he Channel which separates England from Continental Europe is, in places, narrow enough to see from one shore to another – on a clear day, at least. It’s not only possible to swim across, but it’s been done more than 2,000 times.
That does not mean, however, that the crossing is trivial.
Long before the Channel Tunnel was built, cross-Channel ferries made it easy for day-trippers and holiday makers to cross the channel and explore the popular port towns on the other side. The first car ferries began in the 1920’s, and after the Second World War they gained in popularity.
They moved quickly from using cranes to lift cars onto the ferries to special ships designed to allow the motorists to drive straight on at one end and straight off at the other. These were known as Roll-On, Roll-Off ferries, or “RORO” for short. They made it easy for British holidaymakers to take their own car on holiday in European countries – and indeed, when I was a child, my family used them for our own holidays.
The ferry offered not only convenience, but also affordability – and in early 1987, it was more affordable than ever, thanks to an offer in The Sun newspaper, which allowed people to travel for just one pound. With inflation, that would still be less than three pounds, or equivalent to about three dollars and fifty cents in today’s US currency.
