Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2016 15:21:42 GMT
I don't wish to talk about it.
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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2016 15:43:13 GMT
Fair warning girls, I am about to try and move a post. Never done it before, so apologies in advance..... I knew giving Admin powers to someone with a German sounding name was asking for trouble. Don't worry tho folks, My Admin powers are greater than his, I can prune his wings if need be. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2016 15:45:49 GMT
After that traumatic experience you can take them away. I prefer to be a minion.
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WDB
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Calais...
Sept 2, 2016 15:46:03 GMT
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Post by WDB on Sept 2, 2016 15:46:03 GMT
I wasn't suggesting Calais was equally expensive, Vić, just that the gap is smaller than you might think. And it's a pretty crap drive compared with St Malo, which is gorgeous.
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Post by Humph on Sept 2, 2016 16:40:31 GMT
Trouble with long ferry crossings is there are "people" on them. I'm not good with extended exposure to people. On boats, you get all sorts, some of them smell and some of them insist on 3/4 length trousers. No one should have to look at that for longer than is absolutely necessary.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2016 16:51:18 GMT
If you're being serious, then I too struggle with extended exposure to people in groups. Can you imagine doing a cruise?? I would die. Or kill.
Ferries though, you can normally go up top. And its usually not that pleasant up there so people can largely be avoided.
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WDB
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Calais...
Sept 2, 2016 16:52:49 GMT
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Post by WDB on Sept 2, 2016 16:52:49 GMT
That's what the cabin is for, and why I prefer the slow ferry to the fast one.
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Post by Humph on Sept 2, 2016 16:53:09 GMT
I am serious. Even though I am one of them I don't like them much. Some of them are alright of course.🤔
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Post by Hofmeister on Sept 2, 2016 17:08:35 GMT
The missus and I give them names and make up amusing back stories. The Adidas Family, for instance. The Boss family, the old man is always called Hugo of course..
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 2, 2016 21:48:23 GMT
Hull - Zeebrugge it now is - the "heavy" will have to wait.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 2, 2016 21:58:08 GMT
With the risk of delays via Calais I think I'd rather go via Hull and have a fresh start in the morning. In fact from where I am I'd prefer that anyway. But costs might be a factor with a motorhome.
I've only taken a car to mainland Europe once. Around 2001 I think and we went to Brittany and went via Plymouth. Took weeks to get other half to realise we really really needed to start out from the NW early. We had hours to spare of course in the end.
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WDB
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Calais...
Sept 3, 2016 7:31:12 GMT
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Post by WDB on Sept 3, 2016 7:31:12 GMT
To divert the conversation slightly, this is the point people keep missing about HS2. It's not that it will get you from London to Birmingham half an hour quicker, which really doesn't matter; it's that it makes the onward journey into the Continent so much smoother and easier. So Manchester-London-Brussels-Dortmund becomes viable by train. I got stacks of work done on my train trips to Cologne; couldn't possibly have done that if I'd flown.
London media types (and one-eyed Ukippers) either forget how long it can take to get up and down the country, or just don't care. HS2 (and 3, 4...) will help to address the over-dominance of London in British commercial and cultural life, and that has to be a good thing.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 3, 2016 8:23:37 GMT
...but to achieve (much of) that you don't need HS2; all you need is to run through trains at the current intermediate speeds on UK rails, and you could easily improve things.
...and you know what? That was the original plan. Sufficient Eurostar trains were built to allow shorter sets to provide through services to the continent from places such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and ostensibly Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The services were (ostensibly due to timings) considered unviable against air transport (which might, IMO, have been true for Glasgow/Edinburgh, but not for the other destinations, and certainly not by an amount where HS2 would make much difference), and though there were test runs, they never commenced in earnest.
A number of surplus Eurostar units subsequently ran in standard service on the ECML for some time (I was doing long-distance commuting quite regularly, and saw or used them a lot).
Given the feedback I got, there was certainly tacit support for the services; people expressing their opinion that it would be better than their experiences of flying (particularly of airports), though it is certainly unclear whether they would at that time have attracted enough regular "business price" traffic to keep them viable.
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Post by Humph on Sept 3, 2016 8:29:25 GMT
I would definitely use trains a lot more if the fares were not so stupidly expensive. As it stands, to get to London and back from where I live at times of day that would be useful are ludicrously dear.
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Post by Hofmeister on Sept 3, 2016 8:32:29 GMT
To divert the conversation slightly, this is the point people keep missing about HS2. It's not that it will get you from London to Birmingham half an hour quicker, which really doesn't matter; it's that it makes the onward journey into the Continent so much smoother and easier. So Manchester-London-Brussels-Dortmund becomes viable by train. I got stacks of work done on my train trips to Cologne; couldn't possibly have done that if I'd flown. London media types (and one-eyed Ukippers) either forget how long it can take to get up and down the country, or just don't care. HS2 (and 3, 4...) will help to address the over-dominance of London in British commercial and cultural life, and that has to be a good thing. Except there is no planned link between HS1 and HS2 www.globalrailnews.com/2015/12/02/government-not-pursuing-hs1-hs2-rail-link/Forget getting on board a Eurostar at Manchester, the onwards journey will not be smoother and easier, you need to detrain and change Termini, so the "only 30 minutes" argument is still valid. Brexit is likely to ensure that HS2 gets canned anyway, plus Brexit and the subsequent threat of Scottish Independence also ensures it will never ever reach Glasgow if its not canned. The main benefit of HS2 is to relieve congestion on the West Coast Main Line. |
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