This is an account of our recent return journey to the UK from Italy via France and the Eurotunnel. Before anyone has palpitations 
we left the UK in mid-September last year and travelled through Belgium and Germany before heading down to southern Italy for the winter. All Covid requirements and restrictions were adhered to, so there has been no ‘wrong-doing’. I hope this account will be useful to others who may undertake a similar journey.
We spent most of our time in the region of Basilicata in southern Italy, and once local restrictions were introduced we stayed put at a simple campsite in a regional park just outside the city of Matera. Basilicata, and in particular the province of Matera, has had very few cases of Covid. Most of the time we had the campsite to ourselves, with just the odd German and Dutch vans passing through. We also pretty much had the park to ourselves right through the ‘orange’ and ‘red’ lockdowns. This park, the Parco della Murgia Materana, is an amazing place with ravines, rock churches, beautiful wild flowers and wild boar, porcupines and wolves.
On 20th March we left our winter haven to begin the long journey back to the UK. Travelling across regions in Italy required us to each complete a form stating our destination and reason for travel. This had to be written in Italian but wasn’t too difficult with the help of Google Translate. We were asked to show these forms on two separate occasions, once to the Polizia Locale and once to the Carabinieri. Both sets of officers were polite and friendly and wished us a safe journey.
We had pre-booked the necessary PCR test to enter France at the Synlab in Pavia, which had a very easy online booking system and a PCR test with results within 24 hours for 50€. As it is a city centre lab, parking could have been a problem but we were lucky enough to find an ‘allotment’ area on the Viale Venezia about 30 minutes walk away. At our appointment on 24th March the staff were very helpful and we got by with just a few phrases in Italian that I had cobbled together earlier. After the test we headed towards the French border ready to cross the following day. Our test results were available to download within the promised 24 hours and so we entered France on the morning of 25th March.
As well as the negative PCR test, to enter France we also needed to complete another form - this time a sworn statement that we had no symptoms of Covid. The French border guards who checked our documents were again polite and friendly and waved us on our way.
On 28th March we arrived in Laon shortly before the 7pm curfew, ready for our appointment the next morning at the vets. As well as the usual worming treatment I had arranged for our dog to be issued with a French pet passport to avoid any future nonsense with Animal Health Certificates. (We had hoped to get Nix a pet passport while we were in Italy but even with the help of Italian friends it was too much of a bureaucratic nightmare!) The French vet was uncertain about issuing the pet passport based on the existing rabies certification so Nix ended up with another rabies booster to be on the safe side. We used the Clinique Vétérinaire des Epinettes which has easy parking for large vehicles nearby. The total cost for the pet passport, rabies booster and worming treatment was 47,55€ - which I thought was pretty reasonable. Nix is now known as Fifi la Wooflette.
After the vets, we walked a short distance to the Pharmacie de la Cité for the antigen tests needed to enter the UK. We were seen straight away and received our results in 15 minutes. The antigen test cost 33€. I must be a bit strange because I didn’t find the nasal swabs too terrible at all. We then headed off to a canalside aire about 50km from Calais, ready to spend the next day relaxing ....... and filling in yet more forms for our return.
There is now an ever-increasing list of Covid test package providers to choose from. We opted for Nationwide Pathology at £169 - still a lot of money for two tests but better than the £210 being charged by CTM when they were the only approved provider. The email with the all important booking reference came through immediately, so we were able go straight onto filling in the online Passenger Locator Form. This was tedious but not too mentally challenging. Finally we completed the handwritten form needed to leave France. So now we were all set up for our Eurotunnel crossing the following day.
31 March - Final day in Europe. We were booked on the 11.18am train and arrived at the terminal around 9.30am. Stopped off at Pet Reception and Nix sailed through on her new French pet passport. Then we joined the queue at check-in. Not a very long queue, only about 8 vehicles ahead of us, but only one lane open. However, there was a Spanish registered motorhome stuck at the barrier - problems with paperwork maybe. After about 15 mins of non-movement, a second lane was opened so we moved over into that. Thereafter it was straight through French and UK Border Control. No-one showed any inclination to stop and search us, or ask any awkward questions, and all officials were polite and friendly. Bit of an anti-climax really! We queued for a while in the boarding lane but right on schedule we were loaded onto the train, which left bang on time.
Back in England, the M20 and M4 were a bit tedious due to 50mph speed limits for Operation Brock and Smart Motorway roadworks respectively, but the M25 was surprisingly good. Soon after 4pm we arrived at Quackers Woodside Field CL where Brian and Helen have kindly offered to let us spend our isolation period. Please note: we are fulltimers so this is allowed. Our Covid test packages from Nationwide Pathology had already arrived there.
Maybe we were lucky but the journey back was much better than I had dared hope. Initially it was quite stressful with the need to meet deadlines for each stage of the journey and the potential for things to go tits up. Then there was the added worry as to whether France would be put on the Red List before we could get back but thankfully that didn’t happen. Now we have our 10 days to rest and recover!
we left the UK in mid-September last year and travelled through Belgium and Germany before heading down to southern Italy for the winter. All Covid requirements and restrictions were adhered to, so there has been no ‘wrong-doing’. I hope this account will be useful to others who may undertake a similar journey.We spent most of our time in the region of Basilicata in southern Italy, and once local restrictions were introduced we stayed put at a simple campsite in a regional park just outside the city of Matera. Basilicata, and in particular the province of Matera, has had very few cases of Covid. Most of the time we had the campsite to ourselves, with just the odd German and Dutch vans passing through. We also pretty much had the park to ourselves right through the ‘orange’ and ‘red’ lockdowns. This park, the Parco della Murgia Materana, is an amazing place with ravines, rock churches, beautiful wild flowers and wild boar, porcupines and wolves.
On 20th March we left our winter haven to begin the long journey back to the UK. Travelling across regions in Italy required us to each complete a form stating our destination and reason for travel. This had to be written in Italian but wasn’t too difficult with the help of Google Translate. We were asked to show these forms on two separate occasions, once to the Polizia Locale and once to the Carabinieri. Both sets of officers were polite and friendly and wished us a safe journey.
We had pre-booked the necessary PCR test to enter France at the Synlab in Pavia, which had a very easy online booking system and a PCR test with results within 24 hours for 50€. As it is a city centre lab, parking could have been a problem but we were lucky enough to find an ‘allotment’ area on the Viale Venezia about 30 minutes walk away. At our appointment on 24th March the staff were very helpful and we got by with just a few phrases in Italian that I had cobbled together earlier. After the test we headed towards the French border ready to cross the following day. Our test results were available to download within the promised 24 hours and so we entered France on the morning of 25th March.
As well as the negative PCR test, to enter France we also needed to complete another form - this time a sworn statement that we had no symptoms of Covid. The French border guards who checked our documents were again polite and friendly and waved us on our way.
On 28th March we arrived in Laon shortly before the 7pm curfew, ready for our appointment the next morning at the vets. As well as the usual worming treatment I had arranged for our dog to be issued with a French pet passport to avoid any future nonsense with Animal Health Certificates. (We had hoped to get Nix a pet passport while we were in Italy but even with the help of Italian friends it was too much of a bureaucratic nightmare!) The French vet was uncertain about issuing the pet passport based on the existing rabies certification so Nix ended up with another rabies booster to be on the safe side. We used the Clinique Vétérinaire des Epinettes which has easy parking for large vehicles nearby. The total cost for the pet passport, rabies booster and worming treatment was 47,55€ - which I thought was pretty reasonable. Nix is now known as Fifi la Wooflette.
After the vets, we walked a short distance to the Pharmacie de la Cité for the antigen tests needed to enter the UK. We were seen straight away and received our results in 15 minutes. The antigen test cost 33€. I must be a bit strange because I didn’t find the nasal swabs too terrible at all. We then headed off to a canalside aire about 50km from Calais, ready to spend the next day relaxing ....... and filling in yet more forms for our return.
There is now an ever-increasing list of Covid test package providers to choose from. We opted for Nationwide Pathology at £169 - still a lot of money for two tests but better than the £210 being charged by CTM when they were the only approved provider. The email with the all important booking reference came through immediately, so we were able go straight onto filling in the online Passenger Locator Form. This was tedious but not too mentally challenging. Finally we completed the handwritten form needed to leave France. So now we were all set up for our Eurotunnel crossing the following day.
31 March - Final day in Europe. We were booked on the 11.18am train and arrived at the terminal around 9.30am. Stopped off at Pet Reception and Nix sailed through on her new French pet passport. Then we joined the queue at check-in. Not a very long queue, only about 8 vehicles ahead of us, but only one lane open. However, there was a Spanish registered motorhome stuck at the barrier - problems with paperwork maybe. After about 15 mins of non-movement, a second lane was opened so we moved over into that. Thereafter it was straight through French and UK Border Control. No-one showed any inclination to stop and search us, or ask any awkward questions, and all officials were polite and friendly. Bit of an anti-climax really! We queued for a while in the boarding lane but right on schedule we were loaded onto the train, which left bang on time.
Back in England, the M20 and M4 were a bit tedious due to 50mph speed limits for Operation Brock and Smart Motorway roadworks respectively, but the M25 was surprisingly good. Soon after 4pm we arrived at Quackers Woodside Field CL where Brian and Helen have kindly offered to let us spend our isolation period. Please note: we are fulltimers so this is allowed. Our Covid test packages from Nationwide Pathology had already arrived there.
Maybe we were lucky but the journey back was much better than I had dared hope. Initially it was quite stressful with the need to meet deadlines for each stage of the journey and the potential for things to go tits up. Then there was the added worry as to whether France would be put on the Red List before we could get back but thankfully that didn’t happen. Now we have our 10 days to rest and recover!
What was the weather like in the winter down in the Heel of Italy?
