UKC

Hello,

As the title says, any one traveled via Calais in the last couple of weeks???

If so how was it?

The BBC seem to be playing it down I've not heard of any disruption beyond time delays to civilians using the port, however mr farage and some websites are suggesting its akin to a war zone, in an interview that I saw Mr F. suggested that the great unwashed were trying to open his car doors (highly unlikely I know!)

However I'm due to travel down with my kids for a couple of weeks and my parents are currently pooping themselves as they think I'm going to end up getting stabbed or some such for a ride back to the uk!

Anyone had any first hand experience???

ta
Rob

In reply to robal:
Took the ferry on Saturday evening with no problems. There was a scorched area of motorway with some tooled-up gendarmes hanging around.

In reply to robal:



I love the mental image of Farage, in trademark atire in his car with three Eritreans, rolling through customs hissing "Act natural... act natural..."

In reply to MG:

Was this on the way back to the UK or outward ?

In reply to sbc_10:

Back. Traffic flowing freely the other way too, though.

In reply to robal:

Came back via the tunnel on Saturday. No problems at all.

In reply to robal:

Two weeks ago we went via the tunnel, Operation Stack was in force on the Saturday, by Sunday morning it had cleared but we were delayed (from 1030 to 1140) presumably as a result of clearing the backlog of trucks.

Coming back this weekend we had a booking for 0030 on Sunday, got to Calais at 1900 on Saturday evening, at the automatic check-in we were offered the 2010 crossing so took it but actually got on the 1950 one. Was back home (Skipton area) by just after midnight.

The great unwashed seemed more interested in stuffing their faces at the Burger King at the terminal than pestering us.

In reply to robal:

Went out on 20th July and back on 28th via tunnel. No issues whatsoever, although lots of people milling around on roundabouts outside the terminal. In fact, probably the slickest journey I've ever had through the tunnel, but driving past 25 miles of standing wagons on the M20 clearly demonstrated others haven't been so lucky.

Well then, it appears that all is ok, I assumed that it would be but my parents have this incredible ability to wind me up over things like this!

Thanks all!

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

I'd pay good money to see this, although I think it'd add fuel to his fire which is the last thing that man needs!

In reply to robal:

I drove London to Paris on Thursday and Paris to London on Friday both times on the tunnel. The worst part was getting to the tunnel on UK side. The M20 being closed is a ballache and added an hour and a bit to the journey. Once at the terminal it was plain sailing under the channel and on to Paris.

Coming back there was a brief delay (15 mins) due to high volumes of traffic trying to get to the ferry terminals but the tunnel was clear and we arrived early and got an earlier one. Saw about 5 migrants (fewer than usual) and made easy progress back to London.

Summary: M20 southbound is the only problem.

In reply to robal:

Unless that fire were directly underneath the man, of course.

In reply to robal:
Came back through Dunkirk 2 weeks ago and faced queues and a 4 hour delay. Stack in progress in Kent but we had no trouble getting to the M25

In reply to robal:

Came over here to France (by P&O) early on Tuesday 28th, via M2 (hotel near Canterbury). No problems whatsoever. Other than being able to see the immigrants shacks next to the motorway, didn't even see anybody who looked like a potential immigrant. The former My FerryLink workers are more of a potential problem, but other than them hanging a dummy off the bridge of one of their old ships that they hijacked a couple of weeks ago, they were quiet that day. I'd try to keep up to date with what they are up to.

Also the farmers are getting a bit restive at the moment. One group were handing out saucissons to those they delayed, but we weren't so fortunate.

In reply to robal:

My husband and kids came back via Calais about a week and a half ago. Apart from seeing some tents and a lot of big fences, there was no sign of anything amiss. They had no problems whatsoever.

In reply to robal:
Went Dover-Dunkirk on DFDS on 18th July - delayed due to avoiding M20, as we went M2. When that snarled up, we went cross-country for the last bit. Missed our crossing and had to get the one 2 hours later, which was delayed a further 1/2 hour, which wasn't ideal, but not the end of the world.

No problems coming back on 26th, although Dunkirk ferry terminal is a miserable place to spend any time.

My wife, her parents and our little one are booked on the Channel Tunnel in September. Think F-i-L is seriously considering changing the crossing to Portsmouth-Le Havre - can't imagine why he didn't do this in the first place, as they're staying around Deauville! As it is, they'll be driving miles more than they need to.