There have been a lot of enquiries about the NEWHAVEN/DIEPPE/PARIS trip.
This is the skinny. We’ll leave Hyde Park Corner at midnight on Thursday 21[sup]st[/sup] July and stop for tea and biccies at an anonymous international airport somewhere in Sussex. We then go on via Turners Hill, Ardingly, Slugwash Lane and down some delightful back roads to Lewes, before running down the western side of the Ouse to the 'scenic' port of Newhaven. Some people will catch the train home from Newhaven and some will take the 9.00 ferry to Dieppe. Some of the Dieppsters will stay in town for a day or two (there’s a marvellous market on Saturday morning) and return by ferry, but others will go on to Paris, where a ride even more famous than the FNRttC will finish on Sunday the 24[sup]th[/sup].
Now - I want you to pay close attention to the following.....
Returning from Paris. You can catch a slow train to Dieppe, changing at Rouen, and take the ferry back. Simples
Or you might want to take the Eurostar back. And bring your bike.
Rail Europe cannot sell you a ticket for the bike. Eurostar cannot sell you a ticket for the bike. They can only sell you the same tickets as Rail Europe at two and a half times the price. Only EuroDirecte, which is part of Eurostar can sell you a ticket for the bike - for £30. EuroDirecte will only sell you a ticket for the bike if you already have a ticket for yourself. So you have to buy a (presumably non-refundable) ticket for yourself before you buy the ticket for the bike unless you employ..................... The Dellzeqq Method.
1. Choose your train, and pick a reserve train or two (just think of it as AV for trains).
2. Call EuroDirecte on 08448225822 and ask them if the bike spaces are taken. There are eight spaces on each train. Susie and I are on the 10.13am (train 9019) from Paris to London on 24th July
3. Then go to Rail Europe at 1 Regent Street - it's hidden in the British Tourist Office. Be prepared to wait forty minutes.
4. Book the ticket, get the six letter reservation code, but do not hand over your debit card.
5. Call EuroDirecte again from the Rail Europe desk and book the bike space over the phone. My advice is to tell them not to e-mail the tickets to you - go and collect them afterwards. They're not too hot on the letters and numbers thing, and you won't get their fancy labels.
6. Complete your purchase at Rail Europe and toddle over to EuroDirecte which is at the arse end of St. Pancras Station. Pick up tickets, check details on confirmation slip (they will be wrong) and ask for fancy labels.
I've missed out steps a, b, c, and d which involve being told a load of nonsense and shuffling round central London for half a day.....I've had more fun checking out Tesco's toilets.
The next best thing is to check with Euro Directe, book on the Rail Europe website and call back EuroDirecte as soon as the website gives you your six letter code.
There are some further complications.
You have to deliver your pride and joy to an outfit that is either called Sernam or Geopart at the southwest corner of the Gare du Nord on the Rue de Dunkerque. You have to deliver it at least 90 minutes before the departure time. The Sernam/Geopart office should open at seven in the morning, but may not open until half past seven. This means that you will be cutting it fine if you have a ticket for the 9.13 train. The boys at EuroDirecte, who, it must be said, relished their pivotal role in these matters, a role made even more pivotal by the ignorance of the people at Eurostar and Rail Europe, advised against the 9.13.
Eurostar only offer £100 insurance. On a £30 ticket that's pretty crap.
This is the skinny. We’ll leave Hyde Park Corner at midnight on Thursday 21[sup]st[/sup] July and stop for tea and biccies at an anonymous international airport somewhere in Sussex. We then go on via Turners Hill, Ardingly, Slugwash Lane and down some delightful back roads to Lewes, before running down the western side of the Ouse to the 'scenic' port of Newhaven. Some people will catch the train home from Newhaven and some will take the 9.00 ferry to Dieppe. Some of the Dieppsters will stay in town for a day or two (there’s a marvellous market on Saturday morning) and return by ferry, but others will go on to Paris, where a ride even more famous than the FNRttC will finish on Sunday the 24[sup]th[/sup].
Now - I want you to pay close attention to the following.....
Returning from Paris. You can catch a slow train to Dieppe, changing at Rouen, and take the ferry back. Simples
Or you might want to take the Eurostar back. And bring your bike.
Rail Europe cannot sell you a ticket for the bike. Eurostar cannot sell you a ticket for the bike. They can only sell you the same tickets as Rail Europe at two and a half times the price. Only EuroDirecte, which is part of Eurostar can sell you a ticket for the bike - for £30. EuroDirecte will only sell you a ticket for the bike if you already have a ticket for yourself. So you have to buy a (presumably non-refundable) ticket for yourself before you buy the ticket for the bike unless you employ..................... The Dellzeqq Method.
1. Choose your train, and pick a reserve train or two (just think of it as AV for trains).
2. Call EuroDirecte on 08448225822 and ask them if the bike spaces are taken. There are eight spaces on each train. Susie and I are on the 10.13am (train 9019) from Paris to London on 24th July
3. Then go to Rail Europe at 1 Regent Street - it's hidden in the British Tourist Office. Be prepared to wait forty minutes.
4. Book the ticket, get the six letter reservation code, but do not hand over your debit card.
5. Call EuroDirecte again from the Rail Europe desk and book the bike space over the phone. My advice is to tell them not to e-mail the tickets to you - go and collect them afterwards. They're not too hot on the letters and numbers thing, and you won't get their fancy labels.
6. Complete your purchase at Rail Europe and toddle over to EuroDirecte which is at the arse end of St. Pancras Station. Pick up tickets, check details on confirmation slip (they will be wrong) and ask for fancy labels.
I've missed out steps a, b, c, and d which involve being told a load of nonsense and shuffling round central London for half a day.....I've had more fun checking out Tesco's toilets.
The next best thing is to check with Euro Directe, book on the Rail Europe website and call back EuroDirecte as soon as the website gives you your six letter code.
There are some further complications.
You have to deliver your pride and joy to an outfit that is either called Sernam or Geopart at the southwest corner of the Gare du Nord on the Rue de Dunkerque. You have to deliver it at least 90 minutes before the departure time. The Sernam/Geopart office should open at seven in the morning, but may not open until half past seven. This means that you will be cutting it fine if you have a ticket for the 9.13 train. The boys at EuroDirecte, who, it must be said, relished their pivotal role in these matters, a role made even more pivotal by the ignorance of the people at Eurostar and Rail Europe, advised against the 9.13.
Eurostar only offer £100 insurance. On a £30 ticket that's pretty crap.
