Day 1: Dublin (Ireland) –> Harwich (United Kingdom)
An early start to this trip as we leave our apartment at 06:15 for Dublin Port via the 4 km long Dublin Port Tunnel under the city.
The ferry is running 30 minutes earlier today for what Irish Ferries called "operational reasons" in a SMS they sent us last week.
The roads are quiet at this time on a Saturday Christmas morning and we are in the check-in queue 15 minutes later.
While waiting in the queue, we remember to set Porsche Vehicle Tracking Tracking (PVTS+) to transport mode, with the aid of a comprehensive collection of pre-set Apple Reminders during our planning phase.
Crossing over to the United Kingdom
We're heading to mainland Europe via the so called "landbridge" option routing through the United Kingdom.
Despite Brexit, this option remains a viable and desirable route due to the historical "common travel area" arrangement between the UK and Ireland that predates both British and Irish membership of the EU and is not dependent on it.
Under the CTA, British and Irish citizens can move freely and reside in either jurisdiction and enjoy associated rights and privileges, including the right to work, study and vote, as well as to access social welfare benefits and health services.
Cabinet Office
Today, we're hopping on the Irish Ferries Ulysses to the United Kingdom. The Ulysses is one of the largest car ferries operating between Ireland and the United Kingdom, launched in 2001. It is operated by Irish Ferries and can carry over 1,800 passengers and 1,300 cars.
While we'd love to take the Stena Line ferries, which have a nicer club lounge, this crossing time suits us better today, giving us more time to catch our next ferry tonight.
Planning a road trip with ferries at both ends requires some thought and a bit of flexibility, as delays can happen.
We park on the car deck and climb up the flights of stairs to the club lounge for some breakfast.
We have never travelled much before at Christmas and wasn't sure if it would be busy or not in the middle of it. Conclusion: the ferry was the busiest we've ever seen it!
Arrival into the United Kingdom
We couldn't have asked for better weather on today's crossing. Though we carry sea-sickness tablets with us, there was no need as the Irish Sea was very calm for this time of year.
We arrive in the very familiar Holyhead in North Wales, and after a relatively quick disembarkation, we begin our journey east across the United Kingdom.
As we approached Britannia Bridge off of the Isle of Anglesey, we hit our first of what would prove many traffic jams across the United Kingdom today. It is not unusual to have queuing traffic here as the road narrows to cross the bridge.
However, the length of the queue here has proven to be an accurate predictor of what overall traffic volumes are like previously. If true today, it was going to be a busy one.
Fuel
Even though there are more and more fast charging locations popping up all over the UK, driving on petrol still lets us be more flexible and plan our routes easier than when we were road tripping in our Taycan.
Porsche has tuned the flat-six engine for 98 octane fuel, however, it can run on 95 octane as an "alternative fuel" if it is the only fuel available. The engine management computer is well able to detect the fuel type within seconds and adjust the ignition timing accordingly.
Octane in petrol refers to its ability to resist knocking or pre-detonation in an engine. A higher octane rating means the fuel can withstand higher compression before igniting, which is important for high-performance engines that operate under greater pressure. Using the correct octane helps the engine run smoothly and efficiently, preventing damage and maximising power output.
In Ireland, only 95 octane fuel is available, so the car primarily relies on the "alternative fuel" for its power.
Generally, we try to purchase the best petrol available for our 911 Targa when we can. Therefore when in the UK, we plan on filling up with Shell V-Power 99 octane, which is one of the best quality fuels that has wide availability across the country.
We set off from Dublin this morning with a tank that's intentionally low, so we can make the most of our time using this premium fuel!
Today's plan includes two stops, with one right near our destination for tonight. By the time we reach the autobahn in Germany tomorrow, we'll have just 99 octane petrol left in our tank.
Crossing the United Kingdom
The 600km trip across the Northern Wales and the English Midlands was fairly typical and uneventful except for the constant traffic.
At times the PCM was predicting up to 45 minutes of standstill traffic due to breakdowns and accidents ahead – and in each case it was completely accurate in its estimates.
Instead of having almost too much time on our hands, due to the time lost in traffic jams, we ended up under a little pressure to make up time.
Certainly, the 99 Octane fuel we had on board went under utilised!
We grabbed some typical motorway food at Rugby Services and did our best to stay to schedule.
Due to a slightly incorrect waypoint entered into the PCM (wrong side of the motorway) we missed our second Shell fuel stop, so will need to pick up some V-Power in Netherlands tomorrow.
Overnight to Netherlands
We arrive at Harwich International Port and enter the queue to board the Stena Hollandica.
We'll treat ourselves to some food on board in the Stena+ lounge and then settle into our cozy cabin as we and our 911 Targa sail overnight towards the Dutch coastline.
Today, thankfully, we reached our ferry on-time despite the traffic challenges. Tomorrow we get to experience one of the truly unique motoring experiences our 911 Targa was designed for: the German autobahn.
Parking on-board we got to see already the impact of the winter weather on our recently valeted car.
Parked on-board the ferry to Hook of Holland
Stats
| Location | Litres | €/litre | Total € | Fuel Type | Octane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abergele, Wales | 54.74 | €1.890 | €103.46 | Shell V-Power | 99 |
Today we did 572 km over 9:15 hours, with an average speed of 62 km/h, consuming 9.7 litres/100km.
