INSTEAD of spending hours on the coach, train or motorway to London, you can visit a capital city that's much more pleasant and easy to reach - Dublin. The ferry service from Holyhead is excellent and the introduction of highspeed craft in recent years has made day-trips much more viable, with the crossing taking just over an hour and a half. There are also ferries from Liverpool, cheap flights from Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds-Bradford and a new ferry service starting from the port of Mostyn in North East Wales. Pick the right day and you can make the return trip for around a tenner if you leave the car behind. Dublin is the perfect city for a one or two day visit because it's fairly compact, very welcoming and there's plenty to see, whatever your interests. But if you're only going for a day, make up your mind beforehand what you want to see because wandering around aimlessly is both frustrating and tiring - and you'll miss so much. A good option for the first-time visitor is the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus which is worth trying just for the highly entertaining commentary - every driver's a comedian. | 
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