Bon voyage – Bonjour France

So an early start for us at team ‘our leap of faith’ as we were up and at them, by 5:30 am- god I’d almost forgotten that was a real time!

The Portsmouth to Caen Ferry Crossing which is run by Brittany ferries is a great choice for people who are travelling from the UK and don’t necessarily want to go from Dover to Calais.  As we are working in Somerset this is the perfect crossing for us when we are travelling to France as it’s only about 2 hours from Glastonbury compared to about 5 to Dover.

Our night at Dibbles Park had been peaceful and quite, it may well be said that we didn’t spend enough time here to make an informed review, but it was clean, tidy and the staff friendly.

With wheels a rollin we headed off back to the M27, with sleet falling (seems to be a theme on our road trips as it was snowing the morning we left on the #bigtrip). I was shocked I though the motorway would be empty at that time of the morning, but no it was manic !

Portsmouth ferry port was easily reached and no queue on the checking in lanes.

We passed though and still no queues!

Were we early ?

Were we late ?

In the end it seems that we are sharing this ferry with one other motorhome and about 20 cars !

Fred dog got his last walk, before boarding opened on time at 7:15

With so few people here security check where in the 150% range with bonnets being opened, guards crawling under cars, instead of using mirrors.

As all the other traffic was checked, we got Fred back out of his travel cage and put his muzzle on awaiting our turn, only to be waved straight though !

The magic of a giant scary dog, strikes again !

Loading of the motorhomes was pretty painless and for us it always feels much, much easier than check in at an airport.

Once parked up make sure your handbrake is on and any internal movement sensors are switched off so that your car alarm doesn’t go off while on board, with the dog jumping around having a party whilst we’re gone.

We closed down all the blinds, topped his water bowl and wished Fred a nice sleep !

On board there are the following facilities that are also available

soft play for under 7s

bar and coffee shop

shop and off licence

cinema

entertainment area

gaming area / casino

quiet room

WiFi

Restaurants open at 8am and we headed there for opening time as then it means we have eaten before the ferry hits the sea and starts to get rocky. Food at the buffet restaurant is decent and there is a wide range of food available for breakfast allowing Michele a full English and me a freshly baked croissant and large coffee.

After a short bit of wandering around the board shop, We took the lift right to the top of the boat, found us a window seat, with usb points and settled in for the journey ahead.

Apart from a quick trip out into the chilly cold air, we had a very relaxing crossing…

You will also be told when to head back down to your car to depart. You can then continue your journey onwards on holiday.

Exiting the ferry port is a doddle and a short 50km drive brings to our first overnight stop in France.

Paul.