Ferry Crossing Advice

Posted on 21/02/2024 19:29 by Oneputt

Not a problem if if it’s for personal use

Posted on 21/02/2024 14:19 by AGOG

I agree re ferry.

Generally I use large supermarket stations. they tend to be in a corner away from the busiest parking areas and if you don't like the look of them easy to turn away. I have had to do this twice. 

Something else to consider is aires. Always follow the caravan signed route to parking and if there isn't one, use the HGV route. I followed a truck through a poorly signed one last year until it suddenly came to a stop. The driver got out and waved me backwards which, given the distance, I wasn't keen on. The driver was Romanian so language wasn't feasible and I went round to the front of the artic to discover the problem. At the end of the drive through was a very tight and very high radius bend kerb the HGV physically just could not achieve, not sure I and my wide caravan would have either. A 150m reverse for us both and all was well. Thankfully a kind and aware person at the far end of the aire had stopped traffic from entering the parking area and gridlocking us all in.

The French ignore parking signage and just go anywhere that suits them be it cars, coaches, caravans or HGV's, it can be very frustrating when there is nowhere to pull up because of one or two misplaced vehicles. If it happens to you, keep your cool, just go to the next one, they are never that far apart and if you need to use an hgv space don't worry about it.

Posted on 25/02/2024 12:02 by Norfolk Hawker

With reference to parking at Aires, we have found that out of the ‘holiday’ period motorway operators can close off some of the caravan parking areas. We have been caught out by this as the caravan area can, in some instances, be after the main parking area with no route to return. We have had to go on to the next aire and hope there’s space there.

concerning motorists ignoring signage, I cannot agree it’s just the French. We’ve seen lots of other nationals doing this including sadly British. As an aside, you only have to stop at a UK service area with marked caravan spaces to know how our own motorists treat these spaces.