boystoys Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 hi all new to this site. can anyone shed any light on travelling to france with a motorhome? I'm worried that outbound will be ok but coming back could be a problem, I'm rather protective as we all are of our pride and joy, and the thought of migrants trying to climb on it trying to get across to uk is putting me off travelling, can anyone help? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the clampits Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Done it last couple of years and though you see plenty folk hanging about, it didn't seem that much of a problem for m/homers. I think that when I was there they were targeting HGV's. We are travelling through Ijmuiden this year because it suits us, but I suspect it will not be long until that port is besieged. The times are a' changing, for sure. I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice on here from folk who travel more often than us, but good luck anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Have Border Controls been put back in place at the Douanes etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 We have been crossing twice a year for the past 15 years without any problem (twice out and twice back). Yes, we have seen migrants, especially in the days when Sangatte was open as a refugee centre, but have not personally been approached. Don't be put off by your imagination running wild, just go and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 We have crossed via the tunnel during the migrant invasion without problems there have been a few hanging around on access roads. We keep all the doors and lockers locked as a precaution but we have never been approached. If you are concerned you could cross the channel using the tunnel outbound and one of the western crossings to return. You would ease some of your concerns for your first time, once you have done it I am sure you will wonder why you had worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Five crossings from Calais in the last 12 months and seen one refugee walking along the road, that's all. It could be different at night in the lorry lanes though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boystoys Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 some interesting comments thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldi Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 good morning, Its mainly the big trucks where there are more places to hide and have to que more. norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Unfortunately opinions on this subject have become polarised and some people, who may simply have been lucky with their timing of crossings rather than clever, will tell you there is no problem. Clearly (from the media stories about mass invasions by migrants of the Chunnel Terminal and also of ferries in Calais harbour) there is a risk of encountering unpleasant or threatening circumstances, especially for Calais crossings coming back to UK. For the past couple of years I have been avoiding Calais on the return route altogether and using Dunkirk instead. Dunkirk port is in a much more isolated position (several miles out on an open, flat, barren landscape, miles from anything except a very occasional fenced-in industrial location) and provides no facilities or shelter of any kind. I have seen no migrants anywhere near, nor seen any media reports of migrant activity in that area. I have slept in the MH overnight before the crossing on the Terminal Car Park with no sense of being vulnerable. There is only one ferry every two hours and the lorries all seem to drive straight up to the check-in and then park within a fenced waiting area, so it presents a really poor prospect for migrants. It works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnfromnorfolk Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Same here. Used Dunkirk in and out three times last year with no problem and slept in the terminal car park. Would be interested to know if anyone has used the Dunkirk terminal since Christmas because coming through in early December the terminal car park resembled a building site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 johnfromnorfolk - 2016-02-29 3:36 PM Same here. Used Dunkirk in and out three times last year with no problem and slept in the terminal car park. Would be interested to know if anyone has used the Dunkirk terminal since Christmas because coming through in early December the terminal car park resembled a building site. According to the media today a lot of the Calais migrants are moving on to Dunkerque now that the 'jungle' is being dismantled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnfromnorfolk Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 There apparently has been a camp at Dunkirk for a while. Did not see it, or any migrants using Dunkirk last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I was stopped, harassed, had every door tried and my wing mirrors pushed in. I saw rocks thrown and felt very threatened as there were no police around. Don't use the ferry, the companies will soon notice and put pressure on the French to do something. The Tunnel is much quieter since they flooded the fields and created moats around the terminal. I am going out and back via the tunnel. I will report back later! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 10 times a year or more we cross from Folkstone to calais and return , sometimes more as frequent travellers. One guy jumped in our garage when stationary loading it at Carrefour he got out when told to get out . Never had a bit of trouble we cross all times of the day and night . We dont stop we come out at Calais and foot down . When we return we dont stop until we hit the check in , there is very little chance of them getting into the shuttle. Use common sense im sure you will be ok . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trickydicky1 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hi,we also travel to France twice a year and have never had a problem.the last time we returned from Dunkirk as we thought it would be safer.we had no problems even though we stayed in the terminal car park overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Randonneur - 2016-02-29 4:45 PM According to the media today a lot of the Calais migrants are moving on to Dunkerque now that the 'jungle' is being dismantled. That doesn't mean they are heading for anywhere close to the Dunkirk Ferry Port, so until you hear reports of precisely that happening, no need for any panic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 To the OP, you haven't said what route you might take to get to France. We have continued making crossings throughout this problem, using the tunnel, and have yet to spot a migrant. Leaving should not be a problem, as most want to go the other way, and there is no need to stop once clear of the port/tunnel. Coming back to UK, the only problem we've encountered was at the A16 westbound exit 43, for Calais west, as we wanted to fill up at the Auchan filling station before continuing to the tunnel terminal. The problem was not migrants (though probably migrant related), but a queue of trucks backed-up from the tunnel exit (42) that at first looked to be blocking the exit 43 slip road. However, a nice truck driver had left a gap for other traffic to access the slip road, albeit it was a trifle "snug" for the van. :-) Don't forget the media hype this issue for dramatic effect, and a camera angle, aided by migrants wanting to make a point, doesn't necessarily reflect a true picture. If you avoid stopping in the vicinity of the Calais port/terminal (including Cite Europe, the Calais Auchan, and the not so cheap booze depots), especially when returning to UK, and simply drive straight to or from the port or tunnel entrances, preferably during daylight, you should not, on our experience, run into problems. If you want to pick up fuel or shopping en route, just do this further into France. There are plenty of choices within an hour's drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The problem is that you book your crossing well ahead and you have no way of knowing whether migrants will kick off that day. If you are unlucky you might pick a day when they block roads with coordinated mob action, invade the Tunnel Terminal en masse or even get on to a ferry in substantial numbers - all these things have happened and I suggest that you really don't want to in the wrong place at the wrong time if they do. Migrants have also tried to board motorhomes, both quietly overnight and by approaching a moving MH mob-handed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 StuartO - 2016-03-04 4:18 PMThe problem is that you book your crossing well ahead and you have no way of knowing whether migrants will kick off that day. If you are unlucky you might pick a day when they block roads with coordinated mob action, invade the Tunnel Terminal en masse or even get on to a ferry in substantial numbers - all these things have happened and I suggest that you really don't want to in the wrong place at the wrong time if they do. Migrants have also tried to board motorhomes, both quietly overnight and by approaching a moving MH mob-handed. In which case, try to move away from the terminal, and phone Eurotunnel or the ferry Co, with your booking reference, for guidance on your best course of action. If necessary, move away to a stopover and return when it has cooled down, even if that is the next day. They'll know from your call who you are and why you are late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Brian Kirby - 2016-03-04 5:23 PM ...... In which case, try to move away from the terminal, and phone Eurotunnel or the ferry Co, with your booking reference, for guidance on your best course of action. If necessary, move away to a stopover and return when it has cooled down, even if that is the next day. They'll know from your call who you are and why you are late. I arrived in Calais by ferry three years or so ago and drove onto the A16 spur road as usual when, without warning, the stream of traffic, which had been funneled into a single lane, was stopped by police. We were held for about 20 minutes as the police, lining the motorway roadside, waited for groups of migrants to clear, after having presumably been straying, in large numbers, across and along the motorway. The situation was resolving as we came up to it and it did simply clear as we watched as the migrants, who were not being violent, wandering off, like an out-manouvered army, into the adjacent scrubland. There were a few hundred of them. Eventually we were allowed on our way by the police. This was long before the migrant numbers built up or the migrants got much more assertive and aggressive in their tactics. But I learned that day that the idea that you would be able to leave the area if something like this was brewing ahead of you was fanciful; by the time you realise what's happening you are stuck among traffic with no way out. And the way things could develop these days, with much lager numbers of migrants who have learned that the police are not going to be violent to them and certainly aren't going to shoot anyone, you would be at serious risk of being surrounded by a large and violent mob, swamping the vehicles and become easy targets. And in a situation like that you think it would simply be a matter of driving to a place of safety and making a phone call? Good luck. My approach is to steer well clear of Calais, so it can't happen to me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I didn't say, nor do I think, it is completely risk free, Stuart. However, I don't personally rate the risk as high. I have to say we more often approach, and/or leave, the tunnel terminal on the D304 or D943, so being on the A16 was fairly unusual. However, I'm not advocating any particular approach. Folk must do whatever they are comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 The probability of you getting caught up in a riotous situation (.e the risk) may not be all that high because on most days they don't occur but the consequences if you were caught up in one (i..e. the hazard) would be very serious. Threat is expressed as hazard times risk, so a high hazard rating in this context is enough to tip it for me. I'm also influenced by the availability of a safe alternative, i.e. using Dunkirk. If there wasn't a viable alternative and I had to get home, I might have to take the the risk of being mobbed. Otherwise why do so, for the sake of driving an extra few miles to divert to Dunkirk, or for the sake of making use of your Tesco vouchers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 three years back when we had a caravan. some migrants broke the door lock of the caravan and got in. we had stopped to let the dogs have a walk before driving into the docks. I never saw a think at the time. we went through all the security points and had just stopped again in the row, when I started to feel movement, a sort of rocking motion. got out and had a look and saw someone in the caravan. anyway two males I found in the van. who only got out when the dock yard police turned up. last year we parked up at the shopping centre euro something and in the night saw large groups of migrants walking around. but things have changed and I think its best to avoid the area if you can. michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting the gentlemen at Calais Port here is a video dated 29th Feb 16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPb91eT80L8&feature=youtu.be&t=4m40s H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 hallii - 2016-03-05 4:05 PM For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting the gentlemen at Calais Port here is a video dated 29th Feb 16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPb91eT80L8&feature=youtu.be&t=4m40s H ...but by all accounts, they're vulnerable refugees, just escaping persecution... *-) Yeah right."vulnerable" my ar*e!... If these were football fans or crowds of protesters, they would've been using the likes of riot police and setting the dogs on 'em... (!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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