We took some back roads and whilst it took 5.5 hours from Dorking (normally 90 mins) it seems we were lucky…Many folks I chatted to had taken 8-10 hours from Surrey and London but sticking to the main roads. They had sold too many tickets for the road infrastructure and checkin could take. Lots of folks blaming French immigration but they were the quickest stage of the transition from checkin to train.
We had the same yesterday. They blamed the road infra but it was fine, all the queues were in the terminal itself and had just backed up into the road. If the terminal had been ok, the road would have been fine
Bums, heading that way next week.
I'm booked for next Saturday. Really hopes it settles down a bit by then. Have a long drive down to Bilbao..
8-10 hours from Surrey and London but sticking to the main roads
I did it in less than that and I drove from Glasgow
They had sold too many tickets for the road infrastructure and checkin could take.
Don't they usually sell the maximum capacity of the trains at this time of year? Can't see how this year would be different in terms of infrastructure and check-in.
We came back this morning, on the 8:35 train from Calais. It took us about an hour to clear check-in, PP control & customs at Calais (mainly UK PP control).
The entry checks for either country take longer than they used to.
Now that English schools are off, I recon it's likely there will also issues heading north on a week or two.
Once we cleared Folkstone, there was a good 10 miles of trucks parked southbound on the M20.
They had sold too many tickets for the road infrastructure and checkin could take
The Conservative government introduced a hard border with France on top of infrastructure that wasn't developed to cope, and was already running at near capacity before Boris and co decided to throw sand in the gears.
Took us 4 hours to drive the 15 miles from Ashford to the tunnel yesterday - was all going so well until we were diverted on to the A20 for the last 4 miles or so.
Once we got to the tunnel it was pretty quick to get on the train. Suspect Dover is the bigger problem.
2016: we want to restrict freedom of movement.
2020: government rejects expansion of passport booths to cope with movement restrictions.
2022: why can't we move freely??? Blame the French!
2016: we want to restrict freedom of movement.
Evidence would suggest that's one policy they've managed to implement extremely successfully!
I take it it’s just last week when passport stamping has come into force?
Why is the tunnel especially bad? I came back into Dover recently with no problems at all. Security at Calais was pain in the bottom, not queues, just some jobsworth making me empty my entire van.
No...they've been doing it for a while but this is the first time with post pandemic numbers of travellers at the start of school holidays
Drove to Germany and back beginning of the month via Dover/Calais. Queued for about an hour at French border control on the way out, 2 booths open and stamping passports, and about 45 mins in British border control on the way back, bigger queues but more booths open. No problems coming off the ferries either side. Biggest delay was ferries being cancelled.
Don’t they usually sell the maximum capacity of the trains at this time of year? Can’t see how this year would be different in terms of infrastructure and check-in.
Exactly - Eurotunnel has been open since 1994 but this is the first time there have been delays like this. The only changes to the road network in recent years has been the 'operation Brock' stuff to queue up trucks. Because of delays caused by the removal of free movement of goods. Because of Brexit.
Went on tunnel a couple of weeks ago. 2hr q at terminal UK side. Passport control was not really any slower than previous years. Just a stamp on top of a look at each passport.
Got a ferry from Dover yesterday. After hearing news of delays, we got a hotel close by night before. Got there 2.5 hrs early. 1hr q before passport control. It looked like immigration hasn't started working because queue suddenly started moving into passport control. Our guy was slow and rude. Just like someone reported on news. Took passports, closed window and took a while. 3 vehicles next to us passed through in the time.
So no real issues with us, and that's twice in 2 weeks
Brexit.
Got a friend trying to get through the tunnel this evening who's been spouting off on social media that it's ridiculous. He really didn't take it well when a few of us pointed out that he was a fervent Leave supporter and that this was the result of not having Freedom of Movement any longer. He went on a massive rant about its to stop the immigrants coming here, not holidaymakers going there. He was the same when he realised that he could only spend 90 days continuously in his holiday home in Greece where he usually goes for the winter and that he'd be breaking a few rules by working while over there too (just needs a computer and a phone to do his job), again not his fault.
He may no longer be a friend when he comes back!
I take it it’s just last week when passport stamping has come into force?
Nope. We went out on the tunnel with a 3 hour delay three weeks ago, 2 hour delay on the return the other week. Passports stamped outbound and inbound. Only consolation was the piles of classic sports cars in the queue on the way out heading for Le Mans.
You should try living around here when this happens, it is carnage with everyone looking for a way round the gridlock, local roads become impassable too.
He may no longer be a friend when he comes back!
Brexit benefit right there!
Great. I hope it is sorted out by September. I have Eurotunnel and then a road trip to Venice through France, Belgium, maybe Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Monaco. What could possibly go wrong?
What could possibly go wrong?
Given some of your threads I am terrified, have you pre-warned them?
We used Harwich to Hoek of Holland on Friday when it was all kicking off in Dover. Very smooth, no traffic and friendly Dutch customs doing the stamping.
Brexit - have your country back.
Son's been through Dover on way to France and was fine this morning.
Another fine mess to file under 'predictable Brexit problem.'
Saturday - took 22 hours from joining back of queue on M20 to getting to france at 6am.
The first 14 hours were because of the queue barging bell-endery going on before you were inside the eurotunnel complex which meant that if you were queuing like a decent human you were in effect going backwards. Kent police needed to sort this - at times the entire M20 was blocked because of it. I (yes yes) stood in front of queue bargers so wife and kids could get through and got hit by a car for it (reported, obvs).
OP your back routes were the correct thing to do.
Yes eurotunnel was overwhelmed once inside but it was moving - passport control was fine - it was just sheer numbers from my view and between eurotunnel and the highways they should’ve had a plan. Eurotunnels provides the service so I ultimately blame them.
Eurotunnels provides the service so I ultimately blame them.
Although they don't have any control over passport control with the UK Border Force nor the French Douane.
Guy on five live saying it's not brexits fault, it's the people in charge of it, the people who manage it, stop bashing brexit, it's done nothing wrong. Poor little brexit, everyone picking on it. Give it five years, then it'll all be ok, "time will tell." Best thing "we've" ever done apparently. 👍🎉
queue barging bell-endery going on before you were inside the eurotunnel complex which meant that if you were queuing like a decent human you were in effect going backwards. Kent police needed to sort this – at times the entire M20 was blocked because of it. I (yes yes) stood in front of queue bargers so wife and kids could get through and got hit by a car for it (reported, obvs).
Tell us more. This sounds interesting.
Hoping they've got is at least mostly sorted in a few weeks time - I've got a train booked early friday morning. Usually we drive down to the terminal at 4 in the morning - might have to leave the night before and sleep in the queue
When a queue is forming I always leave a gap for people in the right hand lane to pull into. It never gets taken , the scumbags always want to go right to the front.
I hope the person who bumped you was dragged from his car and crucified on the nearest telegraph pole.
Whilst I'm sure the problems were caused by passport checks I have a feeling Eurotunnel didn't help the situation any.
I have no idea what they have done but the service has changed since CV. Whether they have reduced the number of staff, cut back on trains, or economised in other ways, they are a totally useless bunch of money grabbers now, with no consideration for their customers.
We have to use them a lot, as The Better Half hates ferries and we have been back to the UK four times this year. The prices have doubled but the service has got worse.
Recently there was a break down in the tunnel, which caused 5 hour delays. We were caught in the queue on the M20 but were able to travel back the next day. We rang them and said we could swap days, which will help us both. Certainly sir that'll be £50 for the late change! No amount of yes but it helps the current situation worked, as the 'computer says no'
We complained and were told they would report back to us.... 5 months later we're still waiting.
As for it not being Brexit, we recently crossed over into Spain, no queues, no hard border....
Hoping they’ve got is at least mostly sorted in a few weeks time – I’ve got a train booked early friday morning. Usually we drive down to the terminal at 4 in the morning – might have to leave the night before and sleep in the queue
I'm booked on the 09.36 on Friday morning - i was feeling pretty smug about this a few weeks back when the airports were in chaos but now i'm dreading it.
We only live an hour from the tunnel (Orpington) i think i'll leave home about 6.00 and what will be will be...
**** Brexit and all who voted for it.
Simon Calder appears to be just about the only media commentator who is prepared to actually spell it out in simple terms. Has he been on the Beeb recently, not seen him there?
Not sure why GBNews booked him, bit of a malfunction on their part:
https://twitter.com/bmay/status/1551464675711324160
Is it just Dover where the issues are? Or issues at other ports too. Weirdly I have just returned from turkey, upon arriving at our gate there was a sign saying the UK had requested additional security checks for UK bound flights, which included being frisked and swabbed for drugs, Are we trying to isolate ourselves from the whole world?
Has he been on the Beeb recently, not seen him there?
He was on the news on bbc2 about half an hour ago
Are we trying to isolate ourselves from the whole world?
I believe that was the general gist behind Brexit, yes.
Is it just Dover where the issues are? Or issues at other ports too.
Curiously, just at the ports/terminals where the hard border is, by agreement, on UK soil. Dover, Folkestone, Eurotunnel.
Blaming the French for something that is funded (or not) and implemented in a different country to them.
When a queue is forming I always leave a gap for people in the right hand lane to pull into. It never gets taken , the scumbags always want to go right to the front.
Zip-merging is much more efficient than a single file queue, and is taught as the correct way to drive in some other countries. Our British obsession with queuing doesn't do us any favours here.
We went to France on eurotunnel in April and it was carnage then! Fair enough only maybe 2 hour delays, but getting through the passport control was just a mess.
I think they need to look at how they funnel cars through to passport control, 2 lanes round the car park is shit if you end up in the wrong one (bloody missus needing the toilet!). Keep queues to specific lanes so people don't get upset with queue jumpers, I was trying my hardest not to get cross with people, which I did manage mostly, but just sitting there watching people from all angle fill gaps in front of you when you can't move is just annoying. Once through PP control we just drove straight onto a train as there was no queues at the gates before the trains!
It must be a nightmare for the locals around Dover as well. What happened to the airfield they were going to use for stacking lorries after brexit. Stacking on the motorway doesn't seem to be working.
That Simon Calder bit is good. Anyone denying this is a brexit related issue is deluded! Infrastructure needs to change as well though.
Blaming the French
Brexit rule #1
Everything is the fault of the Europeans. Britain is perfect.
Zip-merging is much more efficient than a single file queue, and is taught as the correct way to drive in some other countries. Our British obsession with queuing doesn’t do us any favours here.
I completely agree with this, but it needs to be controlled not just a free for all.
