GO ADVICE:From touring southwest Britain by car to using the train to visit European cities, JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
Travelling with elderly mother
I would like to take my mother on holiday to southwest Britain using my own car, taking the ferry from Wexford during September. She is 85 and has impaired mobility, so airports are no longer an option. We would like to spend a week to 10 days touring, taking in Tintern Abbey/Bristol/Bath and maybe the north Devon coast. I am looking for recommendations on disability-friendly hotels with a special ambiance (nice more important than price) and recommended itineraries. The first and last nights would need to be near ferry ports if the sailings are early. I would welcome any suggestions you might have.
TM, Dublin
The ferries from Wexford are at about 9am and 9pm, so you will either have an early start from Dublin or stay in Wexford overnight. The return ferries are at about 2pm and 2am. Irish Ferries (irishferries.com) and Stena Line (stenaline.ie) operate the services.
The journey you plan would be about 400km, about four hours’ driving, from the ferry port to the north Devon coast. You should break it up into a number of sections and base yourselves in two or three places and spend time exploring each area.
I always feel that it is better to go to the furthest point and work your way back. It helps avoid a mad dash on the last day and you would have time to comfortably reach Devon on the first day if you take the 9am ferry.
The north Devon coast is full of beaches and dramatic scenery. The towns of Lynton and Lynmouth are within the Exmoor National Park and known as the Little Switzerland of England. Here could be a nice place for a base to explore Devon.
In September, there are two festivals that may be of interest, the Appledore Book Festival (appledorebookfestival.co.uk), from September 24th to October 2nd, and the Agatha Christie Festival, from September 11th to 18th, which is centred around Torquay and the English Riviera, (visitdevon.co.uk).
Bath is an obvious location to stay, due to the lovely city and surrounding countryside. Tintern Abbey is easily accessible from Bath as is Bristol, the Cheddar Gorge and the Wye Valley. Cardiff would also be a nice city to stay in, and has a good selection of nice hotels (visitcardiff.com). From there, you could explore the Forest of Dean, the Severn Valley and Gloucester.
When it comes to accommodation, there is a very good guide to accessible hotels on enjoyengland.com, where accommodation is graded on accessibility. This will help you choose the most suitable one for your mother.
Three-star hotels in the UK tend to be patchy on quality, so it would be better if you could choose four-star properties. The websites openbritain.net and accessibleguide.co.uk are useful resources for planning your trip, as is sawdays.co.uk, a selection of special places to stay.
Looking for Irish ‘craic’
We are a German family of four and are experiencing new heights of popularity since moving to Dublin a year ago. Waves of visitors have arrived from all over Europe, and now our first American friends are coming over for one week in August. I think I have covered most of the bases, but one of their daughters turns 14 on August 25th and they would like to go to a “typical Irish place for some craic”. I am determined not to take them to either Johnnie Fox’s or the Merry Ploughboy. Any other suggestions in the Dublin area would be greatly appreciated.
SH, Dublin
You could take the family to Causey Farm, in Co Meath, for a real Irish experience. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during this month, it has an Irish afternoon where you learn to milk cows, dance a jig, cut turf, play a bodhrán and bog jump. See causey.ie for details.
For an evening out, what about the Irish House Party at the Lansdowne Hotel on Pembroke Road? This is a mixture of food, music, dance and fun. Guests learn an Irish song and can even get up and do a number too. Details from theirishhouseparty.com.
Seeing Europe by train
My sister is moving to Brussels in September for work. She hopes to visit other European cities while living there. Have you any suggestions for good value train passes? Are InterRail-type passes a good idea or is it better to get a pass that works for just a limited number of countries?
AC, Cork
InterRail (interrail.com) is a good way for her to see much of Europe at a good price. Other train websites to use for rail passes and special offers are bahn.de, which is the German network. It has the new website, bahn.ie, up and running for Irish customers. She can look at raileurope.com, b-europe.be and seat61.com.
UK without a passport
I am hoping to travel to the UK near the end of next month for the weekend, but my passport is out of date. Do I need a passport to travel there or will another form of identification be acceptable? I do not drive so have no driver’s licence. What other form of ID can I use?
BL, Waterford
You could have a passport in time for your trip if you apply now. The passport office guarantees turnaround in 10 working days for applications submitted through the Passport Express service operated by An Post in all local post offices.
If you are an Irish or British citizen, you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries, except if you travel with Ryanair, which insists on a passport.
Aer Lingus and Aer Arann will take a photo identification such as a school/college card, bus/travel pass, health/social insurance card and work ID. You can travel by ferry on this type of identification too. It is also useful to bring a utility/ telephone bill, and a copy of your passport.
Go ask Joan: E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com