3ma uk routes

[jasonh131]

hi all
 Theo whats your intented route , simon mentioned turning north into belguim to avoid france and the tolls
on the auto rountes , or are you blasting right there ,,,
 i 'll be convoying with you, as being a first timer,  ony been on small trip around bruge, gent and waterloo about 20 yrars ago .

[simon131]

Jason,

The quickest, most direct route from Calais to Lossburg is diagonally through France, but this will inevitably mean lots of Autoroute Tolls . This route is about 440 miles, on top of which of course we have to get to Dover.

I've been doing some sums and to be honest I don't really know what I'm gonna do. Taking two cars instead of just the Abarth obviously means everything is doubled - ferry, petrol, tolls etc but I'm not sure what else to do to get the family over as it will be an uncomfortable (and almost certainly unbearable!) squeeze with the wife and three kids (aged 9, 11 and 13) all squashed into my Abarth. Not ideal - and something I'd rather avoid.

I was gonna take my 525i Sport Touring - but it's almost as bad on petrol as my Abarth (about 25 mpg) although it would be a worthy 'Support car' and kid transporter. Thing is that cost (yet again!) will be a serious factor - always is.

The only other option is to fly the family out and hire a modern car for their use - I just don't know. Or fly them out and collect them from a local airport and hope that I can find a ride for them each day as passengers in others cars (they are pretty well behaved really - especially with strangers! )

I've promised them all that they'll be coming so I can't let them down. They all wanted to come to Turin this year but I had to disappoint them, so Germany '10 is a must.

 

[Thotos]

There's not much in it distance-wise. The first route below through France is 430 miles and according to Autoroute should take about 6.5 hours without stops. The second route mainly via Belgium adds under 10 miles to the total but about an extra 20 minutes due to slightly more non-motorway roads. I seem to remember that the French motorways up to Lille do not have tolls but it's a long time since I've driven to Lille so I could either be wrong or they may have now introduced tolls on those roads.

I'd say for the sake of saving the French motorway tolls ( or the majority of the tolls  ) it would be worth the extra 20 minutes or so. The extra 10 miles will add very little to the total fuel cost.

It would seem that we'll have at least 6 cars from the UK this year so there's enough of us to be discussing route options for a while  We still don't know which route the Irish guys will take but if they decide to drive through the UK then our UK to Lossburg convoy will be even bigger so might take us even longer to decide on the route that most people will be happy with   

[Thotos]

A third option (if there are prohibitive tolls to Lille) is to drive from Calais straight into Belgium towards Bruges on the A18. Problem with this option is having to drive round Brussels and there always seem to be traffic jams round Brussels. In fact I found driving round Brussels worse than driving round Paris and that's bad enough!  

This option is about 12 miles longer than the 'direct' route through France but only about 15 minutes longer according to Autoroute. But I suspect the drive round Brussels is likely to add an hour to the total driving time. 

[jasonh131]

Your right about brussels  theo ,but i did hit it coming out at 16.30 ish rush hour and driving rain ,all for a 20 min stop and a waffle ,got lost and ended going toward antwerp when i was staying near bruge ,along detuor.
 
 simion why don't your recomision the your 131 series 1  for your second car
jason

[Thotos]

16.30 ish rush hour and driving rain

I've been to Brussels a few times at different times of the year and it's ALWAYS been raining   

[eugene]

I would say keep away from Brussels in the morning and evenings,but during middle of the day is ok.I was there 2 years ago.
I don't think i will be going through UK(Have to be changing euros to sterling ).In January/February i will know better,however it will be down to the cheapest ferry crossing from Eire to France for me .Eugene

[jasonh131]

ferrysavers.co.uk
norfolk line

 Dover -  dunkerque  cheaper than any other ,, i wonder why your own oars   
Order results by:    Price    Date    Duration    Operator
   ?28.00    
Route    Depart    Arrive/Duration
Dover to Dunkerque    Thu 13 May 10 04:00    07:00    2hr 0min
Dunkerque to Dover    Tue 18 May 10 14:01    15:00    1hr 59min
Terms and Conditions       Add Hotel
Add Cottage
   ?28.00    
Route    Depart    Arrive/Duration
Dover to Dunkerque    Thu 13 May 10 04:00    07:00    2hr 0min
Dunkerque to Dover    Tue 18 May 10 16:01    17:00    1hr 59min
Terms and Conditions       Add Hotel
Add Cottage

[Thotos]

That's very cheap at ?28 return  Seafrance to Dover works out ?53 and Eurotunnel, my preferred method, ?106. Disadvantage of Norfolk line to Dunkerque is the long 2 hour crossing as opposed to 1.5 hours for Seafrance and just 36 minutes for Eurotunnel.

Interestingly, the Autoroute suggested route to Lossburg from Dunkerque is through Belgium and round Brussels. It's 416 miles and will take 6 hours 20 minutes non-stop. So it looks like Norfolk line to Dunkerque is a good option as what we waste in the longer crossing we almost gain in shorter driving and it's by far the cheapest option.
 

[Thotos]

I don't think i will be going through UK(Have to be changing euros to sterling ).In January/February i will know better,however it will be down to the cheapest ferry crossing from Eire to France for me .Eugene

It's a long way from Cherbourg to Lossburg (580 miles - 920 Km) so you're unlikely to do that in a day especially as most ferries from Ireland land in France around midday. You also have limited choice of ferries direct to France (they run every few days as opposed to ferries to the UK which run every few hours a day) so you may end up having to spend two days in France or an extra night in Lossburg or, even worse, miss the first day of 3ma10  .  You also have the added cost of motorway tolls if driving across France.

[eugene]

I can also go Cork Roscoff but whichever way i go,i will have to stay somewhere over night,or sleep in the car .Whatever happens,i am going anyway .Eugene

[Thotos]

Roscoff is even further away from Lossburg at 1115 Km That will certainly require an overnight stay in France somewhere. We are a friendly lot in the UK Eugene   so don't discount the option of driving through the UK without at least some consideration and deliberation.  

[eugene]

My 131 is on Uk plates and i don't want to change as then i am liable for road tax here .So going through Uk is trouble for me(Nothing against Uk or Uk people Theo).
If i did consider going through Uk,i will still have to stay somewhere overnight.Really its a no win situtation,but i am going which is the main thing.
Also the ferry at Cork is only one hours drive from my home ,unless the fare is a crazy price .Eugene

[sid131]

Eugene duty pay the car thats ?50 change the taxation class to vintage & veteran get the gardai to stamp the form tax for a year ?48 & a new set of number plates ?20 grand total of ?118 & the car is legal & nct exempt, driving the car in Ireland on Uk plates is illegal & is liable for a fine of ?1250 if caught & get the car confiscated & if its not taxed they will do you for that also.

[eugene]

Sid,there are some people around here driving on foreign plates with over a year and a half.When there stoped by the coustoms,they just get them changed.My 131 hasen't been on the road since the GKMR run.Why should i give the state 118euro,when the car sits in the garage .
In my area there not so strict,but if i am stoped and told to change to Eire plates,then i will do it :-\Eugene