Dover delays

We had a lovely evening with Ann, Nick and Eddie, which ended with us booking tickets for Y Not Festival in July, probably thanks to 3 bottles of wine! Then, this morning, we headed to Dover in plenty of time to catch the ferry at 2 o’clock.

As we were travelling, news reports warned of traffic jams and delays at Dover. Then, as we approached Folkestone, Google Maps suggested we took a diversion to avoid the congestion. I was engrossed in knitting my first pair of socks and John ended up taking the wrong turning and heading towards the Channel Tunnel check in!

Signs everywhere said no U turns so we continued to the check in desk. I then wound the window down and, feeling stupid, explained what had happened. The guy behind the desk smiled, issued us an exit ticket and pointed us towards the way out. So much for saving time!

The adventure continued as we headed along single track country lanes, up hill, through mud and puddles. It wasn’t the best route for a heavily laden campervan with a bike rack on the back!

There were two cars in front of us, who also appeared to be following their sat nav. We kept meeting cars and vans coming in the opposite direction, and having to squeeze onto the verge to pass. Finally, we reached the top of the hill, with a good view down over the Channel Tunnel terminal.

The winding road then dropped back down hill and eventually we ended up in Dover, having missed a large section of congestion on the A20. This is where our delays began though. We got to within two miles of the ferry terminal by midday, in plenty of time to check in. However, from there, the traffic was practically stationary. It took us well over two hours to get to the port and, unfortunately, we ended up missing our scheduled ferry.

The queues continued in the ferry terminal but at least, in the van, we could go to the loo, and I made a cup of tea and some cheese butties. Thankfully, we got on to the 4 o’clock ferry so we were only delayed 2 hours.

Because of the delay, we didn’t get to Tournai tonight, as planned, but we’ve found an aire in Bergues.

It’s a very pretty place with a belfry and fortifications, although it doesn’t look it’s best in the rain. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant… and had forgotten just how good the food and wine is in France. Now we’re ready for a brew in bed. Goodnight!