```Travel Options

The following information is provided as a guide to the principal travel options available to our clients. The nature of the travel business means that there are frequent changes to the provision of services and schedules, so the information provided here should be seen as the starting point to your enquiries. Please note that although specific companies and providers are named this does not infer our endorsement or recommendation.

Ferry

Your preferred point of departure and the balance between the length of sea crossing and subsequent drive will drive your choice of ferries. Book early for the best prices but also try the discount brokers (0870 264 2644) and If you are booking close to the time of departure then try for late availability discount fares or try for price comparisons. All times are approximate.

Departure / Arrival / Vessel / Duration / Operators
Dover / Calais / Ferry / 1hr 15 mins / P&O Ferries
SeaFrance
Boulogne / Seacat / 50mins / Speed Ferries
Dunkirk / Ferry / 2hrs / Norfolkline
Newhaven / Dieppe / Ferry / 4 – 6 hrs / Transmarche Ferries
Le Havre / Ferry / L D Lines
Portsmouth / Caen / Ferry/Seacat / 3 ½ hrs or 8hrs 45 mins o/n / Brittany Ferries
Cherburg / Seacat / 3hrs / Brittany Ferries
Ferry / 5 ½ hrs / Condor Ferries
St Malo / Ferry / 8hrs 45 mins day or 11hrs 30 mins o/n / Brittany Ferries
Le Havre / Ferry / 5 ½ hrs / L D Lines
Poole / Cherburg / Ferry / 2hrs 15 mins / Brittany Ferries
St Malo / Seacat / 4hrs 35 mins via Guernsey / Condor Ferries
Plymouth / Roscoff / Ferry / 5hrs / Brittany Ferries
Weymouth / St Malo / Ferry / Condor Ferries
Rosslare (Ireland) / Roscoff / Ferry / Irish Ferries
Cherburg / Ferry / Irish Ferries
Hull / Zeebrugge / Ferry / Overnight 11hrs / P&O Ferries

Contact Details

P&O Ferries
08705 202020
/ SeaFrance
08705 711711
/ Condor Ferries
01305 761551

Speed Ferries
0870 2200570
/ Norfolkline
0870 870 1020
/ Irish Ferries
0870 517 1717

Brittany Ferries
0870 9089660
/ Transmarche Ferries
0800 917 1201
/ LD Lines
0870 4284335

Channel Tunnel

This is the shortest channel crossing. Put your car on the train at Folkstone and arrive in Calais 35mins later. Contact Eurotunnel on 08705 388388 or

Air

L’Ancienne Distillerie is within easy access of the airports at Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Poitiers and Limoges with flights from the UK taking approximately 1hr 30 mins. The airport at Bergerac is also a possibility with connections from Exeter, Southampton, Leeds Bradford and Birmingham. Ryan Air is also opening up a new service to Angouleme (25 miles away) with effect from April 2008. Although some contact details are given you should also try airline booking search engines such as and . General travel web sites such as will provide comparative price information for the major airlines eg British Airways and Air France.

Destination / Departure / Airline
Bordeaux (70 miles) / Bristol / Flybe
East Midlands/Birmingham / BMI Baby
London Gatwick / British Airways and Air France
Manchester / BMI Baby
Southampton / Flybe
Norwich / Flybe
Luton / Easy Jet
Dublin / Air Lingus and Air France
London Heathrow / British Airways
La Rochelle (70 miles) / Southampton / Flybe
Stanstead / Ryan Air
Birmingham / Flybe
Dublin / Ryan Air
Manchester / Flybe
Limoges (80 miles) / Southampton / Flybe
Liverpool / Ryan Air
Stanstead / Ryan Air
Newcastle / Flybe
Manchester / Flybe
Poitiers (100 miles) / Stanstead / Ryan Air
Bergerac (100 miles) / Gatwick / Flybe
Southampton / Flybe
Exeter / Flybe
Manchester / Flybe

Contact Details

Air France / 0845 0845111 /
British Airways / 0870 9509850 /
BMI Baby / 0870 2642229 /
Flybe / 0871 7007123 /
Ryan Air / 0871 2460000 /

Train

There are 2 main routes to the region, both using Eurostar and the French TGV fast trains to Angouleme 35kms from L’Ancienne Distillerie. The first option is to take the Eurostar from Waterloo (St Pancras from Autumn 2007) to Lille (2hrs) where you change trains to Anglouleme (4hrs 30mins). The second is to take the Eurostar to Paris (3hrs), a metro connection to Montparnasse and then the train to Angouleme (2hrs 15 mins). The end to end trip can be booked through (telephone 08705 186186 or 0044 1233 617575 from outside the UK) or 90 days prior to departure. There is also a direct TGV connection between Charles De Gaulle Airport Paris and Angouleme (3 hrs).

Car

Whatever means you use to get to France, once here you will need to drive to your final destination. Please remember that, whilst excellent, the majority of the French motorways are toll roads (peage) so remember to have some Euros with you. Also many petrol stations outside of the motorway system are closed on Sundays and whilst advertised as 24 hour they are unmanned and will only accept French issued credit cards.

To ensure a stress free journey we recommend that you use a route planner readily available from the following sites:

When accessing these sites you may be asked for a department or regional number. We are department 16. The site may not be able to recognise the village of Deuville nor the town of Segonzac so please use either Cognac or Angouleme as your final destination and I will send you more detailed instructions prior to your departure.

Should you require it, car hire is readily available at all of the previously mentioned airports. Check out for more information. ADA and Europcar have offices in Cognac and Budget, Europcar, Avis and Hertz are available in Angouleme with offices opposite the train station.