Eurotunnel or ferries?

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Graham
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Graham »

^
Please avoid unnecessary unpleasantness in your arguments.

Sorry, I won't be spending time reviewing and editing reported concerns.
Thornyone
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Thornyone »

mjr wrote:
Thornyone wrote:I suffer from extreme claustrophobia and so could not travel through the tunnel. But in any case I think that using it would destroy a lot of the sense of occasion: seeing the cliffs recede on one side and then the open sea, there is the feeling of remoteness about one’s destination. How does anyone know, going into a hole in the ground, that they have really travelled abroad and not been whisked away into a giant theme park somewhere outside Birmingham? :shock:

How do you know that hasn't happened any time when you close your eyes? :eek:

Your claustrophobia sounds pretty extreme. The channel tunnel is 7½m wide and I think the carriages are much wider than our usual 3m-ish trains.

I never close my eyes when travelling because I always want to know what’s happening :lol:.
Re the claustrophobia, I call my issue that, but it is actually cleithrophobia, which is little known even to most medics. Though similar to claustrophobia, there are significant differences. Unfortunately a 7.5m tunnel doesn’t really help, because the chief issue is not being able to get out when I want to, which is also why I can’t fly or use lifts, or even modern trains where I can’t open the door myself. I’ve had CBT in the past but it wasn’t a great help.
crazydave789
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by crazydave789 »

Thornyone wrote:I suffer from extreme claustrophobia and so could not travel through the tunnel. But in any case I think that using it would destroy a lot of the sense of occasion: seeing the cliffs recede on one side and then the open sea, there is the feeling of remoteness about one’s destination. How does anyone know, going into a hole in the ground, that they have really travelled abroad and not been whisked away into a giant theme park somewhere outside Birmingham? :shock:


the theme parks outside brum aren't so bad. could be worse you could end up in ......FRANCE...
Slowroad
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Slowroad »

Guys, please can you stop arguing in my thread? I think you have made your points. :-)
Thanks for all the comments about Eurotunnel, I gave them a call this morning and it is £20 each way for cycle & cyclist on two services a day - 8am and 15:30 going out, 12:30 and 18:00 coming home. You can't book on line, you have to ring.
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chocjohn9
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by chocjohn9 »

The eurotunnel service is good, no question, but last time i checked it only ran twice a day in each direction. 10am ish and 4pm ish. Meanwhile you can simply turn up and pay £20 and go on the next ferry. Once i remember puncturing and having to really having to bolt for it to catch the eurotunnel, which wasnt great......
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Used the hovercraft from Pegwell Bay many years ago, it combined the disadvantages of the other methods
Noisy, cramped, fast :wink:
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Slowroad
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Slowroad »

This is really a further question for the people who have used Eurotunnel before. Eurotunnel can't promise me an actual departure and arrival time, just say it's the 'next available train'. This is a worry if one has a train to London to catch on the way back! But is it actually an issue - is it all generally pretty quick once one has got to the meeting point?
Cheers!
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― Peter Golkin
chocjohn9
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by chocjohn9 »

Once the train stops and you in the seated transit van with trailer, disembark, there is a drive to the drop off point. You jump out and the bike is taken off the trailer. 10 mins max.
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mjr
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by mjr »

chocjohn9 wrote:Once the train stops and you in the seated transit van with trailer, disembark, there is a drive to the drop off point. You jump out and the bike is taken off the trailer. 10 mins max.

OK, but if you caught the 1800 return, what time were you at Holiday Inn Folkestone?

I sometimes wonder if all this uncertainty is an attempt to sell hotel rooms because you can't be sure of getting trains home.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Slowroad
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Slowroad »

Once the train stops and you in the seated transit van with trailer, disembark, there is a drive to the drop off point. You jump out and the bike is taken off the trailer. 10 mins max.

Thanks - that's when you arrive, so how long do you generally have to wait at the departure point for the 'next available train'?
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robgul
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by robgul »

Slowroad wrote:
Once the train stops and you in the seated transit van with trailer, disembark, there is a drive to the drop off point. You jump out and the bike is taken off the trailer. 10 mins max.

Thanks - that's when you arrive, so how long do you generally have to wait at the departure point for the 'next available train'?


From using it about 8 times it varies a little - going out UK-France tends to be a bit quicker and the bike/trailer gets priority boarding - coming back is sometimes a bit slower as the UK Border Control is more interested with more checks.

... and if you are coming back if you ask the driver nicely he will usually drop you at Folkestone West Station instead of the official point at the Holiday Inn Express (although it is pretty much downhill all the way back from HIE to the railway station) Ditto going out if there's a group of you, phone the driver (number on the paperwork) and ask.

Rob
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mjr
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by mjr »

Which is all lovely, thank you, but please, how long did it take? :(
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robgul
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by robgul »

mjr wrote:Which is all lovely, thank you, but please, how long did it take? :(


Last time : From bike on the ground (on/off the trailer) with pick-up at Folkestone West Station and drop-off at the Cite d'Europe at Coquelles:

Outwards - 2.25 hours
Inwards - 2.5 hours

Actual train time moving is 35 minutes BUT you obviously have the time taken to load the carriages and that makes it an average of about an hour from the minibus driving on the train to driving off.

... and before some smart-arse comes along and says the ferry is faster, it's not by the time you check-in, wait around and then get off (each time I've been on the ferry they made us wait until all the cars were off) Eurotunnel is faster and contrary to suggestions re the ferry fare up-thread usually cheaper.

Rob
E2E http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk
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Sweep
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by Sweep »

Thanks for all your posts on this rob.

You've converted me.
Sweep
hamster
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Re: Eurotunnel or ferries?

Post by hamster »

It's also worth looking at Eurostar to Lille. I did it in April and was very pleasantly surprised.
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