Getting to Great Britain
Arriving by Sea
The easiest way to compare the
many services, routes and prices is
online at http://www.directferries.com.
From France: Seafrance and P&O
Ferries have frequent crossings
between Calais and Dover (travel time
1½ hours). Transmanche Ferries/LD
Lines has ferry services between the
French ports of Dieppe and Le Havre,
and Newhaven and Portsmouth on
England’s south coast. LD Lines also
runs between Dover and Boulogne.
Condor Ferries has fast ferry services
(4½–5½ hours) from St Malo and
Cherbourg to Weymouth, Poole and
Portsmouth, and Brittany Ferries plies
similar routes to Britain’s south coast
with overnight and fast crossings.
Norfolkline has frequent crossings
from Dunkerque to Dover (2 hours).
From the rest of Europe: P&O Ferries
serves Great Britain from Belgium,
Netherlands, Spain and Ireland, as does
DFDS Seaways from Germany, Poland,
Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and
Sweden. Stena Line has daily crossings
from the Hook of Holland to Harwich
(6¼ hours). P&O North Sea Ferries sails
overnight from Zeebrugge in Belgium
(13½ hours), and also from Rotterdam,
Netherlands (11 hours) to Hull.
Brittany Ferries has overnight
crossings from Santander in Spain to
Plymouth (18 hours) or Portsmouth
(24 hours), while P&O has a Bilbao to
Portsmouth route (29 hours).
From Ireland: Norfolkline crosses
between Belfast and Liverpool
(8 hours). There are also services from
Belfast to Stranraer in southwest
Scotland (2 hours) and from Larne
to Fleetwood in northwest England
(8 hours) with Stena Line, and from
Larne to Cairnryan (1 hour) or Troon
(2 hours) in southwest Scotland with
P&O Irish Sea. Dublin to Liverpool
Below left Departure lounge at Gatwick airport
Below centre Ferry terminal, Dover Harbour
Below right Boeing 747, Heathrow Airport
Arriving by Road
Cars can also be taken through the
Channel Tunnel on the Eurotunnel rail
shuttle, which runs between Sangatte
near Calais and Folkestone in Kent.
Travel time is 35 minutes. Passengers
remain with their car. LPG-powered
vehicles are not permitted. The
terminals link to the A16 motorway in
France and the M20 in England.
Eurolines provides long-distance
coach (bus) service to Britain from
cities across Ireland and Europe.
Journey times can be long, but the
fares are relatively inexpensive.
Arriving by Rail
Eurostar is the fastest and easiest way
into Great Britain from Europe by rail.
This high-speed train travels through
the 52-km (31-mile) Channel Tunnel.
Passengers board at Brussels, Paris,
Lille or Calais to Ashford in Kent,
Ebbsfleet International or London’s
St Pancras Station. The journey from
Paris to London can be as little as 2¼
hours. From London, there are train
connections to all parts of the country
through the British Rail network.
If travelling by rail from Ireland, there
are combined train and ferry tickets
direct to most destinations in Britain.
For information contact Irish Rail.
11
DIRECTORY
ARRIVING BY SEA
Brittany Ferries
0871 244 0744 (UK); 08 25 82 88 28
(France); http://www.brittany-ferries.com
Condor Ferries
0845 609 1024 (UK); 08 25 13 51 35
(France); http://www.condorferries.co.uk
Direct Ferries
http://www.directferries.com
DFDS Seaways
+45 3342 3010;
http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk
Irish Ferries
0818 300 400; http://www.irishferries.com
Norfolkline
0870 870 1020 (UK); 03 28 59 01 01
(France); http://www.norfolkline.com/ferry
P&O Ferries
08716 645 645 (UK); 08 25 12 01 56
(France); http://www.poferries.com
Seafrance
0871 423 7119 (UK); 08 25 08 25 05
(France); http://www.seafrance.com
Speedferries
0871 423 7119 (UK); 08 25 08 25 05
(France); http://www.speedferries.com
Stena Line
08705 70 70 70 ; http://www.stenaline.co.uk
Transmanche
0800 917 1201 (UK); 0800 650 100
(France);
http://www.transmancheferries.com
ARRIVING BY RAIL
Eurostar (railway)
08705 186 186 (UK); +44 (0)1233 617
575 (from France); http://www.eurostar.com
Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann)
353 (0)1 703 4070 (Ireland);
http://www.irishrail.ie
ARRIVING BY ROAD
Eurolines
08717 818181 (UK);
http://www.eurolines.com
Eurotunnel
08705 35 35 35 (UK); 0810 63 63 04
(France); http://www.eurotunnel.com
routes (8 hours) are operated by P&O
Irish Sea and Norfolkline. Irish Ferries
runs 2-hour crossings from Dublin to
Holyhead in North Wales, as do Stena
Line from Dublin and Dun Laoghaire.
Irish Ferries crosses from Rosslare to
Pembroke in South Wales (4 hours),
while Stena Line has daily 2-hour
crossings from Rosslare to Fishguard.