The Cities, Walked EarlyNotebook No 134June 2026
The cross-border train at the end of the working day, two and a quarter hours through east Ulster and the Boyne valley, with the light going behind you.
Collected by Deborah. Read her editorial perspective
Our experience of travel often grounds itself in the predictable. Consider your late September Friday, on the five forty-five Enterprise from Belfast to Dublin. The fading light signals the close of the work week as you leave Lanyon Place, and your day's obligations begin to recede.
Dublin (Trinity
For this particular journey, we opt for the thoughtful indulgence of a first-class ticket. Imagine a seat at a table, a small bottle of wine presented alongside a meal, all savored as the land blurs outside your window, a quiet satisfaction rarely found on Ireland's railway lines.
This entire evening functions as a single progression, the train arriving at Connolly by eight. We then take the ten-minute walk to Chapter One for a late tasting menu.
The Ireland Edit Way
Cut the itinerary in half, then cut it again. The letter we send before every first visit.
Every hotel change costs you half a day. Luxury, in Ireland, is staying put.
Six questions we apply before booking any room in Ireland. The November test, the dinner-twice test, the landscape-over-room test.
To understand Ireland, stop looking at the castles and start looking at the kitchen table.
From the notebook
Collected notes. A few times each season.