Travelling after Brexit
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Arriving at Camping Riva Bella at 2130 has never seemed a problem to me - we have always had a good meal in the best restaurant on the ferry, and then at the campsite have simply sampled the Armagnac we bought on board before falling into bed. In the morning the camp site sells baguettes and croissants and other essential groceries - and we have sometimes shopped across the road at Carrefour for food, fuel, wine and beer before hitching up to leave.
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Brue
We have found it varies from area to area, country to county. Some of the large campsites in the South of France have supermarket with quite a good selection. The two sites we used in Spain had even larger supermarkets. Italy the large sites have supermarkets. Very few site we have been on that don't sell bakery products but I suspect you would find if difficult to find fresh milk on smaller sites although UHT may well be available. We also find a difference in the level of stocks depending on season. If you intend to stay on Aires it's likely you will be within walking distance of some sort of food store.
David
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Not only do many campsites sell groceries - we have had lazy people's breakfast in the bar at Lyon, an evening meal on the terrace at Lalley, and we remember hard working Sophie who brings fresh bread and croissants to every pitch early in the morning at the Moulin de Mellet - and she cooks in an evening too. Now that's a campsite worth looking up - it's near Agen
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When using the Caen crossing we too do what the above posters have said. This year we hope to be crossing using the tunnel so instead of an earlyish crossing we will get a late afternoon one and stay at a site near Calais and top up the food cupboard that evening. Yes large campsites do sell groceries but if you travel outside the peak you may find the choice rather limited; however, we can usually find space to park (our 12m long outfit) in a village and do some shopping if needed. So no problems.
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Hi everyone, we have updated the advice on the dedicated page on the Club website on 18th January. To view the advice visit Travelling after Brexit
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I wonder what the situation may be like in regard to campsites availability in Europe after Covid;following an email exchange with the very pleasant French family who own one of our favourite sites in the S of F.The ill effects of Covid etcetera upon their business model have been severe to the point of almost existential.Theirs is a long established and high quality site and I really feel sorry for them.Like many businesses here and abroad they are just about hanging on but only just.Sadly they may not be alone in their plight and come the "happy day" when we are free to travel,under whatever conditions,some of our favourite sites may have gone.A bit more planning/research may be required for future tours on the Continent, to fill in gaps created by Covid casualties.The "new normal" is going to take a bit of readjusting to in all sorts of ways thanks to Brexit/Covid.No doubt we will find "work arounds" in the end as "Life does go on"but it does make you feel a bit sad at times.
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Most French sites had a good summer in 2020, especially the small family run sites, as they had fewer overheads. The greatest difficulties were faced by big commercial sites with shops, pools, sports areas etc with big staffing overheads and in some cases big loans to service. I have booked my usual sites for the summer and they are all looking forwards to a good season.
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Our favourite site in the Loire, small family owned, has had a run of bad years effecting occupancy heavily. I think I've got the order correct:-
2016 - Brexit vote
2017 - Floods
2018 - Access bridge out, road closure, electrics down
2019 - to wet and then to hot
2020 - well we know about that
They are hoping for a good 2021, if not then they are unsure of future.
Colin
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I see BF have announced that they will not be re-starting their crossings to France and Spain from Plymouth and Portsmouth in March. No surprise there.
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Yes I was reading that, we have a Ferry booked to Bilbao end of April.
I very much doubt that will happen, as its a flexi ticket I will leave it until a few days before sailing to move it.
It may be like last year they cancel the crossing and give a refund or voucher.
Either way I'm not going to get upset about it, we will resume our travels across there at some point.
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Not all doom and gloom
and i think by May normal service will have been resumed.this is what the web site says just now
Portsmouth to Santander / Santander to Portsmouth
Twice weekly servicePortsmouth to Caen / Caen to Portsmouth
Daily service with some reduction in capacity in March 2021.Portsmouth to Cherbourg / Cherbourg to Portsmouth
Weekly service.0 -
To be honest we are not looking at going to Spain now until the autumn.
I think if it opens up in May we will just do 4-6 weeks in France and then hope that it will still be ok again in September to go for a couple of months.
We will be quite happy to just be over there enjoying the way of life and of course the sun
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I wonder if the lower cost tickets I used to get with the lies of Ryan Air and Easy jet at certain times will be available when we're allowed to travel?
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Two days ago I had a look at the BF website timetables and sailing updates.
I was looking to see if they were still showing anything around our hoped for crossing date, mid may, which they were.
I went onto the travel service and got a price, same as I have seen previously,and also did a comparison with later in the year.
Then saw the "consolidating our sailings" message from the CEO where he states that 4 ships, including the Pont Aven which we would have been on, will not return in March and "the routes they serve, will not now resume until mid-May, pending ongoing pandemic developments"
So now looking like our decision to book onto a two week rally in June, but not having to pay till March, was a good one as by the time the payments due we should know if going in mad May is possible.
It was interesting to note his comment about the "limited number holding reservations during this period" as that includes Easter when, in normal times, they would be busy and reinforces their comments re the almost total collapse of bookings.
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I am not sure how much the Portsmouth/Plymouth/Poole ferry routes are used for commercial traffic? I imagine it is the mainstay of their operation despite being very popular with the tourist trade. Since Brexit some ferry companies have increased capacity and direct services from Ireland to France in order to bypass the UK, including Brittany Ferries I understand. This could have a knock on impact on the UK-France routes in future depending on whether the UK routes remain viable and what boats, if any, they redeploy to Ireland? Obviously it won't be until we are post COVID before we know if or how this will impact on the Western Channel routes.
David
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I'd be rather miffed if BF pulled out of Portsmouth entirely, being only a 10-15 minute drive. Given its easy access to the motorway network, its survival in preference to Poole seems more likely if cuts are made.
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David
That is good to see and hopefully will continue to be the case. It's probably a bit too early to judge the impact of post Brexit commercial trade but I thought it was worth flagging up as under the "new" rules as the UK is now a third country changes are being made to ferry routes to Europe. From what I have read the increase in capacity direct from Ireland to France is something in the order or 2 to 3 times compared to pre Brexit. It is possible that it could hit the Dover area harder than the the Western Channel routes. Only time will tell!
David
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In view of the 'open' border with Eire, is this a sneaky way into the Schengen area bypassing the 90 day limit? Bit of an expensive way to get there though.
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Second that, however, Brexit and all that has gone with it e.g. total change of life style for more than 12 months now due to pandemic, gives one time to reflect, and after making a new tick sheet of all the requirements/costs for traveling overthere after Brexit/pandemic, I am begining to wonder if it is all worth it.
Still got return flexi tickets Portsmouth-Caen so would like to use them, but going forward, still have to wear face masks on some beaches in Spain, do i really fancy that
, having to listen to the news daily just to check if monsieur Macron is going to close ports/borders on a whim we are very lucky to live where we live, so do we really need all that hassle, only time will tell.
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For those not using a vehicle, a similar loop hole may exist via Gibraltar. The border has just reopened and all you need to do is fly in and walk 50yds into Spain - passports are currently not being checked/stamped as the thousands of Spanish who cross the border each day for work don’t tend to carry them. These are interim arrangements that will apply for some time post Brexit so still likely to be in place when UK flights resume.
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