Arkwright

Ware?

PaulinEger

Hereford, Hartford. It's all the same to me at 2 in the morning after driving for l8 hours 🤣
It was somewhere between the M11 and the A1(M). To be honest, I'm surprised I'm not still there!

PaulinEger

Thank you

Finknottle

That I understand, definitely Hertford though!

PaulinEger

Well, I made it there and back without any major issues. Getting through the ports was straightforward enough. Had my car quickly searched twice on the way out but there were no checks whatsoever once I got off the ferry in Calais on the way home.
My concerns about customs charges and import duty didn't materialise and I managed to bring all my mother's things back.
I saved a fortune in hotels by adapting my car, as I was gone for 3 weeks.
The funniest part was the guy at the Irish Ferries booth at Dover when he saw the skeleton in the passenger seat that I brought back. He **it himself 😆
Overall, the trip was very worthwhile as I got to spend a lot of quality time with my father.

Peter_in_Hungary

????????? I always thought families kept them in the cupboard.

Welcome back!

Pollyana

That's brilliant! Love your style

Just reading this thread for the first time - glad it all went smoothly!

PaulinEger

I'm not sure where to keep mine
It's a life size plastic one that was hung on my father's kitchen door. He got it from a neighbour after he died. I said I'd like it one day so he said I could bring it back with me. I got some funny looks on the motorways and at petrol stations

Peter_in_Hungary

Hmm So the neighbour had plastic bones eh.

hobgoblins

I'm surprised you had your car searched ... where did that happen ... I thought car searches were a thing of the past !!

PaulinEger

I'm sure it was once each by British and French customs in Calais. The car was pretty well packed and I explained I would be car camping so they each just had a quick look and didn't ask for anything to be removed. That was on a Saturday night at around 9pm.
On the way home, in Dover on a Friday evening at around 8pm, they pulled 3 or 4 vehicles over to be searched but never looked at any of us and waved us on after a 2 minute wait. Once we were off the ferry in Calais the port was deserted. There were no customs officers or officials anywhere so everyone disembarked and drove straight out of the port.

hobgoblins

I guess it was just routine random checks for stowaways then !

calman014

These are standard random or spot security checks and are regularly done on both sides by French and UK Border officials.