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The UK and Ireland: Cities

The UK and Ireland are full of energetic cities with rich cultural heritage. We love to advise Alpine Exploratory clients about extending their trip to take in such places as Edinburgh, Manchester and Dublin. Visiting a city can be an invigourating contrast and a way to celebrate a succcesful trip to the mountains.

Clients receive our detailed Travel Notes on booking; as well as directions to and from the following cities relevant to each route, we include brief hotel lists that we maintain as we pass through on our recces.

Please tell us how many days you have to spare, and we'll advise. Thank you.

Cities in the UK and Ireland

England: London, Manchester
Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness
Ireland: Dublin, Cork

The UK and Ireland with Alpine Exploratory
Trip	Arrival town	Departure town	Trains in a day from London?		Airports
Trip	Arrival town	Departure town	There	Back	Arrival	Departure
Affric Kintail Way	Drumnadrochit	Morvich			Inverness	Inverness
Arran Coastal Way	Brodick	Brodick			Glasgow	Glasgow
Hebridean Way	Barra	Stornoway			Barra	Stornoway
Lake District Tour	Keswick	Keswick			Manchester	Manchester
Kerry Way (Ireland)	Killarney	Killarney			Cork	Cork
Snowdonia Way	Machynlleth	Conwy			Manchester	Manchester
West Highland Way	Milngavie	Fort William			Glasgow	Glasgow

Please see our pages for trips to the Alps and Scandinavia.

Alpine Exploratory in the UK and Ireland

Holidays

England

For our treks in Northern England, Manchester is the key city. Fly here instead of London for a shorter train ride to the start.

About Manchester
Recognisably the UK's second city after London, Manchester has much of the bustle in a compact city centre. The industrial revolution started here, the original Lowell, Massachusetts. Mills and warehouses have become offices and apartments. Manchester pulls people in from across the North and was Alpine Exploratory's local capital during our years based in Settle.
(Photo: Apartments in Manchester.)

Scotland

Our treks in Scotland are convenient for both Edinburgh and Glasgow; in fact the West Highland Way starts from a suburb of Glasgow, Milngavie. The two cities are linked by half-hourly trains taking one hour.

About Edinburgh
Scotland's capital but smaller than Glasgow, Edinburgh is first on the list for tourists because of its sheer look: the quality of architecture and the situation on seven hills. August is the big festival month and sees the streets surging. At Alpine Exploratory we love having our base here. Edinburgh Airport is surprisingly well-linked to North America and Europe.
(Photo: Edinburgh Castle from Calton Hill.)

About Glasgow
Glasgow with Manchester and Birmingham is a formerly industrial city spread over a large area. The subway is the only one in the UK outside London. We like to explore widely in Glasgow from West to East, linking busy high streets (shops, restaurants) with the grand central buildings. The underground helps show the pattern of economic ups and downs either side of the River Clyde.
(Photo: The River Clyde in Glasgow.)

About Inverness
Inverness, towards the North end of Scotland, is not really anywhere near the North at all, such is the extent of the Highlands in every direction (except the North East). Inverness is the capital for a wide region, therefore, and does it well, a handsome old centre with plenty going on. Inverness airport has grown over recent years and is near town.
(Photo: Inverness Castle on the River Ness.)

Ireland

Our one trek in Ireland, as yet, is the Kerry Way and it starts in Killarney which is a modest train ride from Cork. Afterwards, with a change, the train goes from Killarney to Dublin and in this way we can make a little tour of Ireland.

About Dublin
One of the brightest and boldest places in these islands, Dublin jumps out for its mix of grand city scenes and colourful tourist life. The River Liffey is an unmistakable strand, West to East into the sea, with newer offices along its length as you walk out of town.
(Photo: Flats by the river in Dublin.)

The contrast between city and countryside, here in Richmond on the Coast to Coast trail

Walking in the UK

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