.i take it you've not heard of all the train "disasters" we keep having in the UK then?!

Actually, these have made the news and I was aware of them, but wondered if things had actually gotten so bad that the relative risk of train travel compared unfavorably to getting there by car.

If anyone wants to give me an earful about the situation in Amersfoort, I'd be interested in hearing about it. My gut reaction was that the breakup/privatization of rail seemed like not the smart way to improve the situation, but I'm interested to know what the dope is.

Trains in the North West and Wales have been susceptible to more than average planned strikes/stoppages over the last year, I have been to check with the information point at the main station here, and none are planned for the period in question. Here is the railway timetable site, which you may find useful: www.rail.co.uk/ukrail/planner/planner.htm.

I've just been in mid-Wales for the week, it's gorgeous, I would love to have shown you round, but you do need a car.

Given your time span, I would split your time between London and Dublin - for me, the bias would be to the latter. Ferry crossing would not be a problem, but neither would flying, and that would give you more time in both.

The link you want is this.

You won't get to see as much on the way, but you can pick up very inexpensive flights from London Stanstead or London Luton to Dublin with a budget airline such as Ryanair. If you don't mind travelling at an off peak time you can often get a flight for as little as £10 (plus taxes, which are higher than the cost of the fare!).

Rob