RE: How to enjoy winter driving...
Discussion
I find the point when you’re sitting there getting ready to disembark at Calais one of the most exciting bits of an entire trip. I’m quite sad in that I sit there with “Bat Out of Hell” waiting to play.
We’re lucky down in Kent because we’re right at the terminals already meaning that we can have a day trip driving around rural France at the drop of a hat. I had a memorable day in my 205 in October last year. Drove for a few hours with the sat nav set to avoid motorways and found some great roads, had moules & frites then returned home. Again, Le Touquet for lunch is only an hour or so down the road.
We’re lucky down in Kent because we’re right at the terminals already meaning that we can have a day trip driving around rural France at the drop of a hat. I had a memorable day in my 205 in October last year. Drove for a few hours with the sat nav set to avoid motorways and found some great roads, had moules & frites then returned home. Again, Le Touquet for lunch is only an hour or so down the road.
LOTS more speed cameras in France this year. I spent a week near Annecy, and another week near Epernay, and there were many more in new locations I hadn't seen on previous visits.
I got flashed at about 135 kph on the peage, which was a relief, as I had been travelling at a *little* more than that for the previous hour. Ticket hasn't come yet though, despite the recently granted access to the DVLA database.
There was a time when France was an amazing place to drive a fast car using good judgement, and have confidence all would be well. Not so sure these days.
I got flashed at about 135 kph on the peage, which was a relief, as I had been travelling at a *little* more than that for the previous hour. Ticket hasn't come yet though, despite the recently granted access to the DVLA database.
There was a time when France was an amazing place to drive a fast car using good judgement, and have confidence all would be well. Not so sure these days.
Definitely agree with the cartel
Less so with the crowd free European travel
Yes France is great but you pay
Belgium can ground you around Brussels and antwerp just as much as the m25 and autobahns tend to suck south from Frankfurt to nuremberg or between Stuttgart and munich
But if you travel at night it s a treat
Less so with the crowd free European travel
Yes France is great but you pay
Belgium can ground you around Brussels and antwerp just as much as the m25 and autobahns tend to suck south from Frankfurt to nuremberg or between Stuttgart and munich
But if you travel at night it s a treat
Haha nice bit of nostalgia there. There is a Jensen 541 somewhere that holds the London to Paris (Marble Arch to Arc de Triomphe) record using this service - an incredible 2 hours 20 minutes. Couldn't do that now. See link http://www.jensen541.com/index2.htm
Driving on the continent has been great for us. We waft along in a Lexus LS, which I find perfect. The kids sleep easily due to zero road noise, the stereo pumps out a great quality sound, and I do find the traffic flow to be so much easier than here in the UK that the difference isnt even funny.
Must admit, I laughed at the reference to returning to the UK and doing ridiculously slow speeds, because that is exactly my experience of driving around and into central London. Still, I would expect if you tried to do the same in many other continental cities, you'd probably have the same result.
We recently drove down to Barcelona via Andorra, and I must say, the continental side was a real pleasure. The weather was certainly better, the roads, the food tasted fresher. In fact, everything was better, barring the fact that we have UK jobs.
If not for that, we'd move in a heartbeat.
Must admit, I laughed at the reference to returning to the UK and doing ridiculously slow speeds, because that is exactly my experience of driving around and into central London. Still, I would expect if you tried to do the same in many other continental cities, you'd probably have the same result.
We recently drove down to Barcelona via Andorra, and I must say, the continental side was a real pleasure. The weather was certainly better, the roads, the food tasted fresher. In fact, everything was better, barring the fact that we have UK jobs.
If not for that, we'd move in a heartbeat.
vikingaero said:
Years ago Eurotunnel used to do £9 night return fares - travel after 6pm, return before 6am. We live 35 mins from the Tunnel and used the £9 fares many times for dinner in Le Touquet. Dem were da daze.
Excellent. Off-peak travel and yield-maximisation schemes can produce some of the best travel deals, ever. Some amusing stories often go along with such travel, especially when younger.It's a lot more of a hassle to pop over to the US from Blighty, but you'll be guaranteed to get away from the cold, if that's what you'd like. Choose from beaches, deserts, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath... it's all here.
Cost is not an issue. Both DFDS & P & O offer season tickets for a minimum of 6 x single crossings. The cost savings are worth checking out.
I have just bought a return crossing over the holiday period for £36 each way with a £30 supplement for each crossing. Compare that with £100 + each way sans season ticket. I'll be quids in after making another return trip in 2018 (Geneva Motor Show?) and then have a pair of effectively free tickets for use later in the year (Le Mans?).
If you travel even more frequently to France for the friendly people (controversial!), sensational scenery and great driving (watch out for the planned 80 kmh N road and 120 kmh autoroute speed limits in 2018) you can get the cost down towards £30 each way.
Worth hunting down by digging deep on the ferry companies' websites.
If you plan on serious winter driving in colder areas of Europe it is well worth investing in some winter tyres - the difference with normal boots is incredible and may mean not having to "chain-up" (it always seems to be dark and a blizzard when I am forced to do so...)
I have just bought a return crossing over the holiday period for £36 each way with a £30 supplement for each crossing. Compare that with £100 + each way sans season ticket. I'll be quids in after making another return trip in 2018 (Geneva Motor Show?) and then have a pair of effectively free tickets for use later in the year (Le Mans?).
If you travel even more frequently to France for the friendly people (controversial!), sensational scenery and great driving (watch out for the planned 80 kmh N road and 120 kmh autoroute speed limits in 2018) you can get the cost down towards £30 each way.
Worth hunting down by digging deep on the ferry companies' websites.
If you plan on serious winter driving in colder areas of Europe it is well worth investing in some winter tyres - the difference with normal boots is incredible and may mean not having to "chain-up" (it always seems to be dark and a blizzard when I am forced to do so...)
Driving in Europe is always lovely because it means you're on holiday, even if you've made une slight mistake by traversing the Pyranees when it's freezing in a RWD car on summer tyres. And les gendarmes are so polite, with helpful directions to the nearest cash point. They even come along to make sure you don't get lost.
And no ones mentioned that awesome cattle truck of a car train that used to rattle from Calais to Nice. That was great!
And no ones mentioned that awesome cattle truck of a car train that used to rattle from Calais to Nice. That was great!
Speedgirl said:
Driving in Europe is always lovely because it means you're on holiday, even if you've made une slight mistake by traversing the Pyranees when it's freezing in a RWD car on summer tyres. And les gendarmes are so polite, with helpful directions to the nearest cash point. They even come along to make sure you don't get lost.
And no ones mentioned that awesome cattle truck of a car train that used to rattle from Calais to Nice. That was great!
Ah, Le Train-Auto! Brilliant service. A tad off-topic but when I lived in Paris in the late 80s with 2 very young children it was the perfect way to travel to the south of France. Drop car off at Gare de Lyon at 8pm. Dinner in a local resto. On board train by 10pm. Sleep. Off train in Marseilles, Nice, Toulouse or wherever at 6 am. Petit dejeuner in the station included with the ticket. Car delivered to the front of the station. On the road by 7am. Amazing but long gone now. And no ones mentioned that awesome cattle truck of a car train that used to rattle from Calais to Nice. That was great!
Speedgirl said:
Driving in Europe is always lovely because it means you're on holiday, even if you've made une slight mistake by traversing the Pyranees when it's freezing in a RWD car on summer tyres. And les gendarmes are so polite, with helpful directions to the nearest cash point. They even come along to make sure you don't get lost.
And no ones mentioned that awesome cattle truck of a car train that used to rattle from Calais to Nice. That was great!
Ah, Le Train-Auto! Brilliant service. A tad off-topic but when I lived in Paris in the late 80s with 2 very young children it was the perfect way to travel to the south of France. Drop car off at Gare de Lyon at 8pm. Dinner in a local resto. On board train by 10pm. Sleep. Off train in Marseilles, Nice, Toulouse or wherever at 6 am. Petit dejeuner in the station included with the ticket. Car delivered to the front of the station. On the road by 7am. Amazing but long gone now. And no ones mentioned that awesome cattle truck of a car train that used to rattle from Calais to Nice. That was great!
We did that Calais to Nice and back car train with my old Renault 5 Turbo 2 on our pilgrimage to Corsica in 2003 for our honeymoon. amongst all the bland family cars, you could sense the vehicle loaders itching to get their hands on the keys to my car!
Believe it or not it was considered quite a risky journey. The train would have to stop occasionally in central France during the night (crew changes, signalling etc.). The local criminals knew this and would sometimes break into the heavily-laden vehicles on the stationary wagons and help themselves to some British holiday luggage. I guess it was France's answer to The Great Train Robbery.
Believe it or not it was considered quite a risky journey. The train would have to stop occasionally in central France during the night (crew changes, signalling etc.). The local criminals knew this and would sometimes break into the heavily-laden vehicles on the stationary wagons and help themselves to some British holiday luggage. I guess it was France's answer to The Great Train Robbery.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff