Originally Posted by
stut
I did the Dunkirk ferry with a bike a few years ago - nice service, but goodness me, the port is a long, industrial ride from the town! It also feels like a slightly odd route - you basically sail to Calais, then hug the coast the rest of the way!
Well, it's the closest port for my ultimate destination, Oudenaarde in Flanders.
Originally Posted by
stut
I wonder if the crowding will mean the resurrection of other ports, like Ramsgate and Sheerness. Though I'm not holding my breath for the Ostend hydrofoil returning.
I wish, but frankly I doubt it. The decision of only allowing travellers with passports has reduced the number of visitors and future ESTA-like things will just cut it further.
This Guardian article is a bit cringeworthy, but the numbers show that traffic isn't growing back. I suppose that a lot of people who don't have passports (half the French and Germans) are going elsewhere. I'm trying my hardest to find ways to travel with my bike without having to faff with boxes and plane travel, but it really feels like we're going out of our way to make it impossible. On most trains in Europe, it's simply a case of getting on and going. Flixbus even has racks. From the UK, though, it's either the ferry or nothing...
Originally Posted by
NickB
Yes long and so bleak. You almost feel like you could be in a Nordic noir series/film with a plot involving a murdered cyclist.
I guess there is a certain beauty to this, in the same way as desolate industrial areas can have a certain beauty, But I prefer the closeness to town of Calais (even if Calais is no pretty picture either). I have never used the longest Brittany-bound routes but, of the shorter routes, the one I like best on the bike is the Newhaven-Dieppe one. Longer crossing compared to the Dover straight routes but the town of Dieppe is a stone's throw from the Ferry port and it also gives you access to a wonderful
voie verte long distance cycle way. If cycling towards Beauvais or Paris or beyond, this is a great route to take.
There's some amazing infrastructure over in Belgium and some has also rubbed off France. I'll see how this trip goes, but next year I might try to do the Roubaix. Who knows, perhaps they'll also allow bikes back on the train!