Just a general warning to all you guys intending to use Dover this summer. Due to the recent chaos with lorries stacked up on the M20 and Dover itself being grid locked, even more delays are forecast with new passport controls from June.

To help prevent this, new controls are being put in place to hold traffic outside Dover on the A20. Lorries will be held on the inside lane of the dual carriageway with cars on the outside lane. Not sure how this affects caravans and campers. Best allow some extra journey time and be aware of traffic updates.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes...0-in-dover

A quick update for any of you hoping to use Dover/Calais over the next weekends..

if you haven't seen the news on national TV then there is still ongoing protests by the French MyFerry workers. Today they set tyres alight on the approach to the Tunnel, causing lorries to backup from Dover to Folkestone and from the Tunnel approach this end.

A report from local TV news tonight suggest more tyres have been acquired, so prepare for further disruption this weekend. If at all possible, would suggest using alternative ports or expect delays and operation stack could be in operation again soon.

Don't forget the M20/A20 stretch from Folkestone to Dover has a 40mph limit with average speed cams now. Driving is such fun nowadays.. isn't it ?

PS.. Lock your caravan/camper and check you haven't picked up a stowaway in Calais on the return journey.. they are even getting into cars without people knowing until they get back... and are increasingly brazen, desperate and potentially dangerous.

Dont go anywhere near Calais, youve got to be mad to use that terminal, use another port, the distance involved will easily out do the inconvenience and risk involved going via Calais, I cant see why anyone still entertains thinking about it, especially the commercials who risk drivers safety and the goods they carry???

You were warned.. Op Stack back in this morning on M20 8-9, with all other traffic diverted to A20. Kent is becoming a no go zone so please find alternate routes for holiday driving if at all possible.

We're heading down there next friday evening, fully prepared for a bit of a queue...I crossed the end of a few weeks ago and last week for work trips and it wasn't too bad as I was ready for it - the grilling and the queue is definately getting more thorough when coming back...
Time will tell! 2000 Xei 1.8 gone
2004 HSE Td4 Auto, MT's, sump guard, sliderz - gone
2014 GS Man - AT's, Mantec Sump guard and tank guard, split charger in boot, towbar, work in progress...

The Police are trying to keep holiday and normal traffic moving by using the A20 from junction 8. The M2/A2 into Dover seems to be coping better, but is only single lane at the end into Dover.

The fear is that the French ferry protesters are getting more active and the French police stand by and watch as they set tyres alight. If they manage to stop EuroTunnel traffic as well blocking the Port of Calais, then expect total chaos over the holiday weeks.

For those who don't understand the situation.. Eurotunnel was forced to sell the MyFerry service ( ex SeaFrance ) by the competition commission, and DFDS bought it from them. As DFDS already operates its own boats from Dover, the likely loss of 500 French jobs is causing the protests. The French know how to make a bad situation worse and with 5000 migrants also blocking Calais it is rapidly becoming a war zone.

Happy Holidays you guys and have a little sympathy for those of us having to live with it down here, on a daily basis.

Tune into BBC Radio 2/or Radio Kent for regular traffic updates.

We're driving to France for the first time ever at the end of August so this should be fun. Dover -> Calais leaving at midnight on a Friday so hopefully not too bad.

We're returning via Dunkirk -> Dover though to try and avoid Calais.

Very wise to use alternate routes. Newhaven another choice. Those intending to use the Tunnel should be aware the migrants are now climbing onto the freight trains, falling off inside and the Tunnel has to be closed while they clear up the mess. That situation is only set to get worse regardless of the ferry row.

Keep tuned to Kent news channels on the net to see the daily situation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-33609953

As a total newcomer to actually taking your own car on a ferry, does Operation Stack cause havoc for tourist/car traffic too? From reading up it seems we'd be diverted via A roads but still make it to the port but with potentially more traffic jams enroute due to the extra traffic?

Presumably if you're there for your ferry you do get on it and its just HGV's that get drip fed on?

From what I've experienced, it does jam things up especially at the junction where they filter everytrhing off the M20 then let only HGV's on, and at J11 when they are filtering trucks out of the stack and other traffic on..., I feel sorry for the locals, and you have to watch for those who try and jam themselves in at the last second, or realise they've joined the HGV queue and then blindly pull out into lane 2... 2000 Xei 1.8 gone
2004 HSE Td4 Auto, MT's, sump guard, sliderz - gone
2014 GS Man - AT's, Mantec Sump guard and tank guard, split charger in boot, towbar, work in progress...

Its only the lorries who get stacked, with all other traffic diverted onto the A20 at J8. That obviously causes delay because the A20 is mostly single lane through villages. Its more difficult if you intend using the Tunnel approach and might have to come down to Folkestone and back up the local approach road from the A20.

When the disruption gets really serious and Calais is closed ( bad weather included ) then the traffic backs up all the way to the M25/M26 junction and beyond. This has been a very bad year for all the reasons and Op Stack implemented weekly as the only way to keep the lorries off the roads.

Calais and Dover seem to have become saturated with daily traffic and any form of disruption causes problems which affect roads here and in France. The jams occur on the French side too. very important to plan your journey on the day by listening to road reports and take plenty of water in the car.

I flew back to Gatwick a few weeks ago and the journey home would normally take 90 mins tops. Because of the hassle I chose to drive back along the coast via Hastings.. took me 3 hrs.

When I used to regularly travel from the continent to UK and back, Calais was the port to use as it was the cheapest and quickest crossing. Also used to use Zeebrugge as a port of call.

These days I would not entertain in a million years going through Calais or any port close to it. Travelling to Northern Europe - pick a port in Holland. Travelling to Southern Europe - go as far south of Calais as you can.

The problem is the expanded EU.. now many more lorries from Poland and the new Eastern block countries sending goods here.
Its the shortest route for them and there is only limited capacity.

Why the competition commission decided only two ferry companies would be allowed on the route is beyond reason. P&O must have a very strong influence considering they operate from other ports as to DFDS.. Myferry simply added more capacity from Dover. expect a rapid change of thinking.

Just to add to the fun, French farmers are blocking roads into and out of Saint Malo & Roscoff (and possibly other ports) in protest of milk & pork prices.

I find it interesting that the competition commission don't look at Brittany Ferries monopoly on the Western routes.

Mon Dieu !!!

Maybe this is a year for stay-cations in both UK and France LOL