Ferry Crossing. Advice needed.

[17107BM]

Hello all.

 

Iv'e always crossed the Channel by way of Dover-Calais, but with a Battlefield tour taking in the Centenary of the Battle of Messines, one of our members wants to pay a visit the beaches of Dunkirk. Where his Father was taken off the beach in WW2. So, can any member recommend a ferry company with decent service on the Dover-Dunkirk crossing. 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Cheers all. 

[KevinBattle]

Well, Dover to Dunkirk is served by P&O and DFDS, so it's one or the other, whatever suits best for timings and cost.

Both have journeys between 1 hour 30 and 2 hours. Dunkirk evacuation was between 26 May to 4th June, presumably he'll want to be there at that time, so you can then onwards for 7th June at Messines?

[Frajohn]

I think you will find that it is only DFDS who sail the Dover - Dunkirk route.

 

regards

 

John

 

[healdav]

11 hours ago, Frajohn said:

I think you will find that it is only DFDS who sail the Dover - Dunkirk route.

 

regards

 

John

 

It is indeed. They are usually very efficient, which is more than I can say for the passport bliôke there who contrived to get a queue of us to miss the ferry he messed about for so long.

[John_Hartley]

3 hours ago, healdav said:

They are usually very efficient, which is more than I can say for the passport bliôke there who contrived to get a queue of us to miss the ferry he messed about for so long.

My one and only trip was back in the days of Norfolk Line when similar happened on our return visit - Brtiish border staff were rooting through every single lorry. Missed the ferry and had a 2 hour wait for the next one. As I say, first and last trip that route.

[Dragon]

You don't need to go and return with the same ferry company. So you only need to do one trip to Dunkirk.

 

We always book each direction as a separate trip because if there's a strike, it's much simpler to completely cancel one crossing and make the booking with another company than faff around trying to rearrange an alternative with the same company or get a refund for one leg.

[Martin Bennitt]

1 hour ago, Dragon said:

You don't need to go and return with the same ferry company. So you only need to do one trip to Dunkirk.

 

We always book each direction as a separate trip because if there's a strike, it's much simpler to completely cancel one crossing and make the booking with another company than faff around trying to rearrange an alternative with the same company or get a refund for one leg.

 

Except that  a return trip is sometimes less than twice two singles, depending on the timing and the offers available.

 

We are crossing Caen-Portsmouth overnight next month and coming back to France on the Shuttle. The former has a special offer but only for a return trip, and as you have to pay for a cabin, the way we are doing it works out as virtually the same price.

 

Cheers Martin B

[SteveMarsdin]

Hi,

 

Dunkirk isn't that far from Calais and I think that Dunkirk port is the other side of Dunkirk town from the evacuation beaches anyway. You might find it easier to book a Dover-Calais return and just drive there.

 

Steve

[Dragon]

1 hour ago, Martin Bennitt said:

 

Except that  a return trip is sometimes less than twice two singles, depending on the timing and the offers available.

 

We are crossing Caen-Portsmouth overnight next month and coming back to France on the Shuttle. The former has a special offer but only for a return trip, and as you have to pay for a cabin, the way we are doing it works out as virtually the same price.

 

Cheers Martin B

 

As you say, it depends...

 

Our plans are emergent, but we'll probably do one way Portsmouth-le Havre crossing and a return by Hook of Holland-Harwich, or the other way round. Last year, when there were numerous unpredictable strikes, we had to write off a Brittany Ferries crossing to France and rearrange for a port which wasn't French (Hook of Holland). Fortunately I only lost the £30 deposit on BF. It was worth it to know there was actually going to be a crossing. It was much simpler to be able to cancel one crossing at a time. I just play around with dates, times and onboard accommodation options until I reach a price which is acceptable.

 

Anyway, I was just offering a thought that if the OP wants to use Dunkirk, he isn't bound to use it for both crossings.

 

Gwyn

[John_Hartley]

My father in law, an ex regular soldier, was a teenager during WW2 and was keen to see the Dunkirk beaches when we took him to Ieper. Have to say, he came away somewhat disappointed that it was "just" a beach with sand dunes. Not really sure what he expected (and he found it difficult to articulate) but, whatever it was, it was not there any more. Maybe he hoped for some physical representation of the "Dunkirk spirit".

 

It was a funny old trip. He wouldnt wear his medals at the Menin Gate. We said "Why not, you've earned them - you were in Cyprus and Aden. You had comrades killed?" "Yeah, but it's not like those blokes earned them"?

[Martin Bennitt]

23 minutes ago, John_Hartley said:

My father in law, an ex regular soldier, was a teenager during WW2 and was keen to see the Dunkirk beaches when we took him to Ieper. Have to say, he came away somewhat disappointed that it was "just" a beach with sand dunes. Not really sure what he expected (and he found it difficult to articulate) but, whatever it was, it was not there any more. Maybe he hoped for some physical representation of the "Dunkirk spirit".

 

It was a funny old trip. He wouldnt wear his medals at the Menin Gate. We said "Why not, you've earned them - you were in Cyprus and Aden. You had comrades killed?" "Yeah, but it's not like those blokes earned them"?

 

My father-in-law landed in France on D+1, but all he said when I took him up to Sword Beach was "changed a bit". But his eyes lit up when he saw a Bofors gun at the Arromanches museum like the one he claimed to have shot a sniper out of a church tower with. And he could hardly believe it when I took him to the Somme and tried to explain roughly what happened there.

 

Cheers Martin B

[17107BM]

Thanks for all your replies. 

 

Certainly a few options to consider. I'll run them passed the Tour party and see what's favourite. You just know that, as there are as many options, there will be an equal amount of opinions.

 

Cheers all.

[roundtuit]

I believe that there is a museum in Dunkirk that concentrates on the evacuation. Have heard it is very good. There are a couple of beachside memorials, one between Gravelines and De Panne. The other nearer Dunkirk.

I agree, there is just a beach to see with the uncomprehending eye.

Regards

[roundtuit]

Just looked at the Dunkirk museum site and discovered that it is closed until mid July17. Due to expansion works to double its size.

Regards

[John_Hartley]

6 hours ago, John_Hartley said:

We said "Why not, you've earned them - you were in Cyprus and Aden. You had comrades killed?"

I could have phrased this better. I mean "comrades of yours were killed", not "you arranged for comrades to be killed".

 

 

[healdav]

20 hours ago, John_Hartley said:

My one and only trip was back in the days of Norfolk Line when similar happened on our return visit - Brtiish border staff were rooting through every single lorry. Missed the ferry and had a 2 hour wait for the next one. As I say, first and last trip that route.

I wish someone would get these idiots under control (to coin a phrase). A neighbour of mine and his family (Luxembourgers) were stopped at Dunkirk and told they couldn't go to the UK as they didn't have visas! They are necessary, he said, as Luxembourg isn't in the EU. They pointed out that Luxembourg is a seat of the EU, and was an original signatory of the treaties, long before Britain.

"I didn't know that", he replied.

This was at the time when the immigration peple were up in arms about temporary staff being brought in for the Olympics. You need to be an expert to look at a passport, they said.

By the way, Norfolk Lines is no more. They became DFDS some years ago.

 

[pioneecorps]

DFDS the one, my father was evacuated from Bray Dunes which I visited in 2013.

[pioneecorps]

On 16/02/2017 at 22:26, roundtuit said:

I believe that there is a museum in Dunkirk that concentrates on the evacuation. Have heard it is very good. There are a couple of beachside memorials, one between Gravelines and De Panne. The other nearer Dunkirk.

I agree, there is just a beach to see with the uncomprehending eye.

Regards

I visited the Dunkirk Museum in 2013 and its not to be missed, I did have a French guy tooting at me for being slow and unsure on how to get there, but my sat nav did get me there in the end, took some great photos in there.  

[John_Hartley]

On 17/02/2017 at 09:25, healdav said:

By the way, Norfolk Lines is no more. They became DFDS some years ago.

Indeed so. Hence me writing "back in the days of Norfolk Line".

[Hedley Malloch]

Dunkirk Port is the training school for French customs officers. The young French douaniers are there put through their paces under the watchful eyes of their trainers. Passengers are their live case studies.

 

if going to Dunkirk try and time your arrival for a low tide and go the five kilometres up the beach to Bray Dunes. If you walk along the beach you can see the bombed out hulks of ships who did not make it back to the UK.

[healdav]

14 hours ago, Hedley Malloch said:

Dunkirk Port is the training school for French customs officers. The young French douaniers are there put through their paces under the watchful eyes of their trainers. Passengers are their live case studies.

 

 

I don't recall ever seeing any French Customs as I come in to Dunkirk.

On the other hand, the whole lot of the check in could do with a bit of head banging to do things sensibly.

The last time I was there (last December), I got to the gate where a couple of bored French sodliers checked I din't have a bomb in the boot. Then I drove 10 metres, and a couple of morons from the 'UK Border Force' (force what?) stopped me so that they could....... hek the boot for bombs! I did point out that they had just wached it happening, and got the reply, "But that's the French". Presumably the British are looking for different shaped bombs or something (Iwas once told that I might have a nuclear bomb in the boot! When I asked whether they had ever seen a nuclear bomb, the reply was, 'No, have you'. "I used to work with them").

And from time to time some French bloke looks at passports. In fact, the check in once got him very angry. There was a long line waiting, so they opened a new booth (genrally for trucks, but there weren't any). That took us the wrong side of the French passport man; he was very upset.

By he way, te British passport man doesn't spend the night in Dunkirk, he comes over on the first ferry. So you have to wait for him to get off the ship, unlock his office, turn on the lights, check that no one has stolen his pencil or whatever, before he will condescend to let you get to the ferry. It not being any of his concern whether you get to travel or are stuck in the car park.

[johnboy]

better safe than sorry

[chaz]

ah the joys of the shuttle, straight out on the autoroute and up to Dunkirk, missing all the customs checks....up until Brexit  suppose

[Phil Wood]

I don't see much advantage in going to Dunkirk just because you want to visit the beaches. We usually go Dover-Calais and often call in to shop in Dunkirk on our way back from Ieper - it's only a short drive along the motorway.

[towisuk]

Of course where you are setting off from in the UK has some bearing on the crossing.... I've just returned from a very wet one day expedition to Flanders and Northern France this morning.  en suite cabin both ways.

Another Hull - Zeebrugge crossing for two with car for £97:50, for those of us "up North" it's a no brainer...who in their right mind would want to spend hours driving down to the M25 and M20 to get to Dover or the Tunnel when one can wake up relaxed with less than an hours drive to Tyne Cot from Zeebrugge. In fact it only took me just over an hour to get to Bailleul in pouring rain yesterday.....

regards

Tom