Latest update 20:00 UK time.
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in brief:
Channel: P&O Pride of Canterbury D-C-D currently 40mins delayed.
Weather: Very warm to hot with rain east Baltic.
Traffic: busy some parts of Germany, see below.
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Note: DFDS is advising passengers for its Dover-Calais/Dunkirk services to turn up 1h30 before sailing time this weekend. Expected to be very busy. Final check-in is 45 minutes before departure.
P&O says allow extra time for your journey due to French immigration checks [in Dover] and congested roads.
Also, it’s the final day of the Tour de France in Paris today, from Versailles in the south west to the Champs Elysee in the centre.
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Around the houses. Spilimbergo. We think. One of a succession of villages – on the way from Trieste via Udine to the Dolomites in north east Italy – where the road weaves in between houses with virtually no pavements. It’s easy to imagine yourself a competitor in one of the early road races like the Mille Miglia or Targa Florio. If you’re in anything decent – we were driving a Porsche 911 at the time – the locals, if you see any, will show their appreciation. Not sure we’d get quite the same reaction in our current Audi diesel estate.
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TRAVEL/WEATHER:
Meteoalarm weather risk alerts – Amber risk of forest fire south Norway – now also amber alert for risk of storms north east Spain.
Weather in brief – very warm to hot with possibly some heavy rain in the east Baltic extending east and south.
Crossing the Channel: P&O Dover-Calais: ‘Due to a technical problem, our vessel the Pride of Canterbury is operating with delays of up to 45 minutes. CADO 16h05, sailing at 16h45. DOCA 17h25, sailing at 18h15. CADO 20h35, sailing at 21h15. All other services are operating to schedule and are on time.’
No other operators currently reporting any delays.
Dover weather via @Port_of_Dover:
Channel weather via @Condor Ferries: ‘The current forecast indicates slight to moderate sea conditions for the weekend.’
See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.
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TRAFFIC hotspots: 19:15 UK time.
Many of yesterday’s hotspots are busy again today though the east-west A29 in France is much quieter.
Belgium: slow/stationary traffic on the E40/A10 eastbound from Ostend to Brussels. Slow/stationary traffic on the E40/A10 westbound from Brussels to Ostend, Dunkirk and Calais, between Gent and Bruges.
France: busy southbound on roads from the north coast, A25 from Calais into Bethune, and A26 from Dunkirk into Lille, but not too serious.
relatively few holdups so far.. the biggest issue is road works on the A75 south of Clermont Ferrand. Worse southbound, queues starting at junction with D19 at Lorlanges. As yesterday, the A7 northbound through Lyon has very heavy traffic. the A1 at Lille. Road works mean the junction between the A25 and the A1 is very slow southbound.
Germany: Hamburg – A23 and A1 northbound, the A24 from Berlin towards Hamburg all busy again today. The A7 northbound at Hanover, also towards Hamburg, is busy too. The A7 – which stretches between Denmark and Austria – is busy, particularly northbound at Gottingen, and in both directions between Ulm and Kempten in the south.
As yesterday, hotspots include A3 westbound from Wurzburg, and the A9 northbound and southbound south of Nuremburg. Meanwhile, the Munich A99 ring road south bound and A8 southbound up to junction with A93 towards Salzburg is especially busy.
The A5 southbound at Karlsruhe is busy again today, plus traffic is building up on the A8 westbound towards the A5 from Stuttgart. A8 is another road busy at places along its length, up until the junction with A7 at Ulm.
Switzerland: Gotthard Tunnel queues: southbound 6km, 60 mins delay. Northbound 3km, 30 mins delay.
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NOTES:
Belgium – national day Sunday 21 July. Traffic disruptions Brussels. Click for more.
Turkey – after some time without protests the situation is unpredictable again. See latest FCO travel advice.
Bulgaria – anti-govt demonstrations becoming a permanent feature. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.
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