Christmas sailings - foot passengers

[20knots]

Irish Ferries have opened up the night sailings e.g. 20.55 ex Dublin to foot passenger bookings over the festive period commencing Friday 18th Dec.

Wonder will Stena Line follow...i.e. 20.40 & 02.15 ex Dublin

Pre-Coronavirus all Stena Line sailings and most IF sailings (including the 20.55 ex Dublin & 02.40 ex Holyhead) accepted footies but with significantly reduced traffic/ essential travel only the night sailings don't carry foot passengers at the moment.

Despite the restrictions in place either side of the Irish Sea there is likely to be some increase in traffic over the period.

[A83]

Hopefully its a sign of things to come and that restoration of normal service is not too far away.

However Eurolines does not seem to be back in business and I cannot work out why anyone would [ever] want to take the 20.55 ex Dublin and arrive in Holyhead at 00.20. The last train has gone and I cannot think of a much bleaker place to spend the night waiting for the 04.25 departure to London.

[20knots]

Indeed hopefully that is the case...

Eurolines route 871 is still suspended; I'd imagine it will be some time next year before it is reinstated; at present the National Express network is rather skeletal and the Shearings Depot on the fringes of Warrington where passengers for Leeds/ Manchester/ Liverpool interchanged with the Dublin Eurolines is being repurposed as a lorry park.

As for taking the 20.40/ 20.55 sailings ex Dublin I think there are possibly a few reasons at play:

* Passengers tied up whether with work or commitments during the day who can't make an earlier sailing and want to get underway rather than wait for the next morning.

* Some passengers have a considerable distance to travel to reach Dublin...there are parts of the country from where (by public transport) one wouldn't make earlier sailings so the evening sailing works for them.

* Maybe too because there is a tradition of an evening sailing for decades (e.g. for years there was a 20.45 ex D?n Laoghaire)

That said the Eurolines offers the best overnight option ex Dublin.