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How to get me and my bike to the ferry from my home in Guildford? At first I thought I would take the train: in principle this seems straightforward, up to Waterloo, cycle to Liverpool Street, then train to Harwich. But there are relatively few direct trains to Harwich International Port (most require a change at Manningtree), and also you cannot reserve a bike space on the train: since there are limited spaces, what if you find there are lots of cyclists with the same idea? So in the end, I decided to load the bike in my car and drive to Harwich, and park at the port (around £8.50 per day). So for a 6 day stay the cost of parking wouldn't work out much more than the train. In addition, I would be getting back very early on Sunday morning, and due to engineering works, there would be no trains (only replacement buses ) till nearly midday: with my car I could head straight home.
I had to get to Harwich for the sailing by around 10.30pm. The obvious route is M25 to J28, the A12 around Colchester and A120 to Harwich. I didn't want to travel during the rush hour. Whereas I could have left home around 7pm and still got there in time that wouldn't have left much contingency. So I left around 1500, and arrived ludicrously early. There was no cafe open in the ferry terminal, so I resorted to the cafe in the adjacent Morrisons superstore.I then parked in the long term parking, which ius right by the terminal. Unloading my bike, there was a bitter wind, which made me wonder if I'd packed warm enough clothes, but as it turned out the weather in NL was milder than I feared.
After a few hours waiting in the terminal (which is perfectly comfortable, just a bit devoid of facilities), the time came for boarding. You just have to join the passport queue with the cars, the there was a further wait before actual boarding. By now in addition to the wind it had started to rain, so I was glad to find a waiting room quayside. Then finally around 9pm I was allowed to board via a long, rising concrete ramp. These Stena ferries are apparently the biggest vehicle ferries in the world, and I parked my bike in a special rack on the huge car deck, unhitched my panniers, and made my way to the accommodation deck: there are 11 stories, so the lift was welcome.
I was impressed by the cabin (which was single occupancy) and the on-board facilities generally, though the crossing was quite rough so I didn't sleep too well. I had booked an inclusive breakfast, but must say the need to rise at a very early hour, and the fear of seasickness made that seem not such a good idea.
How to get me and my bike to the ferry from my home in Guildford? At first I thought I would take the train: in principle this seems straightforward, up to Waterloo, cycle to Liverpool Street, then train to Harwich. But there are relatively few direct trains to Harwich International Port (most require a change at Manningtree), and also you cannot reserve a bike space on the train: since there are limited spaces, what if you find there are lots of cyclists with the same idea? So in the end, I decided to load the bike in my car and drive to Harwich, and park at the port (around £8.50 per day). So for a 6 day stay the cost of parking wouldn't work out much more than the train. In addition, I would be getting back very early on Sunday morning, and due to engineering works, there would be no trains (only replacement buses ) till nearly midday: with my car I could head straight home.
I had to get to Harwich for the sailing by around 10.30pm. The obvious route is M25 to J28, the A12 around Colchester and A120 to Harwich. I didn't want to travel during the rush hour. Whereas I could have left home around 7pm and still got there in time that wouldn't have left much contingency. So I left around 1500, and arrived ludicrously early. There was no cafe open in the ferry terminal, so I resorted to the cafe in the adjacent Morrisons superstore.I then parked in the long term parking, which ius right by the terminal. Unloading my bike, there was a bitter wind, which made me wonder if I'd packed warm enough clothes, but as it turned out the weather in NL was milder than I feared.
After a few hours waiting in the terminal (which is perfectly comfortable, just a bit devoid of facilities), the time came for boarding. You just have to join the passport queue with the cars, the there was a further wait before actual boarding. By now in addition to the wind it had started to rain, so I was glad to find a waiting room quayside. Then finally around 9pm I was allowed to board via a long, rising concrete ramp. These Stena ferries are apparently the biggest vehicle ferries in the world, and I parked my bike in a special rack on the huge car deck, unhitched my panniers, and made my way to the accommodation deck: there are 11 stories, so the lift was welcome.
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| Bikes are stored in a rack on the (huge) car deck |
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| Cabins are excellent |
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