Holyhead Station

[HORNIMANS]

I will be on an ALR in a few weeks time, and will be arriving at Holyhead at 0215 and leaving on the first trains of the morning,
Is their a waiting room that is in use.
And is there anywhere open for food and drink etc.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I will be on an ALR in a few weeks time, and will be arriving at Holyhead at 0215 and leaving on the first trains of the morning,
Is their a waiting room that is in use.
And is there anywhere open for food and drink etc.

type HHD into National Rail enquiries, and it will bring up a full list of facilities etc for Holyhead.

Used to be the only station in Wales with a ticket hall opened 24/7, as well as all the facilities. I'd say it'll be 4-30am to midnight now or something.

 

[Death]

I havn't been to Caergybi for ages myself...But last time I was there, it looked like the waiting rooms etc. at the adjacent Stena Line terminal were open all hours. I caught a very early HSS over to Dun Laoghaire (Think it might've been an 05:30 departure?) and presumably the facilities would be open a couple of hours before that.

 

[Greenback]

From what I remember, there aren't many facilities at Holyhead. I should imagine that the shop and toilets will be open for motorists arriving early for the first boat, and for people arriving on the late boat from Dublin.

Mind you, waiting there for several hours is not something I would be looking forward to!

 

[TheExmoorBeast]

What's at Holyhead other than a port?

 

[Greenback]

Not much at all! Especially at 0300!

 

[TheExmoorBeast]

Nice! I thought I might go there during more sociable hours to see what the place is like actually.

Would you care to enlighten? Or is it a place that can be seen done & dusted in 30 minutes flat?

 

[Greenback]

Well, we waited there for an hour once and we were bored. Then again, we didn;t really have time to explore the town! I should imagine it;s a bit like many other towns - empty shops and office due to the recession and out of town retial parks!

I found the station itself quite interesting, though. It has changed a lot over the years and used to have a very grand and impsoing building, which is now largely unused. It's still a V shape, though, I think this dates from the days when there was an arrival side and a departure side, but I could be wrong. In the old days the ferries used to berth alongside the station, but that all changed 20 years ago to assist loading and unloading the vehicles. If you like railway history you may enjoy pottering about the place!

 

[mickey]

There's a train arrival at HHD at 0215 and a departure at 0425 so it's highly unlikely the station will close. It's not the best-endowed station in the land but there will at least be somewhere dry to sit and wait.

 

[Death]

What's at Holyhead other than a port?

A few nice shopping streets, a decent Thursday market, the place actually had a Quasar there up until about 1996CE as well!

If ye are ever stuck on Caergybi for a few hours though, I could recommend a walk over to the lighthouse on South Stack. It's a nice, relaxing and picturesque place to visit, and - With it's large population of sea birds - Is definitely worth a visit for anyone who counts Ornithology amongst their interests!

 

[ChrisTheRef]

A few nice shopping streets, a decent Thursday market, the place actually had a Quasar there up until about 1996CE as well!

If ye are ever stuck on Caergybi for a few hours though, I could recommend a walk over to the lighthouse on South Stack. It's a nice, relaxing and picturesque place to visit, and - With it's large population of sea birds - Is definitely worth a visit for anyone who counts Ornithology amongst their interests!

You never struck me as an Ornithologist Death!

 

[4SRKT]

I'm planning this move in the summer, and I'm not really looking forward to it I have to say. I'll be arriving at about half midnight on the Stena boat from Dublin. I was thinking to get the first train out, which is at 04:25, which is already a long fester. However I twigged that waiting another 67 minutes could see me on the 57 hauled train, which is a huge improvement, and if you've been there 4 hours already, what's another 67 minutes?

Anyway, I'll have been in Ireland for the Steam Enterprise on 1st August, and am planning a day on the WHR and FR once I've recovered from the fester, so I reckon it's all worth it really.

 

[Death]

You never struck me as an Ornithologist Death!

Well, I am in a way...But the only "birds" that I take a profound interest in fall into one of two categories:

1. Birds of prey, that are capable of tearing their prey apart limb from limb in the most satisfying and Gory manner.
2. Single "Birds" of an aesthetically pleasing nature, the natural habitat of which is normally a pub or nightclub on a Saturday night!

 

[TheExmoorBeast]

I was waiting for the non-feathered variety to feature.

 

[4SRKT]

I was waiting for the non-feathered variety to feature.

Sadly for the OP and for me, they are unlikely to feature in any quantity of quality in Holyhead ferry terminal in the small hours of the morning Otherwise a 5 hour fester might not be so arduous.

 

[rail-britain]

I will be on an ALR in a few weeks time, and will be arriving at Holyhead at 0215 and leaving on the first trains of the morning

Does your plan really need to end at Holyhead?
I can see the benefit if you want to make the ATW service from Holyhead
I travelled on the Perth - Crewe sleeper, then travelled to Chester to make the connection, equally had the sleeper been late I could make the connection at Crewe

My only visit to Holyhead was an out and back on Virgin Trains, as I had never been to Holyhead before
Nice views on the route, but the station itself is showing its age and lack of maintenance in the last 20 years (like so many along the North Wales route)
Equally it seemed a strange service as there was no ferry connection for this service, there was virtually nobody on it in either direction

 

[mickey]

Sadly for the OP and for me, they are unlikely to feature in any quantity of quality in Holyhead ferry terminal in the small hours of the morning Otherwise a 5 hour fester might not be so arduous.

If you can get yourselves to Bangor, however...

 

[wintonian]

I was in Holyhead the other week after arriving off the late ferry and caught the 0425 out.

The station ticket office/ terminal are open 24 hrs as is the booking hall and toilets. However the cafe shuts shortly after the last Irish Ferries has come in, as soon as they have served the overnighters off it seems, but there are vending machines to use.
If you do want a quiet kip and have something soft to lay on (as there aren’t any seats) then I recommend the old booking hall/ platform link as when I was there I saw no else there and the seats in the terminal all have metal arms attached so not the most comfortable as well as mostly being taken up.

4 hours at Holyhead overnight is a bit of a slog and I wish I found the effort with luggage to go for a walk in town to kill some time.

 

[merlodlliw]

There's a train arrival at HHD at 0215 and a departure at 0425 so it's highly unlikely the station will close. It's not the best-endowed station in the land but there will at least be somewhere dry to sit and wait.

dont forget its never on a Sunday, no trains out for 12 hours after the Sat 2025.

 

[4SRKT]

I was in Holyhead the other week after arriving off the late ferry and caught the 0425 out.

The station ticket office/ terminal are open 24 hrs as is the booking hall and toilets. However the cafe shuts shortly after the last Irish Ferries has come in, as soon as they have served the overnighters off it seems, but there are vending machines to use.
If you do want a quiet kip and have something soft to lay on (as there aren’t any seats) then I recommend the old booking hall/ platform link as when I was there I saw no else there and the seats in the terminal all have metal arms attached so not the most comfortable as well as mostly being taken up.

4 hours at Holyhead overnight is a bit of a slog and I wish I found the effort with luggage to go for a walk in town to kill some time.

I'm sure I'll be driven mad with desperation to take a walk at some point. 5 hours is a very long time in (probably) pretty basic accomodation. I could reduce the time by taking the 04:25, but then I'd miss out on the 57 and would just have a longer fester at Llandudno Junction instead, probably somewhere even less well-equipped for this purpose. Given that I don't have to be in Caernarvon until the 10:00 departure to Pont Croesor, I'm going to try to draaaaag oooouuut the whooooole mooorning foooor aaaaas loooong aaaaas IIIIII caaaaan.

 

[EM2]

Sadly for the OP and for me, they are unlikely to feature in any quantity of quality in Holyhead ferry terminal in the small hours of the morning Otherwise a 5 hour fester might not be so arduous.

They might well do actually, although I'm afraid that they are very unlikely to be the most resplendent specimens.

 

[tivoli]

Got stuck in Holyhead a few years ago, vaguely remember some B&Bs offering short term beds, say 3/4 hours, maybe worth some research if understandable thought of wandering around the station for hours doesn't appeal.