The Freedom of France by Ferry

France is filled with diverse landscape, activities, lifestyles and culture, and arriving there by ferry gives you all the freedom to explore these aspects at your own pace.

As the car touches onto French soil at Calais your list of options are endless; do you visit the coast or a city? Do you stay at a hotel or in a tent? Do you want to admire mountains or architecture? Or do you just want to see where the road takes you?

France’s variety of activities and attractions has led to the founding of many companies that cater for different needs and desires; from family holidays, romantic breaks to last minute getaways.

An hour and a half drive from Calais is Lille, once a city well-known for its textile industry it now holds the title as The Culture Capital of Europe 2004. Lille is dotted with museums and signs of its artistic culture including The Fine Arts Museum (Palais de Beaux-Arts), which is the second-largest general interest museum in France following the Louvre.

Throughout the week Lille is home to The Wazemmes market offering food, flowers and exotic produce. It is one of the biggest and liveliest markets in France with 50,000 people known to have visited on a Sunday. From now until 12th July Lille will be a part of Lille3000 Europe XXL. This will be a series of events and exhibitions looking at how Europe has changed 20 years on from the fall of the Berlin wall and what the future holds for the continent. Two hours and 15 minutes drive away is Paris, making this the ideal break for those that want to absorb the artisan culture and history of France.

South West of Paris is the Loire Valley, a picturesque region that includes the towns of Chartres, Orleans, Bourges, Blois, Chambord, Tours and Amboise. The drive can take around five hours from Calais giving you a chance to take in the châteaux, vineyards and breathtaking scenery at your own pace. A relaxing way to explore the valley is by bicycle; visit the sites at your leisure and take in the peaceful surroundings, there are self guided introductory tours some starting at Amboise.

Embrace the typical French life and architecture and stay in a stone cottage, there is accommodation ranging from €120 per night for up to seven people and only half an hour away from Brenne National Park, this would be a great way to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the Loire Valley.

Heading towards the border of Spain is one of the sunniest regions of France; the French Pyrenees, offering many activity holidays ranging from skiing, mountain climbing to canyoning. If this sounds a bit too energetic how about putting your feet up in an Airstream or vintage caravan with a mountain view? Near Mirepoix is a caravan park that caters for couples and families. It is home and office to Perry and Coline, former circus artists that turned to tourism. The park is surrounded by lakes, forests, small villages, castles and historic sites as well as the chance to take some time out with a relaxing walk or an adrenalin fuelled mountain bike ride. There are also workshops available for children and adults and rehearsal space for the traveling musician, camping is also available.

Further south beside the border of Spain is a rugged landscape that has become the setting for many adventure holidays. In the heart of the Pyrenees at 1250m lies the traditional village of Barèges, with its outstanding scenery this is a playground for those that want to experience nature at its best and try something out of the ordinary. The itinerary includes mountain biking, paragliding, canyoning, white water rafting and a peak ascent to witness the length and breadth of the Pyrenees. This is a three or eight day holiday starting at €490 and can be arranged between May and October. Traveling to France by ferry is a cheap and easy way to visit the country as well as a green way. We are becoming more aware of our carbon footprint and how our past actions have affected the environment. Now traveling responsibly is an important aspect of what holiday we choose.

Responsible travel applies to many aspects of traveling, including the ways in which we move from A to B. And as the reality of climate change grows closer, passengers and operators are searching for new technologies to reduce carbon emissions as well as collaborating with environmental organisations to offset operating impact on the environment.

SeaFrance offers up to 15 daily return car ferry crossings from Dover to Calais and has taken environmental matters into its own hands. Almost a year ago SeaFrance became the lead sponsor of the Marine Conservation Society’s campaign for clean seas and beaches. MCS is a UK charity that involves people in taking action to care for and protect our seas, shores and wildlife. Members of staff from the ferry operator, together with their families, friends and pupils from Kingsdown-Ringwould Primary School regularly go to Kingsdown beach, Kent, SeaFrance’s adopted beach, to collect the piles of litter washed up from the sea. Robin Wilkins Managing Director of SeaFrance said: “We wanted to encourage our own staff and local people to make a tangible difference to our local environment.”

The MCS Beachwatch project is funded by SeaFrance and contributions from their passengers, who can voluntarily give a donation of £2 per booking, making SeaFrance the first ferry company to offer such an option. This scheme is on a par with a number of carbon offsetting programs that certain airlines have created, but in this instance staff from the company are also making an active contribution by getting their hands dirty! Wilkins added: “By involving our customers through suggesting an environmental contribution at the time of booking, we’re delighted that the project enables the whole SeaFrance community to work together for a better future for our marine environment”. A donation can be made when booking your trip on the internet or through the company’s contact centre. SeaFrance and its customers have so far donated over £200,000 to help MCS care for UK shores and wildlife, and to continue cleaning and monitoring Britain’s beaches.

Projects such as Beachwatch are important to the survival of marine life and other wildlife that inhabit our shores. Rachel Rissbrook, SeaFrance Marketing Development Manager stated: “Every year, thousands of sea birds are killed by swallowing or getting tangled up in plastic.” Rissbrook added: “Our support will help the MCS to raise awareness of the disastrous impact our litter can have on marine life.” MCS has identified that plastic litter has increased by 126% since its first survey in 1994, and from 354 beaches surveyed last year, the average density of litter per kilometer was 2,054 compared to 1,999 the year before. Volunteers are a vital part of the MCS’s ability to make a difference; 4,000 volunteers took part in the beach surveys in 2008 and with the support from SeaFrance this number is likely to continue to grow.

To highlight the MCS’s Beachwatch program, SeaFrance commissioned artist and shipbroker Jolyon Dupuy, to create two sculptures which have been made from litter collected during the beach cleans. The images are called ‘The Gladiator’ and ‘Marcel’, and follow Dupuy’s usual methods of creating a piece of art from driftwood and other objects found on the beach. They are on display in the reception area of the company’s Whitfield office.

SeaFrance is now operating at slower speeds on many sailings and as a direct result is reducing its fuel and emissions. Ships are equipped with multi power sources (engines) and a minimum combination of engines is used to operate each service, depending on weather conditions and schedules. SeaFrance operates a tourism fleet of modern ships equipped with current technology which enables them to operate on reduced power by using a combination of up to four engines. The company has invested 300m Euros over the last seven years to introduce more fuel efficient vessels replacing older, less efficient technology. The introduction of the SeaFrance Molière, and the consequential withdrawal of the older SeaFrance Renoir and SeaFrance Manet, resulted in a fleet capacity increase of 17% whilst at the same time reducing carbon emissions by 15%.

Travelling by ferry offers freedom, comfort and a wide range of facilities. SeaFrance customers have a choice of café bars and restaurants, entertainment for children of all ages, and great offers in the onboard duty paid shop. This enjoyable experience offers a greener form of travel and with SeaFrance you can support the MCS campaign to improve the marine environment. Online fares for a car and up to five passengers start from just £29 each way any duration which is also minimising the impact on our wallets during the current economic situation.

Book your Dover-Calais ferry with Sea France

See our Loire Valley holidays

See our French Pyrenees holidays

Visit www.mcsuk.org to find out more about how to volunteer for Beachwatch