Eurotunnel

[rodsharp]

I notice stack is in place again and will be up to Sunday pm at the earliest.Eurotunnel website says their service is running normally, is this correct? I have booking for Monday ,whats it like trying to get to the terminal and how much hassle will I get trying to get out of and back into the French terminal on my return. I know some of you guys will have used it this week.

 

[Rasher]

You should be OK once you get there

I phoned them as I am travelling in a few weeks and a very helpful lady told me the passenger trains are generally on schedule, the problem is the excess lorries - Stack is due to lack of capacity for both the Tunnel and Ports causing HGV's to need "stacking" up.....

... the knock-on effect is the motorway closing making your journey to the Tunnel slower so allow a bit of extra time, but once there you should be OK....

...unless the French Wankers are burning tyres on the road the other side, or the tunnel is full of immigrants - the latter seems to be on the increase and the French Plod seem a bit hopeless at stopping them.

Good luck and let us know how you got on.

 

[Lord Snooty]

I caught the tunnel on Thursday am, arrived at the terminal at 8am for our 8.50 depart, didn't leave until 11.15 so nearly 2.5 hours delay.

 

[Monty]

Lots more fun and games overnight, it seems...

Eurotunnel warns of lengthy delays due to 'migrant activity' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33662489

 

[Lord Snooty]

As we approached jct 11a both lanes 1 and 2 were at a standstill, sadly we were in the car due to a last minute change of plan, if you are on a bike stay in lane 3 and go past all of the stationary traffic and you will be able to tuck in to 11a exit slip lane in the last couple of hundred meters.

 

[rodsharp]

Thanks your lordship. I shall do just that , if I can get that far without trouble.

 

[Pansmiker]

When you come off at J11a there will be lots of HGVs lined up. Go up the outside of them and do not join the back of the HGVs. Eurotunnel are building a new HGV check in area so you need to bypass this and proceed to the normal car / passenger check in.

 

[Rasher]

I am thinking of cancelling my trip as it looks to be getting worse.

Eurotunnel say my ticket will be valid for 12 months, by which time I would imagine it will either be home to a few thousand immigrants or blown up, as if any old homeless refugee can get in there it should not be too hard for a well organised terror organisation to get into it.

Might see if I can find a crossing to another port, but suspect these will be either fully booked or mega expensive as it is school holidays and everyone else will probably have the same idea.

 

[Giles]

if youre travelling by bike you'll be fine. Just allow an extra couple of hours to suffer the diversion route. Hard going in a car, but easy peasy if you're happy filtering for thirty odd miles.

The real arse ache is for freight - they are getting the bum-deal ...

 

[polecat]

Hard going in a car

Giles. Is the M20 closed for cars when Op Stack is put in? Due to go over in a couple of weeks in the car. What's the best way down there?

 

[Flipfly]

Giles. Is the M20 closed for cars when Op Stack is put in? Due to go over in a couple of weeks in the car. What's the best way down there?

Same question here as we are due to go on the 15th August.

I was looking at google maps and wondered whether to take the A2 and drop down across country?

 

[Engineer]

Got the shuttle booked around midday Thursday - keeping my fingers crossed because we are on a schedule to get down to Lake Garda via Reims, Freudenstadt and Innsbruck - hoping that 4 hours from Tempsford, Beds will gives us enough time on the bike to make our train.

 

[Norfolk Tiger]

Giles. Is the M20 closed for cars when Op Stack is put in? Due to go over in a couple of weeks in the car. What's the best way down there?

Same question here as we are due to go on the 15th August.

I was looking at google maps and wondered whether to take the A2 and drop down across country?

I'm sure Giles has posted on one of the other threads about a way of avoiding the worst of the hold ups he does have his uses

 

[Giles]

Firstly find out if stack is on. If it's not, then the most direct route is of course M20 to 11a for the tunnel or all the way to Dover for the port.

If it is on, then my recommendation would be to avoid the M20 altogether and head east on the A/M 2, and into Canterbury.

Your only buggeration with this route is that the city ring road can get bad at rush hour. Head for the B2068 'stone street' (sat nav Nackington if it helps) . Stone street heads due south from Canterbury, is as straight as a die (old roman road) all the way to junc 11, where you can drop the 1/2 mile down to 11a.

Stack is going to be on and off for the foreseeable I'm afraid, so by all means pm me and i'll be able to tell you whether it's on.

Bon Chance ...

 

[Giles]

* Is as straight as a die ... *

Apart from the very dodgy down hill cork screw at the end of Stone street ..... don't fuck that bit up ....

 

[Engineer]

* Is as straight as a die ... *

Apart from the very dodgy down hill cork screw at the end of Stone street ..... don't fuck that bit up ....

If the stack was on I was planning to M2/A2 then A260, then M20 back towards London and off at 11a - to get to Stone street don't I have to head into Canterbury first?

 

[polecat]

Thanks Giles

 

[Giles]

Engineer .... You could do that route ... (It's a bit convoluted ..!). The extra slog to the a260 ... You may as well ride through Canterbury ...

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

If I was Engineer I would have booked Harwich or Portsmouth & avoided the Dover nonsense

I hate riding from Yorkshire to Dover in normal times - but at present, no way

 

[Flipfly]

Giles, Coming off on the A28, would taking hollow lane and then Merton lane get on to neckington lane without touching Canterbury centre?