John, I'm only aware of one way in, which is from the eastbound lane of the M20. If you're coming from the East, say from Folkestone or Dover, I thought you had to go past the tunnel terminal on the A20 and then join the eastbound M20 off-slip road leading to the tunnel toll booths. Are there any other 'legal' ways in?
I live in Folkestone, and travel regularly to and fro. Last week had no problems except a short delay going. Yesterday I was travelling home from Egham in Surrey and what should be a 2-hr trip took 4. Some of the delay was due to an accident on the M25, but most of it due to taking alternative routes to Folkestone because of the closure of the M20 between junctions 9 & 13. Badly signposted, and alternative route very busy so we decided to take our own alternative route. Twitter is the best source of information, but due to the ongoing migrant problems in Calais anything is likely to happen and shut the tunnel at any time with no notice. Nightmare.
Thanks for all replies.
It's a total pain - I like to plan and have everything just so. Ah well, fingers crossed for next week.
I have done the Newhaven -Dieppe previously - it was good. But husband isn't a massive ferry fan. We did the overnight one earlier this year and he didn't complain too much. It worked well for the few days we had available.
To be fair though, living in Yorkshire means that all the main ferry/crossings are a good four hour drive away - so we tend to pick the Eurotunnel as it's less hassle (usually).
It will all be over in two weeks time. A solution is being worked out to end the strikes and the problem of ‘clandestines’ will recede with the reduced amount of freight vehicles moving in August.
Access to both sides is exasperated by the ‘grands departs’, but will soon return to normal as the number of ships increases and more sailings are operated.
Depends where you are in France. We always use Portsmouth to St Malo. Easy drive both ends for us (Sussex to Gironde) and easier to keep the road links as short as possible. Ferry costs a bit more but offset by lower cost and time driving both sides. Timing good on this route as well as they don’t wake you up too early.
Beat me to it! That's my preferred route!
And....whole cars can be burnt when the poor darlings get a little more upset :-)
The joy of Dover is that it is served by two main arteries. The M20 was closed for Operation Stack yesterday so the traffic was diverted via the M2/A2. No fuss, no bother, no delays.
Came over yesterday evening. Operation Stack was being operated but Dover traffic was diverted via the M2 and apart from a slow moving queue down Jubilee Way there were no hold ups at all.
28 hours in South East England just about did my head in, it seems like an alien foreign country and I was so glad to get home!
That's the amazing thing John. Tyres can be lit willy nilly to blockade roads & tunnels etc but if I tried to light a fire using a tyre in my garden as I did in the good old days I would be fined silly money and sent to The Bastille !
Remember if your in france and get into any sort of trouble just set fire to a load of tyres no government employed police or security people will stop you and you can do just what you want.
Just don't light a bonfire in your garden!
This blockade is in contravention of the EU free movement so France can pay the fine for sitting on their backsides and doing nothing
Only two sailings per day David, shame as it's my preferred route when they aren't charging too much.
You would think so Peter but the union leader is a real pain in the backside, a glory hunter seeking the headlines - he makes Red Robbo look like Peter Pan.
Good luck.
We're going back to our second home in the Nord-Pas de Calais tomorrow afternoon, banking on he expectation that the strikers will need to have their 2 hour lunch break at 12 noon, and with 2 bottles of red they won't be inclined to return.
Expect the expected... asylum seekers, breakdowns, 'technical problems', demonstrators...c'est la vie...shrugs
Use LD Lines from Diepe to Newhaven
There are several ways into the Eurotunnel terminal not just the main one, thank goodness.
Going up ten days ago was no problem but coming back on the tunnel on saturday afternoon was a nightmare with junctions 8 to 11 closed on the M20 so all traffic had to take the A20 which was horrible. Operation Stack had to be implemented cos' asylum eekers were found in the tunnel delaying all trains by two hours. The closed motorway (for lorry stacking) caused us a similar two-hour delay. The M20 was effectively closed from the exit at the M25 to the last exit before the tunnel. This can happen at any time apparently due to asylum seekers in the tunnel, strikes in France or on the ships or other tunnel problems. Nobody is guaranteed a trouble-free crossing though most crossings are fine.
Expect the unexpected...
Guests traveled from up N'th and had no problems Saturday, whereas DFDS had closed the operation at Calais and we had to divert to Dunkirque but they were working extra hard to shift everyone as fast as they could
Thank you for your replies.
Your 40 min delay, Jacqueline, doesn't sound too bad. I'm not overly worried about small delays - just getting stuck in a huge traffic jam and missing our crossing. H
I am following Kent police and Eurotunnel on Twitter for updates. We are travelling from up North - so always allow a good few hours to get there anyhow.
Fingers crossed for a smooth run. :)
came back on the dover-calais ferry last week. ferries delayed by 40 mins ? due to operation stack on the M20. We had to take the M2 and A2 to get to Dover instead of M20. Diversion signs rare indeed, must have been complicated for foreign tourists. Good luck!