For 30 years Eurostar has been the fast rail services from England to France, using the Channel Tunnel.

But there are still alternatives, one of which is the Newhaven – Dieppe ferry run by DFDS. Indeed this was traditionally the cheapest cross-Channel route from London to Paris.

Encouraged by news of a new shuttle bus between quayside and station in Dieppe, six of us decided to try it on a 3-day autumn break in Rouen, Normandy, in mid October.

We assembled at the ferry terminal in Newhaven on a Wednesday morning. Arriving at Newhaven Town station we saw a poster in French and English directing us to the terminal but little else. In fact, it proved to be just a few minutes’ walk to the west of the station, which has a half-hourly local service between Brighton and Seaford. Gone are the days of designated boat trains from London Victoria, but it is still possible to reach Newhaven from Victoria with just one change of train at Lewes; or from Brighton using Thameslink starting as far north as Cambridge.

Note: Newhaven Harbour is NOT the nearest station to the ferry terminal. The terminal itself is a functional modern building but has a comfortable and welcoming interior with a good display of leaflets from the Departement of Seine Maritime which helped us to prepare for our visit.

Going through border control was fairly quick and easy but we then had to board a minibus and wait for all motor vehicles to drive on to the ferry (the “Cote d’Albatre”) before being driven to the bows and walking through the vehicle entrance – a bit like using the Tradesmen’s Entrance – but once up on the main deck we were welcomed by the staff and spent most of a pleasant crossing sampling the buffet.

The days of docking alongside the town quay at Dieppe have also long gone. The vessel now uses a small new outer harbour apparently built on reclaimed land below the white cliffs. A single deck bus took us up the road to the terminal and, after having our passports stamped, some 25 of us foot passengers crossed the car park to the Grisel bus which took us by a roundabout route to Dieppe Ville station, which we reached six minutes before the departure of the modern Alstom bimode train to Rouen. The bus trip cost us 3 euro each and only small suitcases could be taken – but all passengers seemed to be aware of this.

Dieppe station was built as the terminus of at least three lines and is now only served by one, but it doubles up as a bus station and has a booking office with heated waiting room, toilets and a station shop. We looked on the way home at the station but could not see any publicity for the shuttle bus, financed by the Departement of Seine Maritime till the end of 2024. It is however, mentioned on the DFDS website.

Three days later after an interesting and enjoyable time in Normandy, we headed back to Dieppe on the 09.01 from Rouen and caught the shuttle bus at 10.45. This time it took a more direct route to the harbour, but only 8 of the 30 or so foot passengers used it. We suspect others had booked taxis.

We had some 40 minutes to wait at the station and were thankful to buy coffee at the station shop.

We saw at least 20 other foot passengers waiting at the ferry terminal, where we went through controls and then boarded another bus which waited till all vehicles had driven on to the ferry and then took us to the entrance from which we ascended an escalator to be greeted again by the cheerful staff.

Dieppe itself is a town of some interest with an impressive castle and a former theatre which is now a poignant memorial to all those killed in the disastrous raid on 19th August 1942. Some of us had visited it on the afternoon of the previous day

The town did not look at its best on the damp morning as we set out across the Channel and then had lunch in the cafeteria, but the weather improved and by 15.00 (BST) we were approaching the white Sussex cliffs in warm sunshine.

An announcement was made that foot passengers would be allowed off first. Most of us had to negotiate three flights of stairs before we could walk out on to the car park and the bus back to the terminal; but we knew the way by then and were soon on the train from Newhaven Town station.

It is good to have a ferry service that is inclusive and welcomes foot passengers, and I plan to contact the various stakeholders on this route with some comments and further suggests. Clearly we hope that connecting bus at Dieppe will continue in 2025.

TG October 2024