) but if not it would probably be worth you coming to a meet first. If you did then great. When/if Ken comes back from touring Europe he will be able to advise. There was also talk of an Amsterdam meet since we have a couple of SimSiggers over there. Reasonable beer there too. SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 08/06/2010 at 19:11 #9545 | |
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mfcooper
707 posts |
AMSTERDAM!!! :-D Ahem... Dublin sounds good too ;-) Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 09/06/2010 at 14:32 #9557 | |
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IrishDave
51 posts |
Typical. Having spent the last year out from uni at home in (Northern) Ireland, someone goes and proposes an Irish Simsig meet to be held a month after I go back to uni in England. Nonetheless, the idea is a very welcome one, and I for one would be delighted to attend (provided the dates work, and I think those proposed for October do though I'm not sure yet). Anyway, as something of an expert in Irish sea travel (having traversed it no fewer than 66 times in my 22 years), I feel obliged to weigh in. I apologise for the length of this post, but I'm off on holiday to China and Japan for three weeks starting tomorrow and I thought I'd say all I could now. There may be a slight surge in traffic on the weekend of 23rd/24th October since it's the start of half term; however, Ireland is not renowned for its weather and I would expect that more people would be heading to the continent for half term, and while there may be *some* increase in traffic to Dublin I doubt it would be huge, and the corresponding decrease in business traffic for the holiday weekend may well mean that it's actually quieter overall. Not a huge concern, I'd say. As for the best way to get there, yes, you can do it cheaply on Stena Line Rail and Sail fares ( http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/rail-and-sail/ for full details ) or Irish Ferries SailRail fares ( http://www.irishferries.co.uk/fares-offers-ireland-from-britain.asp#fares-sail for full details ) - if you are, you can't book online, though you can book over the phone. I've only done it the other way round, i.e. going from the port (Belfast, in this case) to England, in which case you get your ticket on departure (i.e. it's not posted to you in advance, thus preventing people using it to save on London-Glasgow travel). Cost would be about £60 for a return (depending on exactly where you're coming from). However, that's probably only convenient if you live on or near the West Coast Main Line; anything further south than London or Bristol, or further north or east than Leeds, would probably make for a long and torturous journey the like of which Postal has alluded to. Flying is my preferred way of crossing: Dublin airport is well-served by Ryanair and Aer Lingus, as well as BA, BMI, and Flybe. (Note that Easyjet do *not* serve Dublin.) Those coming from the south-east of England might be best to consider Flybe's Southampton-Dublin route, which if booked soon enough could cost as little as £60 return (on hand baggage only), and has assigned seats rather than the Easyjet scramble. Otherwise, Ryanair fly to more airports than you can shake a stick at: Postal, there's a choice of Newcastle-Dublin or Edinburgh-Dublin, both of which can be had from £70 return (again, hand baggage only). Even the former full-fare airlines such as Aer Lingus and BMI have prices starting at about £75 or £80, and are definitely worth considering. Of course, all these are the equivalent of advance purchase fares, so they need to be booked well in advance - though there will still be very good deals available just a few weeks out; even booking a month in advance you should still be able to find something for under £100, unless you're very unlucky (or particularly constrained by times and dates). The simple advice is: shop around. The big advantage of flying is, of course, the journey time: flights from most parts of the UK to Dublin should last no more than an hour. (I've been on Belfast-Birmingham flights that have lasted just 35 minutes - so short that the seatbelt sign didn't actually go off at any point!) Of course, that doesn't allow for security. There is, however, no train connection to Dublin airport; there are, though, good bus connections to the city centre (a return on the Airlink 747/748 bus is €10 and takes 30-45 minutes depending on traffic). Assuming that any Dublin meet accords to the standard pattern of Simsig meets, is it worth looking into a visit to Dublin central signal control on the Sunday? One signalbox controls nearly the whole country, save for Heuston station, a few of the farthest branch lines, and a few bits that haven't been upgraded yet. I have to admit that I've always wanted an excuse to visit it; the box is near Connolly station. As for when the meet should be, October seems as good as any; moving to quarterly would, however, probably result in a mid-winter meet, and undertaking long train journeys in cold and rain (and possibly snow and ice) is not my cup of tea. Four meets a year seems reasonable, as long as they're sensibly spaced; perhaps March, late May, late August and November (though I appreciate that would end the long-standing tradition of London in July)? Is having meets on bank holiday weekends a good idea - probably not given engineering works - or just daft? I would recommend avoiding June and September as there are large numbers of students moving to and from university (and that applies to internal GB travel too). Postal, as far as your point about development: while getting new, shiny stuff to play with at a meet is great, and we should all thank the developers a lot more than we actually do, fundamentally that isn't the point of the meets - at least, I don't think it is, and it certainly wasn't when the meets were first conceived. I think getting back to the idea of just getting together to play some Simsig and having a laugh, rather than being on tenterhooks waiting to see what might or might not be given to us like manna from heaven, is very much to be welcomed. Right, I've wasted far too much time writing that, I'm off on holiday tomorrow! I'll try and respond tonight if anyone raises any points, but after that I will have sporadic internet access at best until July 3rd. I would guess that nothing firm will be decided until the London meet anyway? Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 10/06/2010 at 03:45 #9564 | |
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afro09
167 posts |
IrishDave join the experinced Irish sea crew, I traveled 2 round trips from dublin - hollyhead 5 days a week for 2 years working for Irish Ferries lol. JG of course developers would not be able to meet demands of a new release for each quaterly meet, so would like to take this chance to remind everyone that there is no gaurentee of a sim being released at any meet. new sims will be released when the team are ready if it coincides with a meet or not. Geoff I unfortunately did not make peterbourgh as my mum became seriously ill a couple of weeks before hand which is also why I have been quiet on the forum the last few months. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 10/06/2010 at 03:55 #9565 | |
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afro09
167 posts |
Dave, CTC(Central Train Control) now control the whole Irish rail network, done in 2 parts. CTC suburban controls DART and COMMUTER services and CTC mainline controls all Intercity and rural lines. CTC is located upstairs in Dublin Connolly but no sure if we would be allowed into the control room. I could aproach Irish rails operations manager Dick Fearn, an ex-BR manager, to see if this is a possability. Alan Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 10/06/2010 at 05:51 #9567 | |
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Peter Bennet
5360 posts
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I think I need to say at this point, just in case the wrong impression is being given, there should never be any expectation that anything new will appear at any meeting. If it does then that's a bonus. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 11/06/2010 at 12:41 #9588 | |
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clive
2738 posts |
Postal: for fares, look at the SailRail offer: http://www.irishferries.co.uk/fares-offers-ireland-from-britain.asp#fares-sail Note that it says advanced booking is recommended but not required - you can just buy on the day of travel. As for times, I agree that it isn't exactly HST speeds all the way. You have to get to Holyhead, so try looking up times to there and then matching to the sailings separately. Yes, I can see it's 7 hours on the train for you - equally, it's 6 hours for me. But some people may be happy with that, or be somewhere more convenient to use it. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 11/06/2010 at 16:08 #9592 | |
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UKTrainMan
1803 posts |
On the subject of fares I had a quick look at both links posted by IrishDave the other day and StenaLine came up with fares of around £60 in total (both outward and return) but I'm not 100% sure that included train travel from London (London Euston) too. IrishFerries came up with a fare somewhere between £55 and £60 but again I'm not sure if that included train travel. It may be cheaper for me to book train + ferry travel separately as I've got a railcard so rail fares would likely be cheaper that way. Just have to hope that it's possible to find hotel / B&B accommodation for a reasonable price (bearing in mind I can stay in a B&B down Brighton for £25 a night and that includes breakfast).
Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for. Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 11/06/2010 at 16:41 #9595 | |
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clive
2738 posts |
UKTrainMan said:StenaLine came up with fares of around £60 in total (both outward and return) but I'm not 100% sure that included train travel from London (London Euston) too. IrishFerries came up with a fare somewhere between £55 and £60 but again I'm not sure if that included train travel.Both of those fares include the ferry and train travel - that's why they are different for the four "zones". Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 11/06/2010 at 16:45 #9597 | |
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Peter Bennet
5360 posts
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My investigations showed that it was a flat fare of £61 return for either Stena or Irish Ferries from most of the country, with it stepping down in arcs from Holyhead. I found the best source was NationalRail website but the two Dublin terminals are separate end codes so it give the impression that you have to come back with the operator you went with- wheras if you input one of the Dublin stations you get the full range of options albeit for a few quid extra. Interestingly the fare (£61) is cheaper than the return fare to Holyhead- though singles were slightly cheaper but add the ferry and you were over £61. Peter Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| An Irish meet? 11/06/2010 at 19:24 #9602 | |
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spfish
56 posts |
The fare is very encouraging and whilst some may find it prohibitive, it seems good value for the transport. If we can find a cheapish B&B or similar with a group discount, then it could be an excellent and affordable weekend. I suspect Dublin would be a little more expensive than Brighton, but certainly should be a possibility. I would seriously be up for this if not working.
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| An Irish meet? 11/06/2010 at 20:49 #9607 | |
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postal
5190 posts |
Thanks to one and all for the comprehensive range of advice. Of course, I can do nothing further now until 18th. June when the football fixture list comes out (and then there is still a chance that future plans can be thrown into disarray by the machinations of the television companies).
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |