Money!

Hi all. I have been in touch again with Knockaloe Beg Farm. The total for 7 of us over 5 nights is what it should be at £18 a night, that is £630, due on or before 18 April. So everyone pays £90. I will let you know payment details very soon, probably today, by email and text (or other means, Martin). Clyde

Outward Journey

As of today 23rd March, it is now possible to book trains to Liverpool on EM Trains web site and here follows details of my own bookings to Douglas.
Derby - 06.40 train to Crewe arriving 07.59. Cost £14.85
A later train is cheaper but does not allow so much time for delays and changing platforms. 44 minutes should be sufficient though.
Crewe - 08.43 train to Liverpool arriving 9.20. Cost £7.20
I have not been able to make a cycle booking on this train as yet and this is essential on Virgin trains which have 4 spaces for bikes, but no problem if bike folds.
Ferry check in by 10.50 for sailing at 11.15. Cost £38  (includes return on 19th June).
Train fares are of course with Senior Rail Card.
I await advice from Peter nearer the day regarding possible problems at Lime Street station as described in his previous post.
Looks as though I have at least an hour to cycle the 7 miles from South Parkway to the ferry if necessary.

Liverpool Lime Street Station

All of us who are intending to arrive in Liverpool by train on 14th June should be aware that phase 2 of the redevelopment of the station starts on 2nd June and runs for several weeks. This is likely to lead to full or partial closure of the station at times. I cannot find any further detail of exact details and dates but it may be that services from Crewe will terminate at South Parkway (used to be Allerton before being rebuilt.) This is further east than Lime Street so further to cycle although there is a frequent Merseyrail service from SP to Moorfields which is only a few minutes from the Steam Packet departure pier. I recommend checking where your service is going before booking. I will help with this if asked.

Update 22/3/18

Lime Street station WILL be closed to services from Crewe and Manchester Pic. and the terminating station will be South Parkway. Clyde suggests this leaves some 7 miles to go to the Ferry terminal - sounds about right - or, as I said, there is a Merseyrail service from SP to Moorfields. I will try to find a safe route from SP to the terminal for those determined and with sufficient time to ride.

More News for our Forthcoming Trip.

Some interesting info here in this recent feature about the Isle of Man from The Guardian. Some nice photographs and a piece about cycling on the island, including a Strava ride which passes close to Peel. The elevation profile looks rather intimidating but no doubt the vertical scale is exaggerated.  Shawn might like it though.

Did you know, for instance, that most of the inhabitants of the IoM live in Douglas, many of them believe in fairies, and that Peel Castle is haunted by "The Black Dog" who happens to be a spaniel.
Click HERE to see more.