The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Brett]

Hi,

I've booked up to go to France for a week at the end of July, I'm going over on the Dover to Dunkerque Ferry & then down to Limoges.

This is my first time driving in France & as I've got 2 young Children I think it will be a good idea to do it something like this:-

Leave one day before we have to arrive at destination, 1st Day, Norfolk to Dover, 12:00 ferry to Dunkerque.

When in France we have approx 6.5 hour drive to Limoges so I was planning on driving to a point on the 1st afternoon, overnight stay & complete the journey next morning.

Anyone who has done this sort of thing, would you advise avoiding Paris? The SatNav tries to take you straight through.

Also, any suggestions on where to head for on the first afternoon? A nice town enroute, any hotel suggestions would be excellent.  

Thanks in advance.
_________________
Brett

20011 VDJ 200
1995 HDJ80 GS, 1HD-FT

[Google]

[gilghana]

As a kid we did loads of France holidays, and as an adult I have done a fair bit of stupid marathon drives on motorbikes and cars through France to Spain.  What about checking longer night ferry to say St Malo (not sure of routes) and then a morning drive to Limoges, arriving there no doubt sometime in the afternoon?  As a kid I loved the longer ferry crossings...

I am probably not the best placed person to give advice though as my last trip through France was leaving Kelso (Scottish Borders) at 6am, down to Channel Tunnel, through France grabbing a few hours sleep in a service station and arriving in Andalucia at 10pm the following evening

Re Paris - on that trip a basic Garmin recreational GPS navigated us through pretty painlessly IIRC,
Gil

[Wandering Willy]

I have a Garmin GPS which comes with some software (Mapsource) which runs on a PC. I asked for a route from Norwich to Limoges. It came up with a route via Dover; 657 miles and 11 hours 30 minutes (including ferry crossing) with my steady/slow driving (strictly legal!).

A couple of comments.

Using Dover gives you a lot of ferries so if you miss one there is another in half an hour. I agree that routes via Portsmouth and Plymouth to Normandy and Brittany are very nice if you are heading to the west of France but there is often only one ferry per day which can be a pain if you get delayed on the road.

The route went south from Calais to the west side of Paris and then down to Limoges. The route round Paris is like the M25. It gets horribly busy at some times (guess when) but at other times it is fairly easy.

If you can avoid the holiday season in France, which is mid/late July till late August, the roads are quiet. But don't expect this in the holiday period when they get packed - particularly at weekends. It can also get horribly hot in the car and with children watch out for heat stroke (I know - I've had it on a run to Annecy to the east of France). Take a load of bottled water (not juice) and get everyone (including kids) to drink lots. If they are not shouting for a comfort break every hour, they are not drinking enough! The service stations are good but you need coins for the loos.

I think the speed limit on the autoroutes is still 130 kph (84mph?) so if the roads are clear the journey goes quickly. However, you will be paying £50+ for the tolls and you need cash for this.

For booking a place to stay overnight, you could try:-

http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites
or if you want to risk it (it's a good gamble - usually works), stop at a small town on route and find the Tourist Office. They can book you a room a few miles further in a B&B or similar at a reasonable price. You may need some schoolboy French to do this.

I hope my ramblings are of some help. I admit it's a few years since I last did a similar trip so I could be out on some of my comments.


Willy

[Grimbo]

Brett, we used to go down to Limoges and surrounding areas several times a year, its beautiful .  We used to go Portmouth - St Malo , or Portsmouth- Quseterham (Caen) , but as you have already got your crossing no problems. Your plan sounds about right, try Campinile (think thats the spelling) hotels , or Hotel Logis , both are cheap clean Motel type places, often on the outskirts of town, bit like travel lodge here. As far as route go's , we used to avoid the toll roads and use the D roads, that are very quiet, take the rural route and are normaly more scenic. If you regard the journey down as part of the holiday then you see far more of France, it will take a bit longer, and be a bit further, but the money you save on the tolls will more than cover the fuel, and you will discover some of Frances hidden gems of villages and scenery. Get a couple of the yellow Michelin maps , map no's  233, 239 cover the Limoges area  and 236,237,238, will cover your route down. If your wife's happy map reading a bit then turn the sat nav off !! The Paris thing is up to you, the ring road can be an eyeopener   , we used to skirt round Paris by a wide margin, but we were never in a rush to get anywhere so often took a route in the general direction rather than route-planner type direct one.
Don't forget Hi-vis vest's ,spare bulb kit, warning triangle, and head light convertor's, (all law ), the roads are generaly much quieter than here, there are hardly any speed camera's, watch your speed through small towns / villages as thats where the speed checks normaly are, road signs tend to be After   , the junction you wanted !!. Have Fun

[ChrisC]

Bonjour Brett

from memory go on the mway down past Calais, Boulogne the head on toward Le Mans, the new Motorway is now complete and this takes you on toward Tours and onto Limoges.

This cuts out Paris and the new motorway id=s a fair bit more sceneic

Lots of really nice Cities, Towns and villages anywhere along the route - turn off an hour early and head for somewhere - if you know wha I mean

You will need a yellow hi-viz for each person in the car, bulbs, first aid, etc - check AA website or similiar.

ChrisC

[Brett]

Thanks very much for all the replies chaps, it's much appreciated.

I've got plenty of stuff to be going on with now  

Cheers
_________________
Brett

20011 VDJ 200
1995 HDJ80 GS, 1HD-FT

[stjones(R1)]

Hi Brett

When you go to France you need the following equipment by law.

Spare bulbs
First aid kit
Warning triangle

FLOURESCENT JACKET

The gendarmes have recently had a splurge on Brit drivers for the last one and it comes with a hefty fine.

It's a newish law about 8 months now

Enjoy your trip

I love driving in France especially through small villages that haven'y changed for years and some way out ones still have cobbled streets.

Steve

[Ecky Thump]

Don't be worried about the perifique (if that is how you spell it) that's the Paris ring road.

You may hear many horror stories about it but it's not too bad especially these days with a sat nav.
It can be a nightmare and very slow at rush hour (much like the M25 if you have used it) but that gives you chance to get in the correct lane for junctions.

The French around Paris drive like idiots but that is the same with any city ring road in Europe.

Don't be daunted, give it a shot, if you hit it in daylight you can see the Eifful Tower from a lot of it.

The first time I did it was back in 1986 in a double decker coach, trying to map read and keep 70 odd passengers safe. Now I treat it much like the M25 and bully my way through with all the Frenchies doing the same thing. A sat nav nowadays is a definate bonus.

French roads in general are far superior to ours and with France being much bigger, but with the same population, you can sometimes drive miles with hardly another vehicle in sight.

Be careful of tolls because they time you between booths and can see if your average speed is too much and fine you. With the limit being 130k in good weather and 110k in rain, you have to hammer it to get fined.

I usually stop at services on long tolls to up the average time a bit. Just a short pee stop can keep you the right side of the law.

Be careful of speed cameras. They warn you of them coming up, usually a couple of miles prior, and you will spot a (smaller than ours) grey box, mostly in the central reservation.

Sounds a bit risky but it has always worked for me. When I get tired I leave at an exit and there is usually a motel within a short distance.
I'm sure you will enjoy it.
_________________
Les
TLOCUKSB Member No.80
1998 VX Ltd Auto 4.2TD 24 valve beast!! OME 50mm lift & Safari Snorkel
1997 auto petrol 80 (for Er'in'doors)