Speedferries Opens New Fast Ferry Terminal At Dover’s Hoverport
Speedferries now departs from Dover’s Hoverport. From this historic place where the mighty Hovercraft used to take off they have constructed a facility which excludes lorries and freight ferries.
As the Port of Dover is getting increasingly congested, landside as well as seaside, this move to the Hoverport, closer to the M20 and away from the ever longer queues of lorries, is really good news. So it’s now “goodbye lorries and goodbye freight ferries”. While refurbishing the Hoverport facilities in Boulogne have also been upgraded where customers will now park just in front of the ferry and right next to the Terminal.
On most of our ticket types customers would only need to arrive thirty minutes prior to departure and with a crossing which is now just 50 minutes we will be able to beat even Eurotunnel on the travel time for most of France. SpeedFerries offers a direct connection from motorway to motorway at twice the freight ferry speed.
During the coming weeks and months three new historic café concepts and new land based lounges will emerge. The (Hovercraft) Engine Bay Café in the Hoverport, the Jervis Bay Café onboard SpeedOne and the Orient Express Café in Boulogne Port will open, partly as catering facilities, partly as small museums celebrating the famous past of the historic buildings and the craft we are using for the service. On top of this, new Premier Class lounges will open in both ports in July and the Premier concept onboard will also be upgraded.
In the Dover Hoverport as well as in Boulogne there are now priority check-in and priority lanes for PREMIER Class and SUPER Voucher customers as well as the previous 10-trip Voucher customers.
The Hoverport move was a precondition for operating more than one fast ferry out of Dover. SpeedFerries has already obtained 13% percent of the car passenger market on the Dover
From June you'll be able to Reims in 45 minutes from Paris on the new high-speed TGV Est, which means you can be swigging champagne within four and a half hours of leaving London. (the guardian)
Giant Car Boot Sale - French Style in Lille
The annual Lille Braderie, the largest flea market in Europe takes place in September for 48 hours. In a tradition dating from medieval times, the town's residents flog off unwanted possessions on the street to an accompaniment of local delicacies such as moules frîtes. mairie-lille.fr or lilletourism.com.
Getting there: Eurostar (eurostar.com) or, if you want to take a van, Eurotunnel (eurotunnel.com) or P&O (P&O). Where to stay Alliance Lille Couvent des Minimes (0033 3 2030 6262, alliance-lille.com.), a 17th-century convent on quai du Vault, a 10-minute walk from the main square, converted into an 83-room hotel with cocktail bar in the cloister. From €197 per night.
Where to eat: Currently cool Au Bout des Doigts on rue Saint Joseph in the Old Town. No plates, no cutlery, just great finger food - tiny sandwiches of ratatouille, hot goats' cheese and lemon-grilles sardine - and a good vibe.
Shopping? Paintings, antiques, kitchenware, enamelware, advertising memorabilia, toys, lamps ... and the squares and shopping streets fill up with stalls selling crafts, food, clothes and Christmas decorations. Take lots of used notes.
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