Once again, ,my good boys wanted to see Harry Potter Studio again,(see posts), and this time also Legoland ! I found me some interesting towns to visit and we did the English countryside on left driving piece of cake ! Bear with me as the following posts will be on our trip to England, Therefore, I give you my new take on this is Coquelles and the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle !!! Hope you enjoy this post as I.
Let me tell you where we began all from France, this is Coquelles located in the Pas-de-Calais department no 62 within the Hauts-de-France region of my belle France. It is a town situated on the urban fringe and forms part of the Calais urban area. The town is best known as the site of the French terminal for the Channel Tunnel and for its retail outlet catering to tunnel travelers; Folkestone serves as the British terminal. The town lies 29 km from Boulogne-sur-Mer, 114 km from Lille, 293 km from Paris, 311 km from Versailles, and 658 km from our current town from which we have been going to along the D768, N24, N136, A84, A13, A29 A28, and A16 highways to exit/sortie 42b,Terminal tourisme. And you /we reach England via the Channel Tunnel or call here Le Shuttle. The A16 autoroute L’Européenne connects the Paris region to the Belgian border at Bray-Dunes, passing through Beauvais, Amiens, Abbeville, Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk. Coquelles is also located near the A26 autoroute des Anglais , which links Calais to Troyes.
Regarding the Channel Tunnel and the Coquelles terminal: both the tunnel entrance and the Eurotunnel operations site are located in Coquelles. Tunnel ventilation is provided by massive shafts situated in Sangatte. One of the tunnel-boring machines used to excavate the structure has been installed on a roundabout in the town. It was in Coquelles, on May 6, 1994, that the President of the French Republic, the Queen of England, and Pierre Crespel (the town’s mayor) inaugurated “the construction project of the 20th century” a project symbolizing the success of an unparalleled human and technological undertaking. A testament to its dynamism and its commitment to creating a balanced and ambitious commercial network, the Eurotunnel, Since 1995, Coquelles has been home to the department’s (62) largest shopping center, Cité Europe, featuring 147 shops, 25 restaurants, and a 12-screen cinema.
A bit of history I like on the town tell us that in the early 12C, the Lord of Coquelles married Emme de Marck, daughter of Elembert I de Marck (Lord and Viscount of Marck) and Adeline de Licques (daughter of Eustache “the Elder,” Lord of Licques). Coquelles was among the parishes near Calais occupied by the English following their capture of the city on August 4, 1347. It remained under English rule for 150 years until January 1558, when the French recaptured Calais (Siege of Calais, 1558). During the Great War or WWI, in 1917–1918, Coquelles fell under the jurisdiction of a staging command based first in Fréthun and later in Coulogne, an army unit responsible for organizing the billeting of troops (often including horses) for varying periods within the command’s assigned towns behind the front lines. Consequently, Coquelles hosted passing troops; in August 1917, a British veterinary camp was established there. The town was visited by Charles de Gaulle on September 24, 1958; having recently taken office as President of the Council, he was touring the region to present and advocate for the 1958 constitutional referendum aimed at establishing the Fifth Republic.The reigning French Republic or France today,
We took off early morning by 1h30 for an entry very early morning catching practically the first train shuttle with my Ford by 7h50, with my good boys and our wonderful Rex;the dog travels too and he love it !! LeShuttle or eurotunnel ! This time the passing was even easier so nice and talkative customs on both sides, Once got in on Folkestone in England the speed Limit is 70 mph (110 kph), and it changes to as low as 30 kph on some country roads. The cameras are everywhere and so are the roundabout sometimes double layout wow !!! The ride both ways is about 35 minutes under . The UK terminal is in Folkestone, Kent. It’s an easy drive from our base just under 2 hours by car to our lodging destination in Winchmore Hill next to Amersham (see posts), By the way the return was just as easy leaving our lodge by 5h to get on the shuttle by 7h24 as well, Nice and easy, looking forward to be back, eventually, For our reference, the round trip was 2098 km or about 1301 miles, and 61,20 Euros on tolls, and 146,73 Euros in gas/petrol, even with rising gas/petrol pricing, this was cheaper in England,
The Town of Coquelles and its heritage : https://coquelles.fr/que-voir-a-coquelles/
The Calais XXL tourist office on Coquelles : https://www.calaisxxl.com/en/?s=coquelles
The Pas de Calais dept 62 tourist office on things to do : https://www.visitpasdecalais.com/opal-coast/
The official Eurotunnel Le Shuttle: https://www.leshuttle.com/uk-en
The roads of UK on the M25 road we took :https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m25/
The roads of UK on the M26 road we took : https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m26
The roads of UK on the M20 road we took : https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m20
The SANEF roads in France on the A16 we took : https://www.autoroutes.sanef.com/en/A16-motorway-traffic-reports-tariffs-information
There you go folks, a wonderful sights of jolly England ,my curiosities were always a wonderful trip into the countryside , The sad part of all this we are less and we missed mom , my dear late wife Martine, she love it coming here, We will be back, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Coquelles and the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all !!!
