Any - Avoiding Calais

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 06:52
Any - Avoiding Calais - oldroverboy.

friends went for a bit of shopping, a nice lunch and some Hooch.

Chaos on the return approach roads, eventually got there late, but ferry co "not to worry" "you're not the only ones".

car thoroughly looked at by Borderforce...

Has put me off going by car back to visit friends in Belgium.

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 08:35
Any - Avoiding Calais - Bromptonaut

Chaos on the return approach roads, eventually got there late, but ferry co "not to worry" "you're not the only ones".

car thoroughly looked at by Borderforce...

Has put me off going by car back to visit friends in Belgium.

We got caught in something similar a few days before Christmas. A16 close either side of Chunnel treminal.

Happens quite regularly. Usually, but not always, refugee related. As your friend discovered the operators contingency plans work well.

Crossing to Dunkerque might be better? It's not exempt from disruption but much smaller squatter camp there and more ways out of the port.

Anyway, Brexit and repatriation of the UK border controls will solve the problem. The squatters will all be in Kent by 2018.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 25/06/2016 at 08:38

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 09:46
Any - Avoiding Calais - RT

After 2018, we simply deport them back to France - that's something else we couldn't do because of the EU.

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 17:50
Any - Avoiding Calais - Bromptonaut

After 2018, we simply deport them back to France - that's something else we couldn't do because of the EU.

You seriously believe France will accept them? Certainly the Dublin regulation would no longer apply.

Another Brexit delusion I think.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 25/06/2016 at 17:54

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 18:56
Any - Avoiding Calais - brum

The ferry companies will not allow these people on.

England will not allow them to disembark or will put them on the next ferry back plus a fine of £2000 per person payable by the ferry company. If France won't allow them to disembark on the way back, then the squatter camp moves to the ferry itself.

Common sense will apply and the ferry's will deny passage.

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 21:23
Any - Avoiding Calais - focussed

Our local (french) paper France Ouest reported about six weeks ago that an illegal immigrant had been discovered on one of the Brittany Ferries ferries shortly after leaving St Malo Brittany bound for Portsmouth.

This ship is not a little cross-channel Dover-Calais ship, it's a b***** great cruise ferry.

The Captain turned the ship around, went back to St Malo and the gendarmes frog-marched (sorry!) the illegal off the ship.

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 21:25
Any - Avoiding Calais - hillman

Who needs ferries ? I watched a video of an inflatable boat that was being towed through a seaside village nightly to sail across the channel and pick up a load of migrants to supplement the income of the owner. I think you'll find that greed will win over sense.

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Sat 25 Jun 2016 21:51
Any - Avoiding Calais - Smileyman

Biggest worry is for stowaways hiding inside cars, for both ferries or tunnel traffic .... there is one celebrated case of a migrant hiding and only getting out of a car after the driver had parked up on their home driveway!

Edited by Smileyman on 25/06/2016 at 21:53

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Fri 8 Jul 2016 23:34
Any - Avoiding Calais - Avant

"Has put me off going by car back to visit friends in Belgium."

From Colchester you could consider Harwich / Hook of Holland, or wherever it is in Kent to Ostend (used to be Dover but I think it may now be Ramsgate).

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Fri 8 Jul 2016 23:54
Any - Avoiding Calais - Smileyman

No passenger ferries go from Ramsgate anymore - the operator went bust, local council lost a lot of money as a result.

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Sat 9 Jul 2016 11:21
Any - Avoiding Calais - Benet

Politics aside, I have used Dover - Dunkirk over the years with no problem, and will be going again in a couple of weeks. The approach roads on the French side are much less crowded and I think the ferries are as well. You're on the water for 2 hours, but sometimes it's nice to have that extra time to relax and have a meal.

Edited by Benet on 09/07/2016 at 11:22

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Sat 9 Jul 2016 13:19
Any - Avoiding Calais - quizman

I used to love going to France, but these delays at Calais and the French Air controller's constant strikes puts me right off.

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Sun 10 Jul 2016 08:24
Any - Avoiding Calais - Bracket

There and back via the Tunnel yesterday with no problems, or migrants trying to hitch a ride.

Re: ferry via tunnel; I've had two cars dinged on ferries by deck crews packing cars in side-by-side like sardines and won't use ferries again for that reason.

On the tunnel trains, cars go nose to tail as nature intended, but of course, there will always be one owner who feels that advice to leave the car in gear/Park with the handbrake on doesn't apply.

There's also a new Thing where parents allow kids out of the car to run around on the train, bashing into door mirrors.

"Could have saved money on the ferry".

Possibly. I took four people over on the tunnel yesterday, cost was £23 each way = £5.75 a head.

Edited by Bracket on 10/07/2016 at 08:29

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Sun 10 Jul 2016 14:45
Any - Avoiding Calais - Avant

How did you do it so cheaply, Bracket? Last time I crossed the Channel (about this time in July, two years ago), it was over £150 return, quite a lot more than P & O.

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 09:38
Any - Avoiding Calais - Bracket

How did you do it so cheaply, Bracket? Last time I crossed the Channel (about this time in July, two years ago), it was over £150 return, quite a lot more than P & O.

I'm on the mailing list so get offers (occasionally.) Also I scrounge around for weekend savers and suchlike, and can travel at unsocial hours. I tend to book about three weeks in advance. Had some great day-trips including a couple at just £16 return.

The two-day returns and Short Stay Saver work for me. Fares rise rapidly in the summer and at popular times.

Fares are per car, so four people don't cost any more than one. A long weekend in Brugge (June last year) cost me £63 each way, travelling at 10:50 out and 17:30 or so back.

"+ £23 Day Trip & Overnight - Ticket must be purchased as part of a 2 day return. Return must be completed by midnight (local time) on the second calendar day."

I signed up to the Frequent Traveller scheme a few years ago, but found it didn't really save any money.

I still have the free wrist***ch from the Chunnel opening ceremony. Doesn't seem to get me any upgrades. :-)

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Sun 10 Jul 2016 17:34
Any - Avoiding Calais - oldroverboy.

I used to love going to France, but these delays at Calais and the French Air controller's constant strikes puts me right off.

Ditto!

I speak fluent french, my ex was swiss/french, youngroverbelles are swiss/french, but the days of being able to drive from calais to geneva via reims on the routes nationales are long past.

On top of which the bypasses round so many of the towns mean it needs a deliberate loss of time to find a nice Auberge for food, and of course no wine with lunch.

I let easyjet take the strain, and use local buses trains where I am.

we used italian railways a couple of weeks ago Milan verona £11 each way buying tickets on the day at the station.. 128km.. try that in the UK..

Last friday in Cologne... 2.80 euros to the airport by train.

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 00:28
Any - Avoiding Calais - Avant

"....the days of being able to drive from calais to geneva via reims on the routes nationales are long past."

Why's that, ORB? I drove from Calais to Zurich via Reims just two years ago with no problems. Do you just mean the current problems at Calais?

Actually now we're down in Dorset, I'd probably use a ferry from somewhere other than Dover. The extra few hours would better spent on a ferry than on the M25 / M20.

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 10:37
Any - Avoiding Calais - oldroverboy.

Why's that, ORB? I drove from Calais to Zurich via Reims just two years ago with no problems. Do you just mean the current problems at Calais?

Last time I drove it, Dunkirk-lille-mauberge -reims chalons-st dizier-chaumont-langres gray besancon-pontarlier-vallorbe, lots of the towns had new bypasses and many of the cafes/restaurants have disappeared leading to a macdonaldisation of food outlets.

Pehaps I'm too nostalgic..

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 11:01
Any - Avoiding Calais - Bracket

Also for the booze-cruisers; Calais Wine Supermarket (British-run) offers free Chunnel tickets if you spend £300 in their store. Handy for wedding/party purchases:

www.calaiswine.co.uk/travel-offers/free-tunnel-cro...g

Quite a few exclusions on dates, though.

The preferred lunch stop in Calais is Le Buissoniere. Seasonal menu, Art Deco surroundings, always charming.

restaurant-calais.com/cariboost1/

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 22:59
Any - Avoiding Calais - Smileyman

sounds like you had plenty of time to stop & enjoy the restuarants - I recall the drive from my youth with dad driving, and have driven myself both before the A26 and with the A26, the great advantage is to greatly reduce the journey time across France, get to the Alps / Switzerland & beyond so much more quickly - drivable in one day with mininal stops and keeping to the 130 kph speed limit (and not going faster as I found out once to my cost as I have mentioned before in previous threads).

Downside - well motorway driving all day is boring, tolls do add up (but saving in hotel bills) and motoring at 80mph does use more fuel than going at 50mph.

Coming from London (before moving to Kent) dualling the A2 from Faversham to (almost) Dover helped too. Still always to Calais, never Bolougne or Dunkirk.

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