Three days and nights in 'Dublin's Fair City' with guided walks to explore the commercial, maritime, transport and industrial legacy of the city, including its remarkable Georgian architecture, the walks linked by travel on public transport.

Dublin is famed not only for its Georgian architecture but also the Liffey, with its fine bridges, and of course, Guinness. On our Dublin Safari, we will see lots of architecture as well as those bridges but Guinness will have to wait for the evenings!

As the original capital city of Ireland, and when with the Act of Union, Ireland became part of the United Kingdom and its status changed, Dublin was always an important 'first city' and this accounts for the many fine buildings such as the Custom House on the river front. The 19^th and 20^th century brought literary and artistic success to the city, which once more is thriving with new developments, particularly in the docks.

Our visit will begin, on Friday, with our usual look at the heart of the city, centred on Grafton and O'Connell Streets. Among the highlights will be a branch of Bewlay's coffee -houses decorated with elaborate Egyptian mosaic; the General Post Office building; and Clery's Department Store, similar in style to Selfridge's in London. We will also be able to wander a little in the grounds of Trinity College, originally set up in 1592, with its many 18^th century buildings. Of particular interest will be the fine railings around the grounds of the College, which were cast by various local iron founders. Street furniture, and iron work in particular, will feature in this Safari, as Dublin was lucky not to sacrifice its railings in World War 2. We will be able also to inspect a number of fine Liffey bridges, including the Ha'penny Bridge which was cast in Coalbrookdale in 1816 as well as Dublin's oldest bridge, the Liam Mellowes Bridge dating from 1768.

Two important industries in the city were the brewing of beer and the distilling of whiskey. The Jamieson family, originally from Alloa in Scotland, moved to Dublin and many of their original buildings remain in the Smithfield area, once an area where horses were sold. South of the river lies the enormous site which is the Guinness brewery. The development of the brewery has affected the whole area, with hop and malt stores and housing as well as the brewery itself. Another important structure we will see will be the 18^th century tower mill, belonging to Guinness, which is the tallest in Europe. Other Guinness remains are houses and hostels built for their workers by the Iveagh Trust, which was funded by the Guinness family.

On Saturday, we will turn our attention to Dublin's two canals, the Royal and the Grand, and its Dockland area. Originally goods were unloaded onto quays on the Liffey but, in the early 19^th century, docks were built close to the Custom House, with warehousing still remaining, designed by John Rennie. This is now the heart of a thriving new development close to the centre of town.

Further down the Liffey is the area around Spencer Dock, on the Royal Canal. This faces imminent development, so we will have the chance of seeing warehousing as well as railway stations and goods yards, which will soon disappear. Here we will see some of Dublin's many terminus train stations. Later, we will look at the remains of the Grand Canal on the south side of the Liffey. This area too is undergoing change, but here may of the building will be refurbished. This includes the insertion of a new glass-sided building within the cast iron columns of an old gas holder. Our day will finish with a walk along the canal to admire Georgian architecture and 18^th century canal bridges.

Sunday will be our day (or, rather, half day) at the seaside! We will take the DART commuter line to Dun Laoghaire, formerly Kingstown, so called after George IV who left Ireland from this port. We will be able to see typical sea-side remains, from piers to hotels, as well as less common sites, such as an anemometer house on the pier which dates from the mid 19^th century and is in the form of a small Egyptian mausoleum. The line from Dublin to Kingstown, engineered by Charles Blacker Vignoles, was opened in 1834, the world's first commuter railway, as well as Ireland's first railway line. We will be able to look at many original features along the line as well as admire fabulous views across Dublin Bay. We will break our journey at Blackrock station, which remains relatively unaltered from the time the line was opened, Those even more adventurous can journey on to Dalkey, following the route of the 1844 atmospheric railway, the longest lasting such line in the world.

This is not a complete list of everything we will see but highlights some of the more remarkable sites. Despite a full timetable, we will of course be able to enjoy the lifestyle for which Dublin and Ireland are renowned!