The ferry is the most civilised form of travel. The airport, the queues, the security, the removal of the belt and the shoes, and the fluorescent-lit purgatory of the departure lounge, is an ordeal to be endured. The ferry is an experience to be savoured: the car driven onto the deck, the handbrake applied, and the climb up the stairs to the passenger lounge, where a window seat, a cup of tea, and the view of the land receding and the sea opening ahead is the first hour of the holiday. The ferry is slow (the Dover–Calais crossing takes 90 minutes; the flight takes 25 minutes, and the 65-minute difference is the 65 minutes you spend at the airport, the security queue, and the baggage reclaim, making the door-to-door time identical), the ferry is comfortable, and the ferry, the ships plying the routes between the British mainland, the islands, and the continent, is the most underrated and most pleasant form of transport in the UK. Here is an overview of ferry travelling in the United Kingdom.
Ferry Travelling in the UK, An Overview
- The cross-Channel ferries, Dover to Calais and beyond: The Dover–Calais crossing is the busiest ferry route in the world: 9 million passengers a year, the three operators (P&O Ferries, DFDS, and Irish Ferries, the newest and, often, the cheapest), the 90-minute crossing, and the price that starts at ~£50 for a car and four passengers (booked in advance, the peak summer price, booked on the day, can reach £200). The ferry is the cheapest way to take a car to Europe, and the experience, the white cliffs receding, the Channel sliding past, and the first sight of the French coast, is one of the most romantic travel experiences in the UK. Essential tips: book the “Flexi” ticket on P&O (the £10 premium that allows you to catch an earlier or a later sailing, the flexibility is essential for the unpredictable M20 and the Dover traffic), take the earliest crossing (the 5.45am sailing, the car park is empty, the ship is quiet, and the French roads are empty when you arrive in Calais at 7.15am), and the duty-free shop (the spirits, the tobacco, and the perfume, the prices are genuinely cheaper than the UK supermarkets, and the bottle of gin you buy on the ferry for £12 would cost £20 in Tesco. The duty-free allowance is generous, 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of wine, and 4 litres of spirits per person, more than you can reasonably fit in a car). Alternative routes: the Dover–Dunkirk (DFDS, the 2-hour crossing, the quieter alternative), the Newhaven–Dieppe (the longer crossing, 4 hours, and the more relaxed and more beautiful route: the Normandy coast, the seafood, and the sense of arriving in France rather than at it), and the Portsmouth–Caen/Le Havre/Saint-Malo overnight crossings (the cabins, the dinner, and the arrival in France at dawn, the most civilised way to start a French holiday). More UK →
- The Scottish island ferries, CalMac and the lifeline routes: Caledonian MacBrayne, CalMac, operates 33 ferries on 50 routes to the islands of the west coast of Scotland, from the short crossing (the Ardrossan–Brodick to Arran, 55 minutes, the most popular island route) to the epic (the Oban–Castlebay to Barra, 4 hours 45 minutes, and the landing at the only beach airport in the world, the Barra runway is the beach, the tide timetable is the flight schedule). The CalMac ferry is a lifeline: the supermarket delivery, the school trip, the ambulance, and the tourists all share the same deck, and the experience, the islands, the sea, and the sense of a journey that matters, is one of the most beautiful travel experiences in the UK. Essential tips: book the car space in advance (the summer ferries sell out weeks in advance, particularly the Ullapool–Stornoway to Lewis, the Oban–Craignure to Mull, and the Ardrossan–Brodick to Arran), the RET fares (the Road Equivalent Tariff, the fares are capped at the cost of driving the same distance. The RET has made the island ferries more affordable: a car and two passengers from Oban to Mull now costs ~£25 return, down from £65 before the RET), and the winter timetable (the reduced service, the ferries are less frequent, the crossings are wilder, and the experience is more dramatic. The winter ferry to the Outer Hebrides, the swell, the spray, and the sense of the Atlantic determined to remind you who is in charge, is one of the most memorable travel experiences in Britain)
- The Isle of Wight ferries and the Channel Islands: The Isle of Wight ferries, Wightlink (Portsmouth–Fishbourne, 45 minutes, and Lymington–Yarmouth, 40 minutes) and Red Funnel (Southampton–East Cowes, 1 hour), are the gateway to the most traditional of the English holiday islands. The return ticket for a car and four passengers is ~£60–100 (booked in advance), and the crossing is short, pleasant, and the essential start to an Isle of Wight holiday. The Channel Islands ferries, Condor Ferries from Poole and Portsmouth to Guernsey and Jersey (3–7 hours), are the alternative to the flights, and the sea crossing, the approach to St Peter Port (the most beautiful ferry arrival in the UK, the harbour, the town climbing the hill, and the castle of Cornet on the rock), and the sense of a proper journey is the most satisfying way to arrive
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