Hello all, on Sunday 21st April, I took a little trip over to Calais, via London, Dover and P&O Ferries, I had a great time so I thought I would share my trip report with you. Hope it's not too long and I hope you enjoy it.
Here is a link to the pictures I took.
My day started off with a lovely 4am alarm call to which I duly ignored and fell back to sleep, another alarm at 5am gets me out of bed and in the shower. I make two (small) bacon rolls to get me going, by this time it's just after 0600, so it's time to pack and get the cycle out ready to cycle to the station. I decide it's not cold enough to warrant full cold protection clothes and opt for just a pair of gloves, what a mistake that was! I was frozen solid by the time I got to the station with my eyes watering all down my face, luckily I have plenty of energy and cycle to the station in 10 minutes, record time for me.
I'm at Southampton Central just before 0630, quick faff with the ATM resulting in me getting no cash due to a dispenser error, oh well. I collect my tickets from the self service machines and lock my bike up on platform 1, I see a Cl377 leaving platform 1 for a trip to Littlehampton. Next up was a double 450 on platform 2 and I prayed that it wasn't my train, it wasn't, they had split and one left for Pompey at 0630. I made my way over to platform 3 to be greeted by a pair of 444s which were waiting to form the first train of the day to London, the 0655 to Waterloo, my train. I took a seat in the 5th carriage and plugged my phone in to keep it topped up. The trip passes fairly quickly with the train remaining fairly quiet throughout. I noted that we were waiting at stations for a couple of minutes and a fair bit of slow running, this must be due to the emergency engineering work at Vauxhall. We pull into Clapham Junction on time at 0830ish and I hustle over to platform 14. When I get there, the screens say that the next train is the 0841 to Victoria but they also said that platform 14 was closed and all trains were using Platform 12 instead, not sure which one was true so started to edge back towards the footbridge when a platform alteration announcement went off telling us to go over to platform 12. Luckily it was quiet so there wasn't a massive rush over to the other platform. A pair of 455s roll in a few minutes early and I climb on board, I noted that the seats and interiors were quite clean and presumed it must have been a refreshed unit, looking at the paint work on some of the passing 455s they look very tired and patchy and can see why they need a refresh. As we passed over the SWML, I noted trains stacked up around Queenstown Road, not surprised seeing as 10 platforms have been closed at Waterloo. We pull in to Victoria on time at 0841 ish.
I wasn't sure if there was a Southeastern ticket office so just headed straight for the Southern one and joined the short queue. A few minutes later and I was called forward and asked for a return to Calais, the clerk found the ticket very promptly and asked if I had reservations for the ferry, to which I replied, no, the tickets should come with control tickets, few more clicks and all was found and printed, the ticket cost £24.65 with my railcard, very good value! I knew there was a train to Dover at 0905 and saw I had a few minutes spare to pop in to WH Smiths for a sandwich and drink for later. Over to platform 6 and I attempt to listen to the rather quiet announcements as to which part of the train I should sit in as it splits at Faversham, I gave up trying to listen and sat in the rear unit which was a 4 car 375, with a 3 car unit up front, no idea what class. We had loads of room on board and it was a very quiet trip, we approach Rochester with the sun out and we weave our way round the river and make our way through Kent, passing under the HS1 viaduct at Medway, I think this line is very underrated and you get some great views of the surrounding areas. We pull in to Faversham and the decoupling process was completed easily and promptly and we were soon on our way to Dover Priory. We arrive at Dover on time at 1100 and I hop over the bridge and out the station, following signs for the port bus, I turned left and waited for the bus. A poster on the wall told me that the buses leave 10, 30 and 50 minutes past the hour. A few minutes later and the bus pulled up and we were soon on our way, a short (5mins ish) journey through town and we arrived at the port.
There were about 5 of us on the bus and we all made our way into the terminal, I checked in quickly and easily, no trouble with the rail tickets, I was told to take a seat and will be called forward when the bus arrived, I sat for a few minutes, then a couple of guys in hi vis jackets walked out of the office and spoke to a couple of people who then got up and left. They didn't approach me or even look at me but luckily I overheard what they were saying to the other passengers so just followed everyone outside to the bus, they took our ticket and give us a bit of card/boarding pass to hand in later, as soon as all were on board we made our way to passport control, everyone had to get up and flash their passport to a guy in a hatch, got a bit confusing as they weren't sure if everyone had went up, they only scanned one or two passports out of about 15 of us. We then proceeded on and an audio announcement was played saying "This bus has been selected for a baggage search" so we pulled into a shed, everyone got off the bus, had their luggage x-rayed and walked through a body scanner, then it was back on the bus for the final run to the berth, everyone off again, then we all walked up some stairs in the terminal then over a bouncy linkspan to the ships gangway, the ship being Spirit of Britain, my first time on her and I was impressed! The layout was thought through well, loads of seats, she looked good and best of all it was a fairly quiet crossing with no kids running around. I get enough of that at work!
I have a quick walk around and take a look up stairs at the Food Court, food looked nice and well priced (compared to my work) but there was distinct sound of bottles rattling, there were loads in the fridges and thanks to the vibrations of the ship, the bottles were going crazy and we weren't even underway yet! Bing bong on the PA and the Captain welcomes us on board and informs us that we'll soon be underway so I made my way to the aft end of the ship and outside and watch us pull away and take a few pics, we left on time at 1205, with the arse of the ship tucked in the berth, it was an easy get away, we swing to starboard (right) and out into the channel and across the Dover Straits, I take a seat in the bar down the forward end on the starboard side, enjoying a nice bottle of cherry Magners writing the start of this report. A little while later I see France approaching, we hit a max speed of 20 knots although it felt nowhere near that, we continue straight until practically on the beach, sharp turn port (left) and into Calais harbour, I watch the approach from outside and take a few pics of Calais harbour and the town itself. We berth on time at 1430 French time. Just before jumping ship I see the Bureau de Change and change £20 into €22 ish and head down to the gangway. The ships gangway is lowered and then the shore side gangway is moved into position and two ramps are lowered on to the door. Quick get away down the linkspan and onto a bus and we're off to the terminal. There was no one sat at passport control so we walk straight through. I walked outside and looked around, to the right I see a ramp with a pedestrian sign and another sign saying 'Center Ville', I head that way.
The sun is shining and it's fairly warm over here so I decide to head towards the beach. Short walk through town and I have no idea where I was heading, so I got Google Maps out and decided on a circular route round the river and along the seafront. I walked along the path next to a fairly busy road, there are some abandoned tracks running alongside so I take a walk along them as it’s not something you get to do everyday. I keep following the road round, then take a short cut through my backroads on emerge on to the seafront. I walk along the seafront, took a few pictures of passing ferries, I keep on walking, I get to the other side of the river, closest to the harbour and walk down the bridge but notice the road is closed and all traffic is diverting round the river, I couldn’t see it from the distance but part of the swing bridge was open so no traffic could use it, it looked like they were doing maintenance on it, this greatly annoyed me as I had to walk all the way back round the river, taking at least 40 minutes to get back to the town. Luckily the sun was shining and it was a pleasant enough walk. I look at the time and I had apparently been walking for only an hour, which wasn’t right, so I ask Google what the time was and it soon dawns on me that my phone never changed to French time so I was still on English time, it turns out I was walking for two hours, not one. I check for sailing times and realized that I had just missed check in for one sailing. I keep on walking to the terminal, checking my notes and see that the next sailing is the Pride of Burgundy sailing at 1755 French time, with a check in time of 1710 (45 mins before departure), it now being 1630 (or 1530 for my phone). I get to the terminal and check in, there was a slight issue with my tickets, being that the control tickets I had both stated London Terminals - Calais, I didn’t think anything of it when I purchased them but the lady didn’t like it, so she just photocopied by rail ticket instead, she wasn’t best pleased about having to leave her desk by the tone of her voice. She gave me my boarding card and advised me that there will be announcement when it’s time to go through security and that the departure lounge was to the right. I walked to the right and went upstairs to the restaurant and ate a sandwich I had bought earlier, an announcement went off about 1715 telling everyone to head to through security and into the departure lounge. I had no idea where this was, I thought it was upstairs near the restaurant, it turns out it was back down stairs and just past the restaurant, I never saw this on my way in, whoops. Quick check of the passport, and then into the departure lounge. At about 1725, a staff member appeared, checked our boarding cards and gave us a bit of paper, we all got on to the bus, handing over this piece of paper to the driver. There was another bus next to us, which looked like an old Ford Transit van with a bus door welded on the side and a couple of seats put in the back, very odd looking thing. We sit on the bus for about 15 minutes before heading over to the boat.
We get to the gangway and up a very steep ramp on to the ship, so steep that any wheelchair/infirm passengers have to be bussed on to the car deck. I get on board and up on to the main passenger deck and immediately remember school trips years ago, the ship bought back so many memories and the ships haven’t changed a bit! I remember always walking around, getting lost, going up to the outside deck then back in again. I also remember being held outside Calais harbour because the weather was horrendous, really high winds and unsafe to berth, we were on the ship for a good 5/6 hours, it was still bad on our return and we ended up using the Channel Tunnel instead was great fun. Anyways, back to today, I take a quick look around, instantly remembering where everything was, it was quite busy so I went and found a seat in one of the alleyways and had a lovely view of one of the lifeboats for the entire crossing, oh well. The Captain came on the PA and told us that we were pretty much ready to go and that it would be a nice calm crossing. We left on time at 1755 and had a relatively uneventful crossing, we arrive into Dover on time at 1835. A short walk down the gangway and onto a waiting bus, we waited for everyone to join us and we made our way to the terminal. Short walk through the building site and past passport control where they were doing spot checks. I see the bus to the train station in the distance but then see it pull away, empty, so I take a slow stroll and wait for it to appear again. It arrived just before 1855 and left on time at 1900ish
We were at Dover Priory within a few minutes and I saw on the departure boards that there was a domestic service to Charing Cross at 1925 which would have got me to Waterloo East by 2118 or I could take the 1934 to Victoria which would of got me there by 2129 but there was also a HS1 service to St Pancakes at 1945 which gets in at 2051, I opt for the High Speed service just because I wanted to travel at 140mph, I pay £3.70 for the supplement and head over to the platform to wait. At about 1930 a Class 395 pulled in, can’t remember the number as usual. We leave on time and make our way to Ashford via Folkestone. We leave Ashford a minute late and that minute stays with us all the way to St Pancras, showing just how tightly timed these services are. The Onboard Manager checked my ticket and had no problems with it. I could have got off at Stratford Intl but didn’t feel like taking the DLR to Stratford then sitting on the Jubilee line for ages, instead I took the Victoria line from St Pancras to Oxford Circus to change to the Jubilee line getting onto Waterloo concourse by 2120. I see the 2125 to Weymouth on the boards and note that it didn’t stop at Clapham Junction, a quick check of the NRE app which also said that it didn’t stop at Clapham, I decide to wait for 2254 which was the stopper to Poole so must stop at Clapham, I needed the train to call at Clapham Junction because of my split tickets. I head over to Burger King and get one of the new promo burger meals, I used my bite to make the price a reasonable £4.90 ish. I sat down to waste time waiting for the next train but another quick check of the NRE app showed that the 2254 was also showing as not calling at Clapham, so I finished my meal and managed to get on the 2235 as I was very tired and prepared to risk it. We left on time and as we approached Clapham Junction, we slowed down and called there, so my ticket was fine and I was relieved I didn’t have to argue. I’m fairly sure my ticket would’ve been valid even if we didn’t stop but couldn’t quite remember. Fairly boring run back South and we get into Southampton Central at 2300. I retrieve my bike from platform 1 and cycle home, getting home at 2320ish.
To sum up, I had a very enjoyable trip, didn’t do much in Calais but the sun made it a pleasant time there. The only new bit of track I got was from Sittingbourne to Dover via Selling, which was enough to keep me happy. The best part of the trip was probably sailing on the Pride of Burgundy as it reminded me of my school trips to Paris, I also liked checking out the one of the new P&O ships in the form of Spirit of Britain, who has a very modern design that appears to work well, even if she does vibrate across the channel rather than sail across, much like the Red Eagle where I work, so I’m used to the constant wobble. I was pleased that I had no big issues with my tickets. The only thing I would do different next time would be to sleep more the night before!
Here is a link to the pictures I took.
My day started off with a lovely 4am alarm call to which I duly ignored and fell back to sleep, another alarm at 5am gets me out of bed and in the shower. I make two (small) bacon rolls to get me going, by this time it's just after 0600, so it's time to pack and get the cycle out ready to cycle to the station. I decide it's not cold enough to warrant full cold protection clothes and opt for just a pair of gloves, what a mistake that was! I was frozen solid by the time I got to the station with my eyes watering all down my face, luckily I have plenty of energy and cycle to the station in 10 minutes, record time for me.
I'm at Southampton Central just before 0630, quick faff with the ATM resulting in me getting no cash due to a dispenser error, oh well. I collect my tickets from the self service machines and lock my bike up on platform 1, I see a Cl377 leaving platform 1 for a trip to Littlehampton. Next up was a double 450 on platform 2 and I prayed that it wasn't my train, it wasn't, they had split and one left for Pompey at 0630. I made my way over to platform 3 to be greeted by a pair of 444s which were waiting to form the first train of the day to London, the 0655 to Waterloo, my train. I took a seat in the 5th carriage and plugged my phone in to keep it topped up. The trip passes fairly quickly with the train remaining fairly quiet throughout. I noted that we were waiting at stations for a couple of minutes and a fair bit of slow running, this must be due to the emergency engineering work at Vauxhall. We pull into Clapham Junction on time at 0830ish and I hustle over to platform 14. When I get there, the screens say that the next train is the 0841 to Victoria but they also said that platform 14 was closed and all trains were using Platform 12 instead, not sure which one was true so started to edge back towards the footbridge when a platform alteration announcement went off telling us to go over to platform 12. Luckily it was quiet so there wasn't a massive rush over to the other platform. A pair of 455s roll in a few minutes early and I climb on board, I noted that the seats and interiors were quite clean and presumed it must have been a refreshed unit, looking at the paint work on some of the passing 455s they look very tired and patchy and can see why they need a refresh. As we passed over the SWML, I noted trains stacked up around Queenstown Road, not surprised seeing as 10 platforms have been closed at Waterloo. We pull in to Victoria on time at 0841 ish.
I wasn't sure if there was a Southeastern ticket office so just headed straight for the Southern one and joined the short queue. A few minutes later and I was called forward and asked for a return to Calais, the clerk found the ticket very promptly and asked if I had reservations for the ferry, to which I replied, no, the tickets should come with control tickets, few more clicks and all was found and printed, the ticket cost £24.65 with my railcard, very good value! I knew there was a train to Dover at 0905 and saw I had a few minutes spare to pop in to WH Smiths for a sandwich and drink for later. Over to platform 6 and I attempt to listen to the rather quiet announcements as to which part of the train I should sit in as it splits at Faversham, I gave up trying to listen and sat in the rear unit which was a 4 car 375, with a 3 car unit up front, no idea what class. We had loads of room on board and it was a very quiet trip, we approach Rochester with the sun out and we weave our way round the river and make our way through Kent, passing under the HS1 viaduct at Medway, I think this line is very underrated and you get some great views of the surrounding areas. We pull in to Faversham and the decoupling process was completed easily and promptly and we were soon on our way to Dover Priory. We arrive at Dover on time at 1100 and I hop over the bridge and out the station, following signs for the port bus, I turned left and waited for the bus. A poster on the wall told me that the buses leave 10, 30 and 50 minutes past the hour. A few minutes later and the bus pulled up and we were soon on our way, a short (5mins ish) journey through town and we arrived at the port.
There were about 5 of us on the bus and we all made our way into the terminal, I checked in quickly and easily, no trouble with the rail tickets, I was told to take a seat and will be called forward when the bus arrived, I sat for a few minutes, then a couple of guys in hi vis jackets walked out of the office and spoke to a couple of people who then got up and left. They didn't approach me or even look at me but luckily I overheard what they were saying to the other passengers so just followed everyone outside to the bus, they took our ticket and give us a bit of card/boarding pass to hand in later, as soon as all were on board we made our way to passport control, everyone had to get up and flash their passport to a guy in a hatch, got a bit confusing as they weren't sure if everyone had went up, they only scanned one or two passports out of about 15 of us. We then proceeded on and an audio announcement was played saying "This bus has been selected for a baggage search" so we pulled into a shed, everyone got off the bus, had their luggage x-rayed and walked through a body scanner, then it was back on the bus for the final run to the berth, everyone off again, then we all walked up some stairs in the terminal then over a bouncy linkspan to the ships gangway, the ship being Spirit of Britain, my first time on her and I was impressed! The layout was thought through well, loads of seats, she looked good and best of all it was a fairly quiet crossing with no kids running around. I get enough of that at work!
I have a quick walk around and take a look up stairs at the Food Court, food looked nice and well priced (compared to my work) but there was distinct sound of bottles rattling, there were loads in the fridges and thanks to the vibrations of the ship, the bottles were going crazy and we weren't even underway yet! Bing bong on the PA and the Captain welcomes us on board and informs us that we'll soon be underway so I made my way to the aft end of the ship and outside and watch us pull away and take a few pics, we left on time at 1205, with the arse of the ship tucked in the berth, it was an easy get away, we swing to starboard (right) and out into the channel and across the Dover Straits, I take a seat in the bar down the forward end on the starboard side, enjoying a nice bottle of cherry Magners writing the start of this report. A little while later I see France approaching, we hit a max speed of 20 knots although it felt nowhere near that, we continue straight until practically on the beach, sharp turn port (left) and into Calais harbour, I watch the approach from outside and take a few pics of Calais harbour and the town itself. We berth on time at 1430 French time. Just before jumping ship I see the Bureau de Change and change £20 into €22 ish and head down to the gangway. The ships gangway is lowered and then the shore side gangway is moved into position and two ramps are lowered on to the door. Quick get away down the linkspan and onto a bus and we're off to the terminal. There was no one sat at passport control so we walk straight through. I walked outside and looked around, to the right I see a ramp with a pedestrian sign and another sign saying 'Center Ville', I head that way.
The sun is shining and it's fairly warm over here so I decide to head towards the beach. Short walk through town and I have no idea where I was heading, so I got Google Maps out and decided on a circular route round the river and along the seafront. I walked along the path next to a fairly busy road, there are some abandoned tracks running alongside so I take a walk along them as it’s not something you get to do everyday. I keep following the road round, then take a short cut through my backroads on emerge on to the seafront. I walk along the seafront, took a few pictures of passing ferries, I keep on walking, I get to the other side of the river, closest to the harbour and walk down the bridge but notice the road is closed and all traffic is diverting round the river, I couldn’t see it from the distance but part of the swing bridge was open so no traffic could use it, it looked like they were doing maintenance on it, this greatly annoyed me as I had to walk all the way back round the river, taking at least 40 minutes to get back to the town. Luckily the sun was shining and it was a pleasant enough walk. I look at the time and I had apparently been walking for only an hour, which wasn’t right, so I ask Google what the time was and it soon dawns on me that my phone never changed to French time so I was still on English time, it turns out I was walking for two hours, not one. I check for sailing times and realized that I had just missed check in for one sailing. I keep on walking to the terminal, checking my notes and see that the next sailing is the Pride of Burgundy sailing at 1755 French time, with a check in time of 1710 (45 mins before departure), it now being 1630 (or 1530 for my phone). I get to the terminal and check in, there was a slight issue with my tickets, being that the control tickets I had both stated London Terminals - Calais, I didn’t think anything of it when I purchased them but the lady didn’t like it, so she just photocopied by rail ticket instead, she wasn’t best pleased about having to leave her desk by the tone of her voice. She gave me my boarding card and advised me that there will be announcement when it’s time to go through security and that the departure lounge was to the right. I walked to the right and went upstairs to the restaurant and ate a sandwich I had bought earlier, an announcement went off about 1715 telling everyone to head to through security and into the departure lounge. I had no idea where this was, I thought it was upstairs near the restaurant, it turns out it was back down stairs and just past the restaurant, I never saw this on my way in, whoops. Quick check of the passport, and then into the departure lounge. At about 1725, a staff member appeared, checked our boarding cards and gave us a bit of paper, we all got on to the bus, handing over this piece of paper to the driver. There was another bus next to us, which looked like an old Ford Transit van with a bus door welded on the side and a couple of seats put in the back, very odd looking thing. We sit on the bus for about 15 minutes before heading over to the boat.
We get to the gangway and up a very steep ramp on to the ship, so steep that any wheelchair/infirm passengers have to be bussed on to the car deck. I get on board and up on to the main passenger deck and immediately remember school trips years ago, the ship bought back so many memories and the ships haven’t changed a bit! I remember always walking around, getting lost, going up to the outside deck then back in again. I also remember being held outside Calais harbour because the weather was horrendous, really high winds and unsafe to berth, we were on the ship for a good 5/6 hours, it was still bad on our return and we ended up using the Channel Tunnel instead was great fun. Anyways, back to today, I take a quick look around, instantly remembering where everything was, it was quite busy so I went and found a seat in one of the alleyways and had a lovely view of one of the lifeboats for the entire crossing, oh well. The Captain came on the PA and told us that we were pretty much ready to go and that it would be a nice calm crossing. We left on time at 1755 and had a relatively uneventful crossing, we arrive into Dover on time at 1835. A short walk down the gangway and onto a waiting bus, we waited for everyone to join us and we made our way to the terminal. Short walk through the building site and past passport control where they were doing spot checks. I see the bus to the train station in the distance but then see it pull away, empty, so I take a slow stroll and wait for it to appear again. It arrived just before 1855 and left on time at 1900ish
We were at Dover Priory within a few minutes and I saw on the departure boards that there was a domestic service to Charing Cross at 1925 which would have got me to Waterloo East by 2118 or I could take the 1934 to Victoria which would of got me there by 2129 but there was also a HS1 service to St Pancakes at 1945 which gets in at 2051, I opt for the High Speed service just because I wanted to travel at 140mph, I pay £3.70 for the supplement and head over to the platform to wait. At about 1930 a Class 395 pulled in, can’t remember the number as usual. We leave on time and make our way to Ashford via Folkestone. We leave Ashford a minute late and that minute stays with us all the way to St Pancras, showing just how tightly timed these services are. The Onboard Manager checked my ticket and had no problems with it. I could have got off at Stratford Intl but didn’t feel like taking the DLR to Stratford then sitting on the Jubilee line for ages, instead I took the Victoria line from St Pancras to Oxford Circus to change to the Jubilee line getting onto Waterloo concourse by 2120. I see the 2125 to Weymouth on the boards and note that it didn’t stop at Clapham Junction, a quick check of the NRE app which also said that it didn’t stop at Clapham, I decide to wait for 2254 which was the stopper to Poole so must stop at Clapham, I needed the train to call at Clapham Junction because of my split tickets. I head over to Burger King and get one of the new promo burger meals, I used my bite to make the price a reasonable £4.90 ish. I sat down to waste time waiting for the next train but another quick check of the NRE app showed that the 2254 was also showing as not calling at Clapham, so I finished my meal and managed to get on the 2235 as I was very tired and prepared to risk it. We left on time and as we approached Clapham Junction, we slowed down and called there, so my ticket was fine and I was relieved I didn’t have to argue. I’m fairly sure my ticket would’ve been valid even if we didn’t stop but couldn’t quite remember. Fairly boring run back South and we get into Southampton Central at 2300. I retrieve my bike from platform 1 and cycle home, getting home at 2320ish.
To sum up, I had a very enjoyable trip, didn’t do much in Calais but the sun made it a pleasant time there. The only new bit of track I got was from Sittingbourne to Dover via Selling, which was enough to keep me happy. The best part of the trip was probably sailing on the Pride of Burgundy as it reminded me of my school trips to Paris, I also liked checking out the one of the new P&O ships in the form of Spirit of Britain, who has a very modern design that appears to work well, even if she does vibrate across the channel rather than sail across, much like the Red Eagle where I work, so I’m used to the constant wobble. I was pleased that I had no big issues with my tickets. The only thing I would do different next time would be to sleep more the night before!
