Travelling by boat

The English Channel has kept out invaders for a thousand years. Nowadays, Britain wants to welcome tourists, but the crossing makes travelling between Britain and the rest of Europe inconvenient and time-consuming. Despite that, about 18.1 million people visit Britain every year. Half of these people come to England by ferry or hovercraft.

The English Channel is one of the busiest stretches of water in the world and Dover, on the south coast of England, is the busiest passenger terminal in Europe. In August, the most popular month for visitors, there are 50 ferry and 14 hovercraft crossings between Dover and Calais every day. There are many routes across the Channel, but the fastest trip is the 35-minute hovercraft crossing between Dover and Calais.

If you were going to Britain, how would you get there?

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain; Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 30