Portsmouth - Bilbao early morning crossing
Hi, Just wondering if people turn up the night before an early crossing and stay in the car park/holding area. I'm planning to stay on a CL - but wondered about this....
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Brittany Ferries website has guidance on this and says line up at the check ins after the previous ferry has left - which is the one to Le Havre at about 2330 I believe.
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Is this, generally, what people do, when catching an early ferry?
Certainly some people do....but having seen your other post about hanging about in motorway services for hours before the midnight queue at the ferry port, I order why. Would it not be easier to reserve a ferry pitch at the Rookesbury Park Club site? Your
morning ferry is not desperately early after all.0 -
Agree with ET. Spending the night in a ferry lane with car doors constantly banging and giggling excited passengers talking far too loud is not a good way to get even a half decent kip.
Mind you some can sleep through anything but I seem to constantly "on alert" when in these situations.
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Brittany Ferries website has guidance on this and says line up at the check ins after the previous ferry has left - which is the one to Le Havre at about 2330 I believe.
Weve certainly donr this before....
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Quite a few do. It means you miss the early morning traffic and you're ready to go when they start moving vehicles through which can be quite early. It wasn't noisy the two times we stopped there. The lights are very bright though, but just shut the blinds.
We stopped at Port Solent Marina where there's a large free car park with a good area for walking the dog. There's shops and eateries and it's only 10 minutes away and the road to the terminal is quiet at night.
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We use Rookesbury Park for overnight before a ferry. A ferry pitch allows you to come and go at all times and you are only about 25 minute from the ferry.
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Geejay - 'Port Solent Marina' has about 4 car parks. Which one is best for a car and caravan, do you think?
The most westerly one where they store boats. It's loose chippings. There are numerous humps, the first two, before the small roundabout, being quite vicious. If you want a view over the water, keep following the road round to the MOD site and turn round at the end( there's room) and park alongside the seawall. It looks better at high tide.
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Geejay - 'Port Solent Marina' has about 4 car parks. Which one is best for a car and caravan, do you think?
As I remember the're all in a sort of line along Marina Keep as you enter the area. We've used the one at the David Lloyd centre, but just keep your eye, or your companion's eye, on the carparks as you drive in. You'll need a double space, so you could
stop temporarilly on Marina keep and have a look. Click on the link and you can get a good idea of the layout on
Street View.0 -
The car park by the David Lloyd gym is no good for caravans and big MHs would find it a struggle. It's also usually pretty busy. See my post up thread for recommendation.
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I can only tell you our experience having been there a few times on the way to the ferry, including staying overnight earlier this year on our way back. We've always managed to find a double space either in the very first car park or in the David Lloyd
one and in the evening, when the OPer is likely to arrive before going to the terminal for an overnight stop, it's been fairly quiet in our experience.But as you say, there are other possibilities.
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The other advantage of the far end is that you are away from the motorway noise.
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That area where the boat trailers are looks good:
the first streetview (normal car park) looks as though even double spots would be too short for a caravan.
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They are. When busy, it can sometimes be fiddly with a solo car although when visiting Port Solent we usually walk.
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I have just put in another thread that I parked overnight at Portsmouth in April - I think there was only one other motorhome unless they were very early birds. Where they parked me was quite peaceful and I had a good rest before catching the ferry to Caen.
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It's been many years since I did the Portsmouth to Bilbao crossing and in those days it was P&O which left at 8 p.m. on a Saturday evening. The whole of Sunday was at sea and it would arrive in Bilbao Monday morning.
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