ChrisD Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Good afternoon Has anyone ever left their van at this railway station? or had any experience of security there? We were hoping to leave ours there for a short trip into Lille. Any views would be appreciated Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 There are two stations adjacent, one for local trains, which is Fréthun, and the other for the Eurostar (which I assume you would catch) which is Calais-Fréthun. It appears you can use a pedestrian overbridge between the two. You thus have a choice of two (apparently free) car parks, one each side of the tracks, with that adjacent to the TGV line being the largest and also having 11 long bays in its south-western corner. It seems the stations are both popular, and that parking becomes over-subscribed at times, leading to a certain amount of "ad-lib" parking. Depending on your time of travel, and the size of your van, you may find spaces scarce/unobtainable. I can't see any sign of supervision for either car park. All the above from Google earth, from which street view will enable you to have a snoop around. Both are accessible from the D215 just west of Fréthun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Thanks again Brian. I did have a look on Google Earth and it was the openness of the countryside around the car park that prompted my initial security concerns. And as you say, despite being apparently free there appears to be no supervision. Hence I wondered if anyone has had the experience of this utility and from that the outcome. I can see that this parking may be difficult in terms of over subscription and days etc have to be considered but this could be such a useful transit point. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 I would opt for the gated Calais Aire very safe there, patrolled by the Guardian and a few words with him could prompt him to keep better eye on your van , cost about 10 Euros a night but well worth that for peace of mind I would have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 ChrisD - 2018-12-23 4:44 PM Good afternoon Has anyone ever left their van at this railway station? or had any experience of security there? We were hoping to leave ours there for a short trip into Lille. Any views would be appreciated Chris Off topic slightly here but relevant ? I left my van on an Aire in Spain , it was adjacent to a Railway Station,[ right alongside the tracks actually ] and we rode the train into Santander, great day was had , all was well with the van on our return, I cannot remember the Aire name but do have it recorded in my notes somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Calais Aire.Whoops pictures won't load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 The motorhome ‘aire’ at Calais was discussed here a few days ago. https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Aire-around-Calais/50938/ Photos on these links http://www.i-campingcar.fr/aires.php?ville=calais https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/nord-pas-de-calais-59-62/calais/52972/aire-de-camping-car-rue-dasfeld https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/marker.php?id=26796 (It’s about 5km from the aire to the Calais-Frethun railway station.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-12-27 2:01 PM...……………….(It’s about 5km from the aire to the Calais-Frethun railway station.) Which I assume is the reason Chris didn't consider it. ;-) He is looking for suitable parking by a station on the line from Calais to Lille - so that he can catch a train to Lille for a day trip. Fréthun is handy: but does anyone know of a better station in the area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Brian Kirby - 2018-12-27 6:54 PM Derek Uzzell - 2018-12-27 2:01 PM...……………….(It’s about 5km from the aire to the Calais-Frethun railway station.) Which I assume is the reason Chris didn't consider it. ;-) He is looking for suitable parking by a station on the line from Calais to Lille - so that he can catch a train to Lille for a day trip. Fréthun is handy: but does anyone know of a better station in the area? Frethun is an interesting option; I assume it may be to get use of the TGV? The Aire at Calais is, however, only about a mile's walk to Calais Ville station. From there there is a regular (but not TGV) service to Lille, taking about an hour and a quarter, as opposed to the 30 minutes of the TGV from Frethun. It is entirely possible to "mix and match" with a train from Calais Ville to Frethun and Frethun to Lille by TGV (and vice-versa), and that saves maybe 20 minutes on the direct train. If there are no mobility issues, this might be a more secure alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 Good Evening All Quick update: We have returned today from our short break to France and we stopped for the six nights on the aire at Wissant. I drove to Calais Frethun Gare from there to assess. Apart from cars there wasn't a single higher vehicle there. Not even a van, so my Roller team 746 would be like a beacon as any other campervan would. So not happy to leave it there. However Wissant felt very secure and the delightful town was only a short walk away so we will, in the future, explore other options to get from there to Frethun. Robinhood. Thank you for your post. Yes the TGV is the attraction. I have taken the 'local' from Calais Ville and would rather use the TGV any time. One of my party is a young 85 but not a distance walker so not an option and although buses are no problem, waiting for them can be. The TGV is normally very punctual and with the reserved seating solves those issues. Brian. Thank you for your post on the 'aire' at Calais and as you correctly surmised Derek's post did influence my decision on that venue. Vindiboy, yes certainly off topic but if you could recall where you stopped to go to Santander I would be very interested. Many thanks to you all for contributing to my original enquiry. Happy new year. (albeit an uncertain one) and Derek I didn't refer to the Br thing in that last remark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.