TRAVELLING TO THE DORDOGNE
SOME INFORMATION ON ROUTES TO OUR GITE, SACHEVEREL, IN THE DORDOGNE
BY SEA
There is a wide range of Ports to choose from depending on you starting point in the UK
Ferries sail from:
Poole to Cherbourg/St Malo
Portsmouth to Cherbourg/St Malo/Le Havre/Caen
Dover to Boulogne/Calais/Dunquerque
Channel Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais (Coquelles)
Plymouth to Roscoff (not the best choice unless you are making the journey part of your holiday as it is a very long drive through Brittany and on down)
From a personal angle we find that the Speed Ferries route from Dover to Boulogne is both the cheapest and quickest (50 minutes) way to cross the channel. The downside is that there is a 9 ish hour drive thereafter to get to the house. However, it is a great opportunity to travel through various regions of France and get a glimpse of the very different scenery along the way.
The nearest sea port is St Malo. This is a 10 hr crossing, very nice if travelling overnight, but quite pricey. The journey time thereafter is about 5/6 hours.
The Caen route is a good compromise 6 hours on the ferry and 6+ hrs on the road.
If you are breaking your journey Tours is a good half way place to stop for the night.
BY ROAD
The French motorway system is very good, very comprehensive and very uncrowded. The best route we have found is to go via Rouen, Alencon, Le Mans, Poitiers, Angouleme, Montpon approximately 500 miles from Boulogne.
Tolls from the furthest Port are approx Â40 each way, we find paying by credit card at the booths marked CB or Cartes saves having the right change or queuing at the ticket booth.
A Word of Warning
The French are cracking down quite heavily now on speeding. Unlike in the UK wherever you see a speed camera sign in France there WILL BE a camera, take care. The other hot spots are at crossroads on the dual carriageway (non-motorway) roads where the speed limit is usually 110 km, this drops down to 90 km for each crossroad and very often the police are out in force with their speed guns. There is usually an on the spot 90Â fine.
BY AIR
The nearest airport is Bergerac with FLYBE and Ryannair flight from Southampton, Exeter, Stansted and various other UK airports, check out their websites for full details. Flight times are approx 1hr 15 minutes. Bergerac is about 45 minutes drive away and car hire is available from Europcar, Avis and Hertz.
Alternatively, Bordeaux Merignac airport is just over an hour's drive away and has flights from BA and BMI.
DETAILED DIRECTIONS WILL BE SENT TO YOU ON COMPLETION OF YOUR BOOKING
