2020 - Day 17: The long slog back to the UK

The summation of the day is we made it back to the UK and hurrah no quarantine is needed!

So here I am tonight in Folkestone writing this penultimate blog post of the 2020 European Road Trip, just a few miles down the road from the first post in Dover seventeen days ago. At the time of that first post we had hoped to be staying this evening in a nice small hotel in rural Belgium recovering from a day of rail biking and preparing for the drive to Dunkirk to catch the ferry home, but first with Belgium, and then France and the Netherlands added to the list of countries no longer exempt from FCO travel restrictions, a Premier Inn in windy Kent is the location for our final overnight stay before the drive back to High Wycombe tomorrow.

With a Eurotunnel booked for 15:20 and waking up this morning in Aachen 353km away from the terminal in Calais, we took a calculated guess that leaving around 10am would give us time to head "non-stop" across Belgium and France, with time for a picnic break somewhere avoiding interaction with the locals (the official guidance states: You don’t need to self-isolate if you travel through a non-exempt country and you don’t stop in the country. If you do make a stop, you don’t need to self-isolate if: no new people get into the vehicle; no-one in the vehicle gets out, mixes with other people, and gets in again).

Whilst our "non-stop" ended up as a five stopper (Paloma toilet, Forrest sore bottom, torrential downpour, Paloma seat belt tangle and finally a picnic), we made sure to keep ourselves to ourselves and didn't mix with anyone. Finding somewhere for our picnic was looking in doubt as the rest-areas we had identified on the map close to the Belgium / France border were all closed (presumably to avoid attempted stowaways) but "fortunately" Paloma managed to get her leg stuck in the seat belt that holds her rear facing car seat in place, so we had to make an unplanned stop close to Dunkirk. Instead of retracing our route back to the A16, Google Maps took us round the block and by complete chance past an empty, except for a single camper van, car park for a nature reserve! It was quite windy at this point so it wasn't the greatest picnic, but it was the perfect location just 45 minutes from the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais so we could time our departure to arrive bang on time.

The car park for the Lac de Téteghem nature reserve close to Dunkirk.  The perfect location to have a picnic without mixing with others!

It was too windy to use the picnic blanket outside, so we improvised on the parcel shelf.

Paloma enjoying her wrap in the wind.

With Eurotunnel being the only route back to the UK with a car that offers a quarantine free option for those starting their journey outside of a restricted country I wasn't sure whether it would be extra busy, but it was very quiet and we passed check-in, French and UK customs with ease and ended up on an earlier shuttle than booked (although due to delays it departed close to our original time anyway).

Driving on to the Eurotunnel shuttle. Unlike last year I booked with the correct height so travelled with other cars instead of caravans and motor-homes!

Having had the long drive before the Eurotunnel we decided that another 100+ miles / 2 hours back to High Wycombe would be too much for one day, so went for our UK cheap and cheerful first choice of a Premier Inn. Similar to the B&B Hotel chain in mainland Europe you know the room will be clean and perfect for an overnight stay, although the kids do prefer the bunk beds or upstairs mezzanine that you get in the B&B Hotel family rooms!

With a few hours to kill we decided to head to a part of Folkestone beach that is known for fossil hunting. What we didn't account for was the high tide so there was no beach at all, but we managed to talk Forrest around that we would visit again in the morning when the tide should be much lower, and instead we'd visit the Battle of Britain Memorial up on the cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne.

The replica Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire at the Battle of Britain Memorial. The sculpture of a crashed Junkers Ju 87 is apparently a recent addition to record the role of the Luftwaffe in the battle.

Statue of a seated pilot at the Battle of Britain Memorial.

A stormy view of Folkestone from the Battle of Britain Memorial.

We then made our way back to Folkestone Harbour for a very windy walk along some of the old railway station and pier that has been refurbished as an attraction and finally managed to find somewhere open and not too busy for some fish and chips for dinner.

The old Folkestone Harbour station has been refurbished and put to new uses, including the signal box that is now a small cafe.

Fish and Chips at the Harbour Fish Bar.

Paloma happily munching away at her fish.

Blogged by Matt.