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gilliwigs

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We really fancy going to Ireland in the summer for a change but I'm a bit worried about taking the ferry with Muffin & Jonah. We would probably take the shortest route, Stranraer to Larne and stay in Northern Ireland but it's still almost a 2 hour crossing and they will have to stay in the car on the car deck without us being able to check on them. :( I know they are OK in the car for that length of time but I don't know if it gets hot down there or it may be too noisy. We took our last whippet to the Outer Hebrides but he was allowed on deck. We thought of the Isle of Man which also allows dogs on deck but it's really expensive as we have to go in August. Our other idea is to go to the Orkneys, cheaper but a heck of a long way!! (w00t)

Sorry, I think I'm rambling a bit here!! :b I just wondered if anyone has experience of taking their dogs on a ferry where they've had to be left in the car and would you recommend it? Maybe we'd better stick to Yorkshire!!! :- "

Thanks. :cheers:
 
I would say, Go for it gilliwigs!

I too was very worried about my dogs, we took the caravan from Stranraer to Belfast last summer, but it was fine.

firstly, because we got there really early, we let the whipsters have a good run on the beach, and then walked them through the town. We spent a lot of time queueing (when I say we were early, I mean really early - hours ahead of the ferry we were booked on to!). So we were parked up in the bit they told us to park in, you get enough warning really and I took the dogs for one last chance for a wee before we were loaded on. Once on, I put their water bowls in their crate, left all the windows down enough for ventilation, and then you HAVE to leave them.

They were fine! and we were travelling in August, it was a very warm day when we sailed ... naturally I was concerned about the heat, the noise etc, but when we got to Belfast and we were allowed back down to the car deck, it did not feel warm and when I peeped through the windows, both boys were fast asleep! That was my experience anyway and I would go back to Ireland as fast as I could, it is a beautiful place. In fact, it got in the way of my love-affair with Scotland, and I never thought that would happen ...
 
I've taken my two across to/from Stranraer/Belfast and Dún Laoghaire/Holyhead.

Both crossings take about the same length of time. Both times they were in the ships kennels (cages or crates) rather than in a car and they were fine. The built-in cages on the boat to Scotland were better than the plastic crates on the boat to Wales.
 
hope i can help out here..i do this channel cross trip regular to race and show my dogs...if youre using the stranrear-belfast ferry youve 2 options-the fast ferry and the conventional ferry. the fast one takes 2 hours approx and you can leave your dogs in the car. the conventional one takes longer approx 3 hours 20 mins...again your dog in car is below decks.

the norfolkline ferry which is the belfast-liverpool/birkenhead ship takes 8 hours on which you get a berth and a 4 course meal both ways included. rose and i used it last year twice and found it well worth the money..£210 return 2 adults. depending on how far down the west coast of england you want to leave from or how far up the east coast of ireland you want to arrive at, determines your best route. the cars are very safe and i think as long as you leave car window down to recycle the air there will be abso no worries.

as the cages are used to ferry dogs in and out of each country i dont fancy them purely as a hygene issue.

hope that helps a wee bit j :sweating: hn

by the way im a Q.P.R fan & we enjoyed giving cardiff fc a runaround at your own ground :oops: j :p hn
 
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Just of a matter of interest (sorry to hijack this thread) but I wondered how much the ferry (2 hours) costs for one car and 2 passengers with 2 dogs! We would like to come across the water this year for a few lurcher shows and any information would be much appreciated. Also, any good B&B recommendations that take dogs would be most welcome! - Thanks in advance.
 
Thanks everyone! :thumbsup: I think my mind has been put at rest and so we will be off to Ireland in the summer! :D It's going to be lovely having a totally new place to explore!

stormydog said:
by the way im a Q.P.R fan &  we enjoyed giving cardiff fc a runaround at your own ground  :oops:   j :p hn
We're still higher up the league than you!!! :p But the defeat by QPR was the start of our 10-games-without-a-win run! We'll pay you back in April at Loftus Road. :lol:
 
I thought you meant dogs and ferrets by the titles and were using ferries a cute name :lol: :b :oops:
 
*Lesley* said:
I thought you meant dogs and ferrets by the titles and were using ferries a cute name  :lol:   :b   :oops:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sorry to mislead you Lesley! :teehee:
 
gilliwigs said:
We really fancy going to Ireland in the summer for a change but I'm a bit worried about taking the ferry with Muffin & Jonah.  We would probably take the shortest route, Stranraer to Larne and stay in Northern Ireland but it's still almost a 2 hour crossing and they will have to stay in the car on the car deck without us being able to check on them.  :(   I know they are OK in the car for that length of time but I don't know if it gets hot down there or it may be too noisy.  We took our last whippet to the Outer Hebrides but he was allowed on deck.  We thought of the Isle of Man which also allows dogs on deck but it's really expensive as we have to go in August.  Our other idea is to go to the Orkneys, cheaper but a heck of a long way!!    (w00t)
Sorry, I think I'm rambling a bit here!!  :b I just wondered if anyone has experience of taking their dogs on a ferry where they've had to be left in the car and would you recommend it?  Maybe we'd better stick to Yorkshire!!!  :- "

Thanks.  :cheers:


stormydog said:
hope i can help out here..i do this channel cross trip regular to race and show my dogs...if youre using the stranrear-belfast ferry youve 2 options-the fast ferry and the conventional ferry. the fast one takes 2 hours approx and you can leave your dogs in the car. the conventional one takes longer approx 3 hours 20 mins...again your dog in car is below decks.the norfolkline ferry which is the belfast-liverpool/birkenhead ship takes 8 hours on which you get a berth and a 4 course meal both ways included. rose and i used it last year twice and found it well worth the money..£210 return 2 adults. depending on how far down the west coast of england you want to leave from or how far up the east coast of ireland you want to arrive at, determines your best route. the cars are very safe and i think as long as you leave car window down to recycle the air there will be abso no worries.

as the cages are used to ferry dogs in and out of each country i dont fancy them purely as a hygene issue.

    hope that helps a wee bit    j :sweating: hn

by the way im a Q.P.R fan &  we enjoyed giving cardiff fc a runaround at your own ground  :oops:   j :p hn

Hi gilliwigs, we have travelled accross the water on various occasions, and have tryed different ferry routes, and bothe the belfast-stranraer & belfast-liverpool worked out great for us no problems the reason we started using the liverpool ferry as it saved a 6 hr car journey in the middle of the nite down the midlands area :thumbsup: but either are good as john has stated here :thumbsup:

goodluck and enjoy ur stay :thumbsup:

Rose :)
 
EMILY said:
Just of a matter of interest (sorry to hijack this thread) but I wondered how much the ferry (2 hours) costs for one car and 2 passengers with 2 dogs!  We would like to come across the water this year for a few lurcher shows and any information would be much appreciated.  Also, any good B&B recommendations that take dogs would be most welcome! - Thanks in advance.
to be honest theres not loads of pounds difference in either crossing..last time the belfast stranraer weas around £215...if i rem correctly...the money saving comes in the petrol saved through the logistics of your journey. heres a few links for you to play with.........

https://www.norfolkline-ferries.co.uk/EN/IS-PASSENGER/

http://www.stenaline.ferries.org/?gclid=CJ...CFTVYQgodnRmV9w

hope they work :wacko: john
 
EMILY said:
Just of a matter of interest (sorry to hijack this thread) but I wondered how much the ferry (2 hours) costs for one car and 2 passengers with 2 dogs!  We would like to come across the water this year for a few lurcher shows and any information would be much appreciated.  Also, any good B&B recommendations that take dogs would be most welcome! - Thanks in advance.
Hi emily, have u decided which lurcher event u were thinking about coming over to as they r in different area's and wud be easier to help with b&b's if we knew which event u were planning to come over too?? :thumbsup:

Rose :)
 
we used to go over there by ferry on the munster circuit in the summer and stay in a cottage with all the dogs.the dogs were all in their cages in the van while we were on the ferry and they were fine.it makes a nice holiday and you have the fun of dog showing as well so id recommend it :thumbsup:
 
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Yep,I agree with all of the above,we travel back and forth a lot all year to the shows on the mainland and have no problems at all with the dogs onboard in the car,they do as mentioned (or mine do anyway!) sleep!!

We use Larne - Stranraer or Larne - Cairnryan or Belfast to the same and it is a reasonably fast crossing,it will be over before you know it. And it does'nt overheat down there. ;)
 

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