Night ferry to Le Havre from Portsmouth
We are travelling from Portsmouth to Le Havre in June on the overnight ferry for 3 weeks in Normandy - My dilema is that we will be leaving the previous site at Hunter's Moon Caravan Club Site at 12:00 noon and it is only 45 miles from Portsmouth. As our Ferry does not leave until 23:30 with a recommended checkin time of 1 hour - we will need somewhere to park up and hopefully use the caravan for dinner - Has anyone got any recommendations as I believe the ferry port may not be an option as there are several ferry that day.
Thanks in advance for any help, guidance or suggestions
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Ash the site staff if you can leave a bit later or book an extra night then leave when you want to, which is what we did last year at New Forest site although earlier in the year and not so busy but with the extra night booking we left before 8pm. Or you could park at Rownhams motorway services on M27 and not to far to Portsmouth if for a short time not sure if they charge for longer than an hour.
Hope this helps.
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Good idea from RedKite to book the extra night at Hunters Moon and leave at 8pm. but another option would be to switch to the1445 ferry to Caen.
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If you don't want to pay for an extra day, a popular stopping-off point near the ferry is Port Solent Marina. Shops, restaurants,,,,,and of course boats.
Another possibility is Portsdown Hill where there are several large free parking areas with great views ..... but probably not what you want if a stranger to the area.
I would suggest getting to the port more like 2 hours before to avoid stress. The port has huge waiting areas.
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The only caveat on Port Solent is that there are a couple of vicious speed humps just before you reach the main car parks.
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I often book an extra night at sites so that I can leave in the late evening. It's easier for me if I arrive home late at night because my house is situated on a busy corner! However if you need parking there's a large layby on the A31 which is less than a mile after passing Picket Post services. It's quite long, off the road and has parking in two lanes. If you stop at Rownhams Services they will charge you £19 for car & caravan after two hours. Incidentally I've parked overnight at Portsmouth in the BF parking lanes when catching the 8.30am ferry to Bilbao.
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For future ref and info: the Poole / Cherbourg route is not a bad choice for Normandy destinations...The 08-30 arrives around lunch. But the icing on the cake is that for those that have to travel long distance and book an overnight stay...Poole harbour allows you to stay on the quayside securely for £5...and the quayside cafe hut does an excellent bacon butty which wakes you up around 07:00..ps 24/7 toilets...
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Thank you all for your ideas, advise and comments - we will probably stay late at our previous site and leave around 5.30 which will give us a clear 4 hours to make the trip - I did speak to the Brittany Port staff (03301597003) who said there is a lane that can be used for parking but it ts down to the port security and how buy it is.
Ill update the discussion with any other ideas I pick up and of course my experience - Also just for the discussion the reason we are travelling on the overnight LeHavre is we have a dog and my wife does not want it in a cage or car so we have booked a dog friendly cabin - things we do for love :-)
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