Road Tripping

THE GREATEST road trip

By amie henderson

In October, as we do most Octobers, my family and I journeyed back to the UK in the car. There’s a two-week school holiday this month, which comes just weeks before our winter magazine deadline. With very little going on locally to keep my small people (aged six and three) entertained, and no childcare to help us work, we plot the 14-hour route to Wiltshire, where the Source grandparents reside.

We packed the car with all kinds of boredomreducing tricks. And a Lot of snacks. I recorded the journey on our Instagram stories and the response was enormous (thanks to everyone for keeping me entertained!). So many of you have great memories along the route; spotting the giant cock on the roadside in Bourg en Bresse. Gliding through the Champagne region. The change in landscape as you near the coast, which looks startlingly like England. We asked you to send us your ‘driving to the mountains’ tips to share with others considering doing the same thing. As it turns out, there’s a lot of you doing just that!

The 879km journey from Calais to Morzine takes 8.5hours, before you factor in fuel, coffee, toilet and rest stops. The route is a perfectly pleasant, quiet motorway until you get to within 45km of Morzine and the ascent begins. Along the way you’ll spot several aires or picnic / toilet stops on the side of the motorway, which come in handy when you’re hurtling along, successfully running down the sat nav and your three-yearold starts screaming for a pee pee now! Larger service stations with cafes and EV charging points are also frequent. In more recent times, we’ve used Le Shuttle to cross the channel. The tunnel will always be more expensive than the ferry, but the journey takes just 45 minutes, compared to 1 hour 45 by sea. The Le Shuttle terminal also delivers you further down the motorway on the French side, saving up to an hour on your journey. When we factor in loading time on the ferry versus the train, the total time saving is probably around two hours, which is not to be sniffed at. Of course the ferry does give you the chance to have a good break, stretch your legs and do a bit of duty free shopping on board.

Many people (including us) opt to stay overnight en-route and there are a few logical stop off points. Reims, in the heart of the Champagne region, is approximately one third of your way between Calais and Morzine. There’s a handy Novotel just off the motorway; it’s inexpensive, clean and has a restaurant. If you’re keen to push on a bit further, Troyes is another option. There’s a wider selection of accommodation options here, including the charming Chateau de Montabert, which is just off the motorway, or the budget Ibis where rooms are just €51 per night. Further still is Dijon, which sits just 316km from Morzine. There you’ll find a perfectly pleasant Best Western for a super simple stay and family rooms cost just €120 per night.

If you’re travelling with small people, the advantages of taking a break and staying overnight are obvious. It’s all part of the adventure and you wake up refreshed, ready to drive on in the morning. We also find that our boys have the capacity for approximately four solid hours in the car before someone starts screaming because they dropped a green Haribo crocodile and they need a run around. Of course, staying over adds to the cost of the trip and if you’re able to share the driving, or drive through the night, you may find it easier to charge on.

Driving to Morzine also means you can bring more kit with you. Gone are those infuriating EasyJet baggage restrictions, there’ll be no more fearful glances at the scales during check-in (“eeeeek, it’s all the baby stuff!” I used to plead) and, depending on the size of your car, you can literally bring as much kit as you need. A note of caution here, however. Post-Brexit, it’s now forbidden to bring meat or dairy into

France from the UK and you might experience checks at border control. By all means load up on snacks for the journey, but save your food shopping for when you arrive in resort. No one wants to have a kilo of sausages swiped at customs after all.

Of course, there are other routes to consider too. We once (pre small people) drove from Morzine to Amsterdam in 10 hours, had a great night out, then boarded the overnight ferry to Newcastle, which left the following day. If you live in the north of England, this route is really convenient, as is the Hull to Rotterdam option. The ferry isn’t cheap, but when you consider the time and fuel saving, it’s probably on par with driving the length of England to get to Dover. During a quick route plan on Google Maps you might also discover there’s a toll-free way to drive to Morzine. If you’ve the time and inclination to take this more scenic route, we’re delighted for you. It looks stunning! But if the clock is ticking because the snow is falling and you want to arrive in time for dinner, stay on the motorway. Avoiding the toll roads adds an extra three hours to your journey.

As for those tolls… the prices nudge up slightly each year, but the journey between Calais and Morzine will cost you approximately €73 each way. Over on Instagram many of you agreed that it’s a wonderful idea to buy the autoroute toll tag for your car. With this you’ll avoid any queues at the toll gates and it automatically charges your bank card each time you pass through. When ordered online, the toll tags can be posted to your address in the UK in advance of your journey and they cost very little. Find out more at atmb.com.

The other big tip coming from Instagram - in fact this one was mentioned more than any other - was snacks. At the end of the journey my six year old announced that he hadn’t eaten a single meal all day! Terrible parenting, guys. That’s because, from the comfort of his child seat in the back, surrounded by toys and with his i-Pad perched in front of him, favourite movies on repeat, he’d consumed a picnic fit for a king, but had clearly forgotten. It’s a tough life. Take more snacks than you’ll ever need, factor in potential delays and then add more snacks to the bag.

Now, this wouldn’t be an article in this issue of Morzine Source Magazine if we didn’t factor in the environmental consequences of driving to the mountains. Door to door, the average journey by airplane from London to Morzine takes around seven and a half hours to complete. Each passenger produces around 80kg of CO2 per flight. However, four people sharing a vehicle for an average journey of 12.5 hours (the equivalent of driving from London to Morzine) results in 52kg of CO2 per person. These figures come courtesy of SnowCarbon (snowcarbon.co.uk), who’ve also calculated that taking the snow train to the mountains produces a much reduced 15kg of CO2 per person during a journey that takes an average of 10.5 hours. You’ll find more details on a new snow train in our next issue.

Also on Instagram, many of you told us that you enjoyed having your car in resort, especially during the summer season. Being under your own steam means you can visit activities and places further afield, adding a new dimension to your holiday. Winter drivers take note however; when driving in the mountains, it’s mandatory to carry either fabric or metal snow chains for at least two driving wheels in the boot of your vehicle between 1st November and 31st March each year, or fit snow tyres to your vehicle. This rule applies regardless of road conditions and there’s a fine of up to €135 if you fail to comply, so make sure you leave a space amongst all the snacks for your snow chains.

Some people are long distance drivers, others aren’t. If you’re the former, I suggest you give driving to Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz and the surrounding valley a go. Even with small people on board, it’s possible to have loads of fun during the journey, just don’t forget the snacks..

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