I am in England at the moment, in Oxford in the south of England, having got here with friends who drove to Caen, where we took the ferry boat to Portsmouth, then drove to their apartment by the sea in Bournemouth, and after a day or two enjoying the sun, sea and sand I took the train to Oxford.
Car, boat and train quite a combination which made me think of the many different combinations there are in order to get to the UK from France and vice versa, but whichever mode of transport you use it is always quite long and tiring!
Many years ago when I first lived in France, before Limoges airport came into operation along with low cost flights, the trip from one country to the other was by Eurolines coach. Such long unforgettable journeys taking the coach from London to Dover, where the coach was driven on to the ferry and then the long drive down through France, it seemed to take forever!
It is said that there are at least 13 different ways to get to France from the UK including train, bus, car, ferry, plane, the tunnel, a foot passenger, electric car etc… The low cost flights from and to Limoges airport certainly seem to have made life easier for those Brits living in the Creuse, just a 1 hour 30 minute flight, but of course you need to be at the airport 2 hours in advance of the flight and there are plenty of security checks to negotiate. No method is perfect.
By train, by plane, by car or by ferryThe ferries also revolutionised travelling across the Channel. Indeed, one can choose an overnight crossing, have a sleep on board and arrive feeling refreshed. Normally people take their cars on the ferry but there are plenty of cyclists and motorcyclists too, along with foot passengers.
The Eurotunnel is often the cheapest and quickest way to cross to France, driving your car onto the train that runs through the tunnel under the sea – the longest passenger tunnel under the sea in the world! There is of course the Eurostar train which is just for foot passengers, and is just like a normal train with a long, dark tunnel, you certainly don’t realise you are under the water!
The train under the sea is probably the fastest method, the ferry is probably the cheapest if you don’t mind being perhaps a little seasick!
People nowadays are concerned about reducing their carbon foot print and many are trying to fly less, perhaps the Chunnel train is the least polluting method, many feel it is a good option. You drive your car on to the train, you stay in your vehicle, along with your dog if you have one, it is just 35 minutes to get to the other side and when you arrive you just have to remember to drive on the other side of the road !
