Ferries, Driving, and the Channel Tunnel
Ferries:
There are multiple ferries to and from the UK. To get to England from mainland Europe, we took the Stenaline ferry from the hook of Holland to Harwich . This is a nice ferry that even offers private rooms.
View out the window upon leaving Holland.
There are stores, restuarants, bars, kids areas, and even a theater aboard the ferry.
Driving:
Oh, the adventure of driving on the left side of the road. Not just wide freeways, but narrow little curvy roads.
Since we were in the country, the roads were so narrow, that someone needs to pull over onto the shoulder and let the other car pass.
Dave got used to driving on the left pretty quickly, but he needed to borrow a car for a short bit, and it was a right hand drive with a left side stick shift. Ooooh boy, actually he managed just fine, but did find it awkward to shift and signal the blinkers at the same time. I found myself gasping a few times
Why does the UK drive on the left? Back in the Roman times, riders on horseback traveled on the left to keep their sword arms free. Now, the costs of changing to the right would be too expensive.
And speaking of expensive….
Gas prices
Our leased vehicle takes diesel. The sign in the photo shows £142.9/litre. That is $2.37/liter or $8.97/gallon. Yup, it is pretty expensive. Fortunately our car gets about 40mpg.
So it is time for us to move on. Next stop, Spain. But how to cross over to the mainland?
The Channel Tunnel:
- 50 km/ 31 miles long
- 250 ft deep at its lowest point
- Construction began in 1988 and opened for business in 1994
- Cost: £4.65 billion
- links Folkestone, UK and Coquelles, France
It is necessary to reserve your spot online, days or weeks before your planned trip.
Then simply drive onto the train and sit in your car and enjoy the ride. The total trip is only about 45 minutes.
Dave had a movie qued up on his ipad, and we were prepared with snack, so we quite enjoyed ourselves, actually.
As we drove off the train, Summer was able to turn around and get a picture out the back window.
It took us about 2.5 days to drive from Suffolk, UK, through France and Spain, for our final destination in southern Spain, beautiful Andalucia.
After the trip, we realized that it might have been cheaper and easier to take a ferry from England to northern Spain. Once we added the cost of the Channel Tunnel, French tolls (about 100 euro), 2 nights in a hotel, and the high cost of petrol, it was very close to the high cost of the longer ferry trip. However, we enjoyed our trip, and nothing is gained from looking back with regret.