Day: December 22, 2023

After a night of little sleep (the beds were comfy but the hamster wheel in my brain started turning at 4am), we got up at 6, loaded the car and left for the ferry terminal. Our ferry was scheduled for 940 so we’d have ample time to get sorted. Which is a good thing, because we needed it. We’re all a bit crunchy at this point (except the dog), but Ben is extra crunchy and reactive. Allowances are made.

We get to the ferry ticket office, get turned around, and realise that we need to check in and get our tickets at the gate we were just at. Go back, get sorted. Byron passes with flying colors. Go through French border security. Get mildly, but politely, told off for not showing our Swiss residency permits (which would explain why we have no entry stamps in our passports). Then we have to queue for UK passport control.

This is where 10 years of conservative government austerity measures and brexit shine. They’d booked us for the earlier ferry, which we should have been able to make, but passport control took forever so we missed that departure. We had to get to a specific boarding lane. Calais port is F’N HUGE. The French border agent jokingly told us that it was well signposted and that even the Belgians could figure it out. Apparently stressed-out Anglo-Swiss people rate lower than Belgians because we got lost for a bit and Katy was at the edge of a full-blown panic attack (happy birthday!).

After a bit of turning around, we found the right lane and just waited until someone came and dealt with us, as promised. In the interim, Byron explored the port and left them a gift, which was properly dealt with because I’m a responsible dog owner.

So now Byron is chilling in the car, hopefully will have a nap while we cross, Katy and I have coffee and Ben is trying out black pudding for the first time as part of a nice-looking but overpriced full Irish breakfast.

The weather is fairly windy and the ferry rise is a bit choppy but not overly nautical.

The boat is swaying just enough to make it interesting to walk a straight line, but we’re nowhere near Deadliest Catch territory.

We’re on the motorway at the moment and the roads are starting to get busier. According to BBC Radio 2, today is the start of the holiday travel season when millions of people want to get from A to B. It is recommended to not be on the road between noon and 4pm. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Satnav says 2h to Leicester.

Also, the state of UK highways is shocking. These are definitely not Swiss standard, and they even make the French nationals look good.

What the RAC has to say about travelling today

Millions of people across the country are making their Christmas getaway on one of the busiest days for travel of the year.

There are long queues at the Port of Dover after a surge in demand for ferries caused by Thursday’s Eurotunnel strike action in France. Domestic train services in parts of the UK have also been disrupted.

The RAC has advised drivers to travel after 18:00 GMT to avoid long queues on the roads. The organisation has said Friday will be the busiest day of the festive season as those heading away will share the roads with commuters and those on the school run picking up children.

Some 13.5 million leisure journeys are predicted to take place between Friday and Sunday – a 20% increase on the three days before Christmas Day last year – with 21 million trips overall.

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