Ramsgate ferry

[roberts8]

Whatever our individual feelings are about the B word it seems there may be a new ferry from Ramsgate to Ostend. Having cycled out of Ostend many times I hope this ferry does materialise. Maybe Cuk could negotiate a cycling friendly approach and deals as it would be a great to land in Belgium again.

[ANTONISH]

Whatever our individual feelings are about the B word it seems there may be a new ferry from Ramsgate to Ostend. Having cycled out of Ostend many times I hope this ferry does materialise. Maybe Cuk could negotiate a cycling friendly approach and deals as it would be a great to land in Belgium again.

I think this may be a freight only ferry.
We've seen the demise of a number of ferry services over the years ; Sally line from Ramsgate, a Scandinavian outfit (the name escapes me but I remember the strange "all you can eat buffet" ) also from Ramsgate, Olau line from Sheerness to Vlissingen - living in Kent that was a particularly convenient way to get to Holland (and Belgium via the Breskins ferry), Folkestone to Boulogne and Calais to Boulogne - both very good for cyclists.
plus of course the Hover services - Dover to Calais.
Obviously the tunnel has made a huge impact on demand for ferries.
That's only in the South East.
I wouldn't expect too much

[mjr]

Isn't the plan for a freight service? I think there are already freight services from the Suffolk ports to Ostend but they don't take bikes.

[Cyril Haearn]

DFDS/Scandinavian Seaways Harwich-Hamburg was the best

[roubaixtuesday]

It's a paper only get rich scheme for rent- seeking former shipping and insurance execs.

It's a freight only paper only get rich scheme for rent- seeking former shipping and insurance execs.

It's a temporary only freight only paper only get rich scheme for rent- seeking former shipping and insurance execs.

It's a no deal only temporary only freight only paper only get rich scheme for rent- seeking former shipping and insurance execs.

The only thing it tells us is the type of people who will benefit from a no deal Brexit. Clues to this can be found in the preceding paragraphs.

[pete75]

Whatever our individual feelings are about the B word it seems there may be a new ferry from Ramsgate to Ostend. Having cycled out of Ostend many times I hope this ferry does materialise. Maybe Cuk could negotiate a cycling friendly approach and deals as it would be a great to land in Belgium again.

There is already a real passenger ferry service from the UK to Zeebrugge in Belgium. It's run by P&O, a company that has ships and knows how to run a ferry service, and departs daily from Hull.

[simonhill]

BBC SE News had a report from Ramsgate port. It hasn't been used for 5 years so getting it safe and usable by March is unlikely. Apparently there is also local opposition so planning could be a problem, not to mention getting any ships.

I suppose if the guano hits the fan and something like martial law is imposed then this could happen quickly, but I doubt it. One of my favourite 'facts' is that the planning process for Heathrow T5 took longer than it took the Chinese to build Hong Kong's new airport from conception to finish (including building the island it sits on).

Calais Dunkirk is a good crossing, but the Dunkirk port area is so dire its not a pleasant welcome to La Belle France.

[mjr]

Calais-Dunkirk is not a crossing at all!

The Dunkirk passenger port is within a mile of quiet country lanes but it's totally not signposted. In fact the signs will try to take you out onto the bare dual carriageway autoroute feeder, but past topics in here describe how.