Vimy 106

With it being Easter Sunday we had been unable to secure a day trip with Eurotunnel. We could have had a short stay trip for £94.50.

Instead we decided to go with P&O for £34.50. 

So to make it to Dover for the 8.25am meant getting up early. It's Sunday after all.

So when the alarm went at 5.55am it was a struggle. I needed to be at Dover at least 60 minutes before sailing.   So I was away by 6.25am. The V-Strom starting first prod and we were away.

It was foggy on the M20 and A20 but luckily the holdups over the holiday weekend had mostly gone.

Getting through French passport controls took around 30 minutes. It would have helped had Dover Port have had some staff on duty to marshal the queues. It was chaos.

I met up with fellow travellers in Team Meldrews' members, Phil on his R1250RT and my brother Neill on his K16.

We were loaded quite quick, and first on. We retired to the lounge for the 90 minutes crossing. It was foggy until a couple of miles off the French coast.

The ride non-toll seemed to be going okay until the approach to Bethune. The TomTom had up vary the route. Eventually we got back to the right path. Arriving at Notre Dame de Lorette just before 1pm local time. 

We decided to have lunch in the Estaminet before looking around the war cemetery. There was a board with the "Menu de Pâques". 

At €28 no the cheapest for three courses. The food was excellent but service very slow. It was gone 1.35pm by the time the waitress came to find if we wanted to have the cheese. 

We said, or rather my terrible French did, that we had to rush to Vimy.

I paid the bill. Expecting €28 per person and Coke and water in top in was surprised that the bill was €79.20. To be split three ways ..

We got there at 1503. Le Jobsworth wouldn't let us park in the nearest parking so we had to try about half a mile away. 

Oddly, unlike past years, the VIPs arrived on time. The last two years I have been they have turned up around twenty minutes late!!!

I had to answer the call of nature and had to walk back to the loo by the information centre. It was closed but the loos were open. Phew.

I walked back to the car park where we had managed to squeeze in. I saw Phil and Neill walking back and went to head them off before the went to the information centre!

It was getting on for 4.25pm now. We needed to be back in Calais 60 mins (again) before sailing.  We chose to head back on the A26. After a hiccup where we went the wrong way twice we rocked up at Calais at around 5.35pm. 

Last weekend the blame for holdups was firmly placed on the shoulders of the French passport controls. 

We arrived and there were four controls open. We got through. Oddly despite having flip front helmets we had to remove them. Passports stamped to show we had left the Schengen Area.

Then to UK controls. Six open. Longer queues and slower getting through. Not the French this side.

Once again we had barely stopped and turned the engines off when we boarded.

Phil and I were on the port side. Neill on the other. It seemed that Spirit of Britain was short of tie-downs. Eventually we had all three tied down.

We then had two hours in the lounge before arriving in Dover. 

I followed Phil to Folkestone where he peeled off to his B&B, and then upped the pace to get home. 

It was just before 8pm when I turned onto the drive.

It had been quite a long day. The sun had caught my dome so I am a little pink on top!