Using the Channel Tunnel

[Black Countryman]

We had booked a cottage in Normandy for a week (Saturday to Saturday) in July and now that we have got our Northstar 700DL we are intending to travel over on the Channel Tunnel on the Wednesday and have a few stop overs on the way down. We are planning on doing the same on the way back and will probably return to the UK on either the Tuesday or Wednesday and turn a one week holiday into two weeks.

Has anyone who has taken their demountable through the tunnel got any tips for us and is it a good idea to prebook campsites for the journey or just turn up on spec or maybe even just park up somewhere?

[Bookend]

Depends on what you want but there are plenty of Aires available for cheap camping

Might be worth a look on wildcamping.co.uk there is plenty of info on there and if you join you have access to loads of wild camp spots which are free

[rubberrat]

For the tunnel.. nothing special for demountables. Just turn the gas off at the bottle and allow the staff to check it. The carriages are high enough.

If you use aires, its worth buying the `All The Aires` book. Very useful.
Get on busier ones by mid afternoon. some have hookup. Average 8€.

Campsites in coastal areas or popular spots may be fully booked in July but France is geared up for campervans and most towns and villages have a site.

I would be amazed if you don't find somewhere on spec.

The biggest downside to camping in the rest of Europe is coming home and discovering that the UK hasn't a clue how to do this properly and from there on you will spend every holiday over the channel.

[Madmountainman]

As quoted on the FB page… You can take your camper, complete with gas cylinders, on le tunnel be they calor or gaslow, but you can't take an LPG converted pickup.
When travelling, if you've travelled from oop north, or far west, to the tunnel, it's best you camp a night in the UK and get a really early train, that way you get further into Europe on day 1.
It's The Drum Inn, nice level pitches, toilet/shower block and a pub serving hearty portions of nicely cooked pub grub with well kept beer.
Don't tell anyone else in MH's or Caravans though!

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/detai ... evid=10160

http://thedruminn.com

[martinjdover]

Totally agree, get hold of the current Vicarous books "All the Aires of France" and you will find some lovely aires both along the coast and ✖ country between Calais and Normandy. Two of particular note are Le Mans and Mont St Michele. The former is right in the centre near the old town and the second is very close to the World Heritage site.

We very rarely pay for sites in France - not because we are tight but because we love aires!

As regards to the Channel Tunnel itself - couldn't be easier (or faster). If you are taking a pet their processing is the most practiced of any of the Channel crossings. We've been using the tunnel with our rig since 2009 and, despite us living near Poole, often make the trip to Ashford rather than using the more local ferries (unless we are going to Spain).

Martin

[claudius]

On this website : http://www.i-campingcar.fr/ you can download a pdf file (78 Mo) containing all details about all " aires " in France.
For every "aires", there are pictures, GPS, facilities, opinions
Very useful, free but in French...
Claude

[Gary W]

We had booked a cottage in Normandy for a week (Saturday to Saturday) in July and now that we have got our Northstar 700DL we are intending to travel over on the Channel Tunnel on the Wednesday and have a few stop overs on the way down. We are planning on doing the same on the way back and will probably return to the UK on either the Tuesday or Wednesday and turn a one week holiday into two weeks.

Has anyone who has taken their demountable through the tunnel got any tips for us and is it a good idea to prebook campsites for the journey or just turn up on spec or maybe even just park up somewhere?

In addition to all the previous excellent replies I would recommend you download the app 'Park4night'. We do around 10 continental trips a year with a demountable, sometimes for 3 or 4 days, sometimes 3 or 4 weeks and virtually never stay on campsites. If we can't find somewhere on our own or are worried about security or legality Park4night always comes up trumps. The app is available for Windows, Android and iOS and there is a normal website too (http://park4night.com)

I wouldn't touch the chunnel anymore, too expensive, too many delays (especially since the problems with Illegal immigrants) and too inflexible. If you make 3 trips a year or more (or you and your family together do) you can buy 3 open returns for a demountable size vehicle with DFDS for £180. That's £60 for each return crossing and as these are open returns you just rock up and they'll put your on the next available boat with no penalty. As your family can use the tickets too they're a lot more accessible than you might think. The only 'catch' to be aware of is a £30 surcharge for certain peak sailings at certain times of the year. It's not really a catch though as it's still by far the cheapest way across. Phone number is +44 20 8127 8303 and you need to ask for 'Multi-trip' tickets.

Finally for breakdown recovery may I suggest ADAC. Currently €109 a year for you and your spouse which covers any vehicle up to 3500kg and 3.2m high, anywhere in Europe (including UK where the AA will look after you on behalf of ADAC). ADAC is the biggest organisation of it's type in the world and has probably the best cover you'll find anywhere at any price. Spend 10 minutes scouring the internet and you'll see what I mean. You can join over the phone in less than 5 minutes (they speak perfect English), pay by credit card and you're covered the following day. The only thing you won't find on the internet is their membership phone number, which is +49 221 472747

Don't forget your warning triangle, reflective waistcoats and breathalyzers, all dirt cheap on the internet.

Hope that's helpful

Gary

[Black Countryman]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond,

I've certainly got a lot of food for thought and some really useful links to follow up. I've also ordered a copy of the Aires book (£2.80 inc p&p from Abebooks for the 2013 edition).

I'm really hoping this minor adventure goes to plan as my wife is still sceptical after the number of journeys we had to complete on the big yellow taxi with our old VW T25 (everybody else's camper holiday photo's show BBQs or beaches, ours show breakdown trucks ). If we can get this one out of the way with no major cock ups I'll get the green light to start going further afield.

[zildjian]

Think you'll find recovery trucks the exception rather than the norm, there's always help and advice here or our FB page, for new members so relax and have a nice trip

[Madmountainman]

French breathalyser rule was suspended indefinitely, so they're not actually required. However, there's a list of fines for other stuff you may not have…

http://www.drive-france.com/checklist/