A Little Jaunt over to Northern France with @poferries

Last year I partnered with P&O Ferries for a trip to Northern France. When they asked me last month if I would like to travel from Dover to Calais again to highlight the range of onboard experiences they offer I jumped at the chance. My first trip had been such a great experience and have been wanting to incorporate more ferry travel into my trips.

Passenger numbers for ferry journeys are increasing and it’s clear to see why. With life being so hectic for most people travelling by ferry is hassle free and having a car with you allows you to explore more of the country you sail to. Despite low cost airlines it’s usually cheaper to cross from the UK to France by ferry – and as someone who likes to take A LOT of stuff with them on holiday, loading up the car and not worrying about luggage limitations really appeals to me!

A P&O Ferries ferry leaving Calais and heading back to Blighty!

So yes, I jumped at the chance and P&O Ferries gave me a little bucketlist of things to experience whilst onboard and share with my followers on Instagram which included seeing the White Cliffs of Dover from the deck, buying something from the onboard shop and settling down to relax in the Club Lounge with a G&T…surely the best way to start a trip?

Taking in the White Cliffs of Dover from the deck.

My friend Neil and I arrived at Dover and sailed through check-in with quick handover of passports and reservation number. After a short wait in line we drove onboard the Pride of Burgundy (love the names they give the ships!) and were directed to our parking space by deck crew (they do an amazing job!).

We headed straight upstairs and outside onto the deck. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect weather to enjoy seeing the White Cliffs of Dover as we sailed out of the harbour into the English Channel. There was plenty of space on deck for everyone to get a good view and actually, the ferry at no point felt full or crowded. 

Winnie the Pooh - perfect gift from the World Duty Free onboard shop.

Next we went down to the World Duty Free shop. I was amazed at what was on offer: fragrances (with at least 20% off the average high street price), cosmetics, wine, spirits, beers (in case you hadn’t stocked up enough in France!) and some essential digital products too like adapters, headphones - and chargers which is usually the thing I forget! Bucketlist entry number two was ticked off when I bought a cute Winnie the Pooh cuddly toy for my six month old niece Evie…well, I had to bring her back a gift from my trip didn’t I?!

Lastly, we went up to the Club Lounge. This I think is a great idea. You upgrade to the Lounge when you book the ferry. It’s the perfect way to relax on the crossing with a complimentary glass of champagne, soft or hot drink and some delicious light bites. They also offer a special Club Lounge menu for more hearty meals. The stewards in the Lounge couldn’t have been friendlier and it felt a little bit like being at home on my sofa it was that comfy - although my sofa at home doesn’t have uninterrupted sea views! I took my G&T and as the French coast came into view we sat outside in the Club Lounge’s seating area (we were the only people out there!) and enjoyed the sun.

The tranquil Club Lounge.

Disembarking was as easy as boarding. Once the ferry had docked we were off within minutes and almost as quickly were driving down beautiful French country roads lined with poppies.  We drove to the stunning sandy beach at Escalles at the foot of the Cap Blanc Nez and then headed for lunch in the charming village of Wissant where we had a late lunch before heading back.

It was only a 30 minute drive back to the Port of Calais and again, breezed through check in and once more found ourselves onboard, this time The Spirit of France. On my journey back I decided to ask my followers on Instagram to send through any questions they may have about the ferry and was inundated with questions!

Here are the answers to a selection of them:

How long does the crossing take?

The Dover to Calais crossing takes 90 minutes which flies by. Check in closes 45 minutes before departure time.

How much seating is there?

Loads! Inside there are so many spots to be with a group or find some peace and quiet.  There is also an outdoor viewing deck in the main part of the ship and a quieter more private outside area attached to the Club Lounge.

A couple taking in the view en route back to Dover.

How many times does the ferry run?

There are up to 23 crossings per day on this route.

What is the crossing like, I get seasick?

The crossing was incredibly smooth – and I am usually someone who suffers from seasickness too. I actually asked one of the onboard crew this question on the crossing and was told that in extremes of weather the ships don’t make the crossing. Which makes sense, but in general in almost all types of weather and it’s fairly smooth.

What is recycling like?

I was really surprised to see a bank of recycling bins available in the food court encouraging recycling of everything, including food waste!

Is there a WiFi package or does 4G work out at sea?

Yes! For only £2 you can buy access to the onboard WiFi which worked really well. However, 3G and 4G continued to work throughout the trip, with only a dip mid-Channel when I lost it for a few minutes as it switched over from the English to French network.

Would you feel safe on the ferry travelling alone?

Very! I would have thought it unlikely that a ferry as large as this would be empty, but even with fewer people onboard than I experienced, the staff are very visible and unbelievably helpful.

Breakfast in the restaurant - full English and Continental.

What food options are available on this route?

There is a large food court which serves hot and cold food (the hand-battered haddock and chips looked amazing!), a coffee shop serving Starbucks, a bar and also the Club Lounge. There is also a restaurant where we enjoyed a hearty cooked and continental breakfast which after an early start to reach the ferry was much needed!

I really hope more people consider ferry travel as a way to reach the continent. It’s easy, comfortable and for me just means that I am able to enjoy more freedom at my destination because I have a car. Thanks P&O Ferries for inviting me to explore more onboard. I’ll be back!

For more information on the routes P&O Ferries offer head to: www.poferries.com

They also have a great adventure planner tool which I found really helpful for my Dover to Calais trip but there are lots of great suggestions available here:

https://adventureplanner.poferries.com/en/

Me and the White Cliffs of Dover!

Below deck - the cars!

LANZAROTE: I lost my heart to this volcanic landscape with @pandocruises

I never thought I would say I left my heart in Lanzarote, but my trip to this wild and beautiful island with P&O Cruises was more than I could have hoped for. Sun, sea, stunning volcanic lava fields…what not to love?

I knew little about this particular island before my visit and would never really have put ‘Canary Island’ and ‘culture’ in the same sentence. But culture, along with the unexpected landscape, were just two of the many things that took me completely by surprise. This island has certainly outgrown its former unfortunate nickname ‘Lanzagrotty’. Now it’s more hipster and definitely cool.

After years of volcanic eruptions from countless (now extinct, don’t worry!) volcanoes, a vast rocky moonscape with said volcanoes looming large over valleys of solidified lava that lead down to stunning beaches was created. Yup, you have to see it to believe it.

Adventurers and cyclists relish hikes and rides across this spectacular volcanic landscape with soaring hills, canyons and quiet coves spoiling them for choice. Surfers flock to the beaches of this ‘European Hawaii’. And those in search of peace will find it in the quiet villages, tapas bars and secluded beaches. It’s a cliché, but there really is something for everyone.

Whitewashed village of Teguise

And I loved the sense of space here. Whitewashed villages dot the landscape with their colourful doorways and low-rise buildings. Giant sculptures appear all over the place and it’s this distinctive man-made look of the island that can be attributed to the great artist and architect César Manrique, a Lanzarote native and whimsical genius (you’ll see why later on!) and someone who helped reimagine this strange and stunning place. I am already making plans to go back!

 ARRECIFE

 A trip to the island usually starts where the plane lands, in Arrecife the capital, a bustling little city which offered me a very warm welcome.

 I started by grabbing a coffee and a pastry and took a walk along the quiet promenade in the sun, and then out along the sea wall to Castillo de San Gabriel (San Gabriel Castle). Built in 1572 to protect the port and city from sea attacks it now houses a little history museum. It’s especially lovely when the tide is in, and it’s a great view back to the city.

 A short walk back and I reached the Charco de San Ginés, a seawater lagoon filled with cute little boats surrounded by white houses. There are some great restaurants and cafés around the lagoon where I sat and enjoyed the sun with yet another café con leche, before heading off to explore more. 

Castillo San José

Well worth a visit is Arrecife’s second castle, San José which houses the International Museum of Contemporary Art. Definitely tie in your visit here with lunch in the castle’s modern restaurant Qué Muac designed by César Manrique (yup, there’s a theme developing here – hard to escape this creative genius!). Try the tapas (or enyesques as they’re known locally) or the (smoking!) grilled octopus.  

North of Arrecife I headed for Teguise, a charming little whitewashed town with 600 years of history and the island’s capital until 1852, purposely situated from the sea to avoid pirate attacks. This history is now re-told in the Pirate Museum inside Santa Bárbara Castle that sits high on Mount Guanapay (complete with volcanic crater!) overlooking the town. It’s also the only point on the island where you can see the sea on both sides, which helped foil an attack by Sir Francis Drake in the 16thcentury. Rumour has it there is a tunnel that leads from the castle down to the town…a rumour I am inclined to believe on this strange and fascinating island.

Plaza de la Constitución, Teguise

Back down in the valley the town itself feels like a Spanish pueblo with African influences. I kept imagining cowboys making their way across the main square, the Plaza de la Constitución. This space also hosts a huge Sunday market but I’m glad I came on a quiet weekday. The little cobbled side streets host some very cool tapas spots and at one just off the main square, called the Queso Project, I tried a variety of delicacies and island wine whilst chatting away to locals.

Then it was finally time for my hit of César Manrique. A good place to start to understand the great man would be his futuristic studio-home. Most people who build or buy a house on a beautiful tropical island might head for a coastal/beach location. Not Manrique. He built his avant-garde vision of a home, now the César Manrique Foundation, into a vast lava flow complete with five lava bubble caves. This is an amazing modernist space full of artwork and incredible views. I challenge anyone not to get to the pool and BBQ area and not think “I could have an AMAZING party here!”

And so to the Jardin de Cactus (Cactus Garden). Again Manrique doesn’t disappoint. On arrival you wonder what you’re about to see, and on entering you’re welcomed into an amphitheatre of cacti and lava rock, a landscape gardening masterpiece! Sure, cacti are all over the island so what? But it’s here Manrique filled a former quarry with a variety of over 4,500 cacti from 13 families of cactus across five continents. And then placed a windmill in it. It’s pretty unique! I was trying so hard to find the word to best describe the cactus garden, but I couldn’t put my finger on it…(I’ll get my coat).

Mirador del Río

Ever fancied yourself as a Bond villain? Well, being in Manrique’s Mirador del Río in the far North of the island will make you feel just like that. The road leading to this watch tower doesn’t look like much and I wasn’t really aware that I was going up…It wasn’t until I got inside that I realised the lookout is camouflaged by lava rock and carved into the side of a cliff – and what a cliff! From the main room/café the two giant windows give a view of the island of La Graciosa and the Chinijo Archipelago. Outside stick a Euro in the telescopes and gaze down over 500 metres of a sort of moonscape. 

The last stop on my Manrique pilgrimage (and by this point, had he not sadly passed away in 1992, I would have tracked him down and asked him to design me a house!) was the Jameos de Agua which can only be described as a breath-taking fantasy grotto. Walking down the stone steps into a volcanic tunnel (one of the longest in the world at 6 kilometres) and I knew Manrique was about to hit me with another gem – and it was my favourite.

The tunnel leads to a series of sunken caves (jameos) and a lake that looks almost translucent, which may have something to do with the rare only found here albino crabs that live in it. Once you exit the dark cave you’re lead into an area of tropical plants and a swimming pool apparently so special that no amount of money will buy you a swim in it. Harmony and creativity ooze out of this place so much so that Rita Hayworth called it “the Eighth Wonder of the World.”

On my way back down South from Manrique’s North, I made a perfect end of day stop in La Geria. On the outskirts of the Timanfaya National Park and amongst swathes of lava Badlands and extinct volcanoes lies Lanzarote’s wine making region. Yup, I know...Lanzarote makes wine? Well yes, has done for centuries. Even Shakespeare wrote about the local ‘Malmsey’ wine. 

The beautiful patio at Bodega Rubicon winery.

I visited Bodega Rubicon, a 15th century country house . But what makes wine-making here special is how the locals cultivate their wines on the very edge of the volcano fields. They plant each vine in a semi-circular pit filled with soil and then cover each one with volcanic ash called picón. It’s this ash that holds the moisture in and protects the vine from the wind. With thousands of these honeycomb looking pits it’s quite a work of art. I sampled the wines and then sat outside with a very nice glass of dry white and watched the sunset over the volcanoes. There aren’t many places on Earth you can do that…

A DAY IN WALES for @visitwales

I love discovering places (almost) on my doorstep. We used to take holidays in Cornwall every year when I was a child and so I know that part of the world like the back of my hand. Wales, however, I’m only in recent years discovering and I have fallen in love with it. It is extraordinarily beautiful – with rugged cliffs, vast sandy beaches and charming villages – and a recent trip just reinforced all of that. One super-packed day but one that included villages, mountains and sea. 

HAY-ON-WYE

I had been to this small market town on the border between England and Wales, but for work as a TV producer on Sky Arts coverage of the famous Hay Festival that takes place each year (go, it’s brilliant!). This time I was visiting with my good friend Alex, and we spent a lovely morning wandering its quaint little lanes and popping into some of the towns 30 bookstores (Hay is famous as a top destination for bibliophiles!). I bought a couple of vintage maps of the area and we poured over them whilst having a lovely early lunch overlooking the town. Afterwards we drove up to nearby Hay Bluff and enjoyed views across the Wye Valley. 

One of the many bookshops in Hay

Colour coding is key!

The views over Hay Bluff

BRECON BEACONS 

Next we headed into the stunning mountainous Brecon Beacons National Park. As we drove towards the hike we had planned we passed through continually changing landscapes that took our breath away – valleys, mountains, reservoirs, rivers. We jumped out of the car so many times to take photos we had to stop ourselves or we would have spent the rest of the day there!  

Constant out of car jumping pays off 

We arrived at Llyn y Fan Fach (Welsh for ‘lake of the small hill') and started our walk to the lake. It was even more stunning than I thought. Surrounded by several prominent mountain peaks the lake glistened in the mid afternoon light. We sat by the lakes edge and had a cup of tea from the flask we had brought with us. Then, after a failed attempt to skim stones we decided to climb up to the top – and so glad we did, the view from 510m was quite simply breathtaking.

Llyn y Fan Fach posing

The view from the top

THE GOWER PENINSULA 

Our final stop was one I was really looking forward to and where my heart lies – anywhere near the sea. The Gower Peninsula was the UK’s first area of outstanding natural beauty and it is clear why – this coastline is jawdropping. We headed to a place I have been wanting to see in the flesh for a long time, Three Cliffs Bay. We walked across the stepping stones to reach the beach, and then climbed up to reach the tops of the Three Cliffs. We made it back to what must be one of the most stunning campsites in the UK and settled down for the night, chatting about the amazing day we’d had.

Hike to the top was certainly worth it

Getting across the water is easy  

Hike for the night. Not a bad spot.  

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