Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
During all this the dogs had been no trouble. As far as they were concerned it was still
night-time, so they simply slept through the whole thing. We finally left the M1 and headed
east on the M25. Then suddenly, with no warning, Biff began emitting a high-pitched
whine, panting and shuffling frantically around the rear luggage area. A quick glance at my
watch told me it was getting-up time and therefore he'd need a wee. This was always a
matter of great urgency for the poor lad with his various maladies.
Unfortunately, we were once more between junctions on a busy motorway, but there
was nothing for it. We had to stop. After his shaky start to the day, Jack was not doing well
in the calm-nerves department. I knew this would be yet another patience-shattering set-
back, but the situation had become critical - Biff
had
to go.
I ignored the several undesirable comments and persuaded him to pull onto the hard
shoulder so I could let Biff out. This undoubtedly qualified as an emergency because the
dog was clinically almost dead, so putting him under any extreme stress was to be avoided
at all costs. I scooped Biff up, slung a choke lead around his neck and popped him out of
the passenger side door onto the ground, where he immediately urinated for the next two
minutes. Decision correct, but another mental note to remind myself of the times when the
dogs' body clocks tell them what they need to do and when.
When we finally approached the Eurotunnel it was a tense affair, with ever-more local
jams cropping up. SatNav lady had nothing to offer as an alternative route (other than a
bridle path through a field) and had petered out altogether. Our scheduled departure time
had now passed. This didn't matter in itself because of the type of ticket we had bought but
nevertheless it was irritating because we still had around eleven hours of driving ahead of
us.
The advent of the smartphone has received a mixed reaction from the getting-older
generation, but it is a complete marvel at times like this. A touch pad is often an exasperat-
ing challenge for fingertips not as sensitive as they used to be as one inadvertently swipes
yet another text off to the wrong person and constantly cuts off incoming calls. However,
they do have their uses. I managed to log-on to the Eurotunnel website, take advantage of
the travel hotline information and then call customer service to explain our timing prob-
lems and make sure we were okay for the next train.
As hinted at earlier, we're old hands at using the Eurotunnel. Trains depart regularly,
the frequency depending on the time of day and year. Arriving a little late at the Folkestone
ticket booth doesn't usually cause the Eurotunnel people a problem. They show a great
understanding of our British traffic difficulties and the car is simply allocated to the next
available train. We learned from many previous battles with the M1, M25 and M20 that,
despite the best planning, arriving at a precise time can be hard, so we have regularly
bought a 'flexible' ticket, which gives us priority placement.
Customs was next and we breezed through without delay. It can be quite an interesting
experience in itself, though, because you go through both UK and French customs controls
