Difference between revisions of "Dover"

From Hitchwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 46: Line 46:
  
 
== Extra information ==
 
== Extra information ==
When on the ferry try to find the Commercial Drivers Restaurant on one of the floors. From there you can get a free drink(hot chocolate, tea, coffee, soft drink), however if you wish to buy food it will cost you.
+
* When on the ferry try to find the Commercial Drivers Restaurant on one of the floors. From there you can get a free drink(hot chocolate, tea, coffee, soft drink), however if you wish to buy food it will cost you.
 +
 
 +
* Whilst waiting in the queue for your time to board the ferry, after the passport check, you can try to change rides in order to get on an earlier boat. Just walk around asking people that have an earlier leaving time than yours. Since you passed passport check they should not be afraid to take you. You can see it on the paper that is usually on their car or truck windows. This can save you a lot of time.
 +
 
 +
* You can also change rides inside the ferry, especially when it has arrived in the port and people are getting to their cars and waiting to exit. Just go around looking at number plates and asking around.
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==

Revision as of 12:26, 3 July 2010

Dover is a busy port in East Kent, in the South of England. For hitchhikers this is one of if not the best possibility to cross the Channel. Because it is the closest port to continental Europe on mainland Britain with just 21 miles from the French port of Calais, Dover is the busiest cross-Channel port in the UK, with 18 million passengers every year and thousands of lorrys each day. Regular ferry services operate from Dover to Calais (P&O and Seafrance) and Dunkerque (norfolkline).

To Calais

Hitchhikers can cross the channel for free because drivers only pay for their vehicle and a certain number of passengers, up to seven with a car and two with a lorry, the same holds true for the Channel Tunnel.

To get a lift to France, you may prefer to stop at Maidstone Services on the M20, where you have the possibility to talk to truckdrivers that might be crossing. Many more trucks stop at Ashford Truckstop on the M20, but there is security here and if they see you asking for lifts they will tell you to leave.

In Dover

<map lat='51.12625978268193' lng='1.3254833221435547' zoom='16' view='0' float='right' />

If you have reached Dover without a ride across the Channel, you have a few options,

  • you can try to get a ride on the road leading to the port. Difficult as there is no hard shoulder and very few breaks in the flow of traffic allowing anyone to stop.
  • you can try hitching after the last round-about. Unfortunately it's illegal to hitch on port property (i.e. after the Port of Dover Authority sign) and although you might get away with it sometimes, the police is known to enforce this rule and send you away.
  • you can try your luck inside the Travel Centre or on the car park in front of it. The problem is that both are nowadays very quiet as most people book on-line. If you speak to people here, you might have to convince them that they don't pay anything extra for taking you across and possibly that you are not an illegal immigrant.
  • you are allowed to stand at the rail of the last roundabout leading into the port, i.e. before the port property. You'll be standing at the height of a truck driver who can see you clearly and can pull aside just in front of the Port Police building after the roundabout.
  • you might try standing at one of the normal bus stops on the main seaside road with a sign that says France.
  • if you're really stuck you can also try at the Western Docks, there is a truck park where drivers carrying certain types of goods or from outside the EU have to stop to complete some paperwork.
  • If you are feeling rich or you are desperate, a one-way foot ticket to Calais will cost about £14

Disputed information: "the trucks park in the ferry so close that it's not possible to open the doors. That means that you'll spend more than 1.5 hour closed in a box with a stranger and the driver can only take one person legally - and they check your IDs etc on the entrance so none of them will take the risk of a fine there. I don't know if it is like this on every ferry and all the time, but it's not recommended to go with any trucks on a ferry!" -EDIT - This experience must be an exception...many hitchhikers have taken trucks without problem and get out easily. -EDIT- as far as i have seen everybody is required to get out of their cars and go upstairs and then staff lock the parking area, so nobody stays in their cars/trucks while at sea. also, truckdrivers have their own rest area on the ferry with free tea/coffee + shower facilities. lots of truckdrivers know each other, so it's a good place to ask around for rides and information.

Near Calais, there is a huge lorry park with great possibilities for hitchhikers to continue their journey once the crossing is done!

It is useful to be aware that ferries from Dover go to both Dunkirque and Calais. If you are trying to hitch down to Paris or further south then make sure your ride is going to Calais as you will find it difficult to find a lift otherwise. However, if you are hitching to Belgium, Germany etc. then you should get the ferry to Dunkirque.

Other directions

North towards Canterbury along the A2

From Dover there's the A2 that runs north to Canterbury and on to the M2, the A20 that follows the coast south to Folkestone, and the A256 that heads north towards Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate.

For leaving Dover, you probably have a better chance of a lift if you follow the Main road out of town. After about 20 minutes when you start to walk up a hill, there is a good place for vehicles to pull in.

North and North East towards Folkestone and London along the M20

West towards Brighton

Here you can try to get a lift onto the M20 and follow the motorways up and over. Another option is to get onto the coastal road (A259) all the way to brighton. From my expereince I would seriously advise skipping the romantic idea of the coastal road and keep yourself on the motorway. After folkstone its largely local traffic, a long walk out of the town and you sit there wishing you had of kept to the bright lights of the motor way!! However of course it led to a rich expereince!


Extra information

  • When on the ferry try to find the Commercial Drivers Restaurant on one of the floors. From there you can get a free drink(hot chocolate, tea, coffee, soft drink), however if you wish to buy food it will cost you.
  • Whilst waiting in the queue for your time to board the ferry, after the passport check, you can try to change rides in order to get on an earlier boat. Just walk around asking people that have an earlier leaving time than yours. Since you passed passport check they should not be afraid to take you. You can see it on the paper that is usually on their car or truck windows. This can save you a lot of time.
  • You can also change rides inside the ferry, especially when it has arrived in the port and people are getting to their cars and waiting to exit. Just go around looking at number plates and asking around.

External links