Brittany Ferries offer a wide selection of routes across the channel to take you close to where you want to go. Each of their destinations on the continent possesses its own character and is normally full of life with great places to shop, drink and eat.
Brittany Ferries offer a service which is centred on luxury cruise ferries. The entertainment is varied and the food is French cuisine. You can also shop in the many boutiques or relax in your accommodation which is both comfortable and more luxurious than on most other ferries.
Brittany Ferries have some of the most varied routes from England to France and Ireland to France and Spain. Put your feet up and enjoy your ferry to and from Europe.
On this Brittany Ferries ticket agent website you can view timetables for Brittany Ferries crossings, make a Brittany Ferries ferry booking and search for Brittany Ferries ferry tickets and prices online.
Brittany Ferries Fleet
Brittany Ferries offer a service which is centred on their luxury cruise ferries, which enable your holiday to start the minute you drive on board the ship.
The current Brittany Ferries fleet is as follows:-
Passenger/Freight Ferries
* MV Barfleur (built 1992)
* MV Bretagne (built 1989)
* MV Mont St Michel (built 2002)
* MV Normandie (built 1992)
* MV Pont-Aven (built 2004)
* MV Pont L'Abbé (built 1978, on charter from DFDS as of March 2006)
Freight Ferries
* MV Coutances (built 1978, purchased 1985)
Fast Craft
* Normandie Express (built 2000, chartered 2005)
* Normandie Vitesse (also known as Condor Vitesse, in use since 2001.)
Brittany Ferries Services / Routes
Regular Services
* Plymouth-Roscoff (Pont-L'Abbé, Pont-Aven)
* Plymouth-Santander (Pont-Aven with winter service operated by Bretagne)
* Poole-Cherbourg (Barfleur, Coutances, Normandie Vitesse (BF trading name for Condor Vitesse)
* Portsmouth-St Malo (Bretagne with winter service operated by Pont-Aven)
* Portsmouth-Ouistreham (Caen) (Mont St Michel, Normandie, Normandie Express)
* Roscoff-Cork (Pont-Aven)
Brittany Ferries Seasonal Services
* Portsmouth-Cherbourg (Normandie Express)
The route ends its 2006 summer season service on 28 October. For 2007 the route will only operate from 23 March 2007 to 29 October 2007. There will be no regular conventional ferry service.
Occasional services run between Plymouth and St Malo during the winter months.
Brittany Ferries Onboard Facilities
Brittany Ferries' vessels have a variety of onboard facilities. These include shops, self-service and A la Carte restaurants, bars and cafes. All vessels have a bureau de change on board. Most vessels have a cinema and gambling/gaming machines. In the past, the on-board shops often included a photography shop with film developing and printing facilities; however, the increase in popularity of digital photography has led to these shops being removed.
The fast craft have more limited facilities, such as a smaller shop and a bar/cafe.
More About Brittany Ferries and Their History
Brittany Ferries has a long and proud tradition.
The 1970s and 1980's
The company was founded in January 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, and began sailings between Roscoff in Brittany and Plymouth in the South West of England. New routes were introduced throughout the 1970s, and the company continued to grow. The St Malo, Santander and Cork routes were operated by the Armorique and Prince of Brittany. In the early 1980s a second ship was chartered for the Saint-Malo route. The Goelo was an attractive-looking vessel, but left the fleet in preparation for the new ship to be introduced in 1982. The Quiberon replaced the Armorique on the Santander and Cork services, allowing her to operate alongside the Prince of Brittany on the Saint-Malo route. The Cornouailles maintained the original Roscoff route.
The Benodet operated Plymouth-Roscoff for just one year before being used as part of Brittany Ferries' new venture, Channel Island Ferries. The Tregastel replaced her and continued on the route until 1989. In 1985 Brittany Ferries further expanded by buying Truckline, which operated freight-only ships between Poole (UK) and Cherbourg (France).
In 1986, Brittany Ferries introduced the Duc De Normandie, which operated a new route between the increasingly popular port of Portsmouth and Caen. The former Roscoff ship Cornouailles was transferred to the Truckline Ferries route from Poole to Cherbourg, introducing passenger services on this route. This service was also very successful and new ships were introduced over the next few years. Meanwhile, a second (chartered) ship, the Gotland was installed on the Caen service, as well as a new Truckline vessel, the Normandie Shipper.
In 1989 the cruise ferry Bretagne was introduced. She displaced the Quiberon, which transferred to the Roscoff route. Tregastel replaced Cornouailles on the Poole-Cherbourg Truckline Ferries passenger route along with Corbiere (formerly the Benodet who had been transferred to Channel Island Ferries). A second-hand purchase was introduced on the St Malo route, the Duchesse Anne. which was to run alongside the Armorique. This allowed the Prince of Brittany to be transferred to the Caen route under its new name the Reine Mathilde.
The 1990's
At the end of 1991, the Reine Mathilde left the fleet ready for the introduction of the new cruise ferry the Normandie on the Caen route. The Corbiere and Tregastel also stepped down in preparation for the new Truckine Ferries ship, the Barfleur. During 1992, the Truckline freight vessel, Purbeck, and the St Malo ship Armorique both stepped down.
In 1993, the final new ship of the 1990s was introduced. The Val de Loire was purchased and partially rebuilt for service on the Santander and Cork routes. The vessel replaced the Bretagne which transferred to the St Malo route, allowing the Duchesse Anne to operate new services between Poole, St Malo, Cork, Roscoff and Plymouth. Following further financial difficulties in the mid 1990s, these new routes were ended and the Duchesse Anne left the fleet. The Normandie Shipper was also sold, but the ex-Truckline vessel Purbeck was later chartered back by the company for use on various routes, primarily Portsmouth-Caen. In 1999, the Barfleur was repainted in Brittany Ferries colours, ending the Truckline Ferries tradition on the route.
The 2000's
In 2001 a new fast ferry service operated between Poole and Cherbourg in partnership with Condor Ferries. The Normandie Vitesse operated the service in just over two hours. In 2002, a new ship, the Mont St Michel, was due to enter service between Portsmouth and Caen. The Duc De Normandie was transferred to the Roscoff route in July, whilst the Quiberon was sent to Caen to cover until the new ship arrived. The Mont St Michel was delayed until December however. The Quiberon spent the remainder of the year on the busiest Brittany Ferries route. She had been with the company for almost 21 years when she was sold in 2003. In 2004, another new ship, the Pont-Aven, was introduced on the Santander & Cork routes. She could travel much faster than the rest of the fleet, cutting journey times by a quarter. This allowed the Val de Loire to join the Bretagne on the St Malo route. Both ships also provided a new mid-week link to Cherbourg from Portsmouth.
In late 2004, the Duc De Normandie was withdrawn from the fleet. The Bretagne was transferred to the Roscoff route, leaving the Val de Loire at St Malo. The Coutances was also earmarked for disposal, but then a change of heart saw her being refitted, losing her Truckline livery in favour of the new Brittany Ferries logo.
More changes occurred in 2005 with the withdrawal of P&O's French routes from Portsmouth. A new fast craft, the Normandie Express was chartered to operate between Portsmouth and Cherbourg and Caen. In addition, the Poole-Cherbourg ship Barfleur was redeployed to operate a triangular service between Portsmouth, Poole and Cherbourg. A new ship has been announced, in part a replacement for the Coutances. The ship will be named the Cotentin. Purbeck was to have returned from operating in New Zealand and cover the Portsmouth-Cherbourg link but this plan has been dropped. Barfleur returned to the Poole-Cherbourg link in November 2005.
The former flagship of the fleet (from 1993 until the arrival of the Mont St Michel) Val de Loire left the fleet in February 2006, having been sold to DFDS and renamed King of Scandinavia. In the meantime, Brittany Ferries have taken a 2 year charter of the DFDS ship Duke of Scandinavia, which will be renamed Pont-L'Abbé and run on the Plymouth-Roscoff route. The Bretagne will return to the Portsmouth-St Malo route. Brittany Ferries have also announced a new build for the Plymouth-Roscoff route, to be launched early 2008. In February 2006 the Normandie Express was brought under the French flag.
Book Brittany Ferries Online
ABOUT BRITTANY
Brittany is an enchanting land on the edge of the world.
It is difficult to resist Brittany’s charm and to escape being captivated by this land created by the vagaries of wind, water and time. The Romans’ “finis terrae” possesses all the attributes needed to charm visitors.
Along a coastline where steep cliffs give way to fine sandy beaches, historic fishing villages nestle side by side with renowned seaside resorts. Inland, the heath merges into rolling hills and lakes and marshes conceal oases of green.
Brittany is a region proud of its roots and has successfully retained its customs and traditions. History and legend have given rise to an outstanding artistic heritage.
It is however the sense of magic pervading Brittany which makes it a place apart and somewhere unique. Impossible to describe, its special atmosphere is instantly recognisable and quite unforgettable.
BRITTANY SIGHTS & ATTRACTIONS
Brittany is famous for its megalithic monuments, which are scattered over the peninsula, the largest alignments are near Carnac. The purpose of these monuments is still unknown, and many local people are reluctant to entertain speculation on the subject. The words dolmen (from "daol" table and "maen" stone) and menhir (from "maen" stone and "hir" high) come from the Breton language, even though they are hardly used in Breton.
Brittany is also known for its calvaries, elaborately carved sculptures of crucifixion scenes, to be found in churchyards of villages and small towns, especially in Western Brittany.
If you're looking for traditional Breton fun, and you can't make the Lorient festival (or the smaller Quinzaine Celtique at Nantes in June/July), look out for gatherings organized by Celtic folklore groups – Circles or Bagadou. You may also be interested by the pardons, pilgrimage festivals commemorating local saints, which guidebooks (and tourist offices) tend to promote as exciting spectacles. In truth, unlike most French festivals, these are not phoney affairs kept alive for tourists, but deeply serious and rather gloomy religious occasions.
For most visitors, however, it is the Breton coast that is the dominant feature. Apart from the Côte d'Azur, this is the most popular summer resort area in France, for both French and foreign tourists. Its attractions are obvious: warm white-sand beaches, towering cliffs, rock formations and offshore islands and islets, and everywhere the stone dolmen and menhir monuments of a prehistoric past. The most frequented areas are the Côte d'Émeraude around St-Malo; the Côte de Granit Rose in the north; the Crozon peninsula in far western Finistère (Land's End); the family resorts such as Bénodet just to the south; and the Morbihan coast below Vannes. Accommodation and campsites here are plentiful, if pushed to their limits from mid-June to the end of August, and for all the crowds there are resorts as enticing as any in the country. Be aware, though, that out of season, many of the coastal resorts close down completely.
Whenever you come, don't leave Brittany without visiting one of its scores of islands – such as the Île de Bréhat, the Île de Sein, or Belle Île – or taking in cities like Quimper or Morlaix, testimony to the riches of the medieval duchy. Allow time, too, to leave the coast and explore the interior, particularly the western country around the Monts d'Arrée, even if the price you pay for the solitude is sketchy transport and a shortage of hotels and campsites.
BRITTANY TRIVIA
- The Breton national anthem Bro Gozh ma Zadoù is set to the same tune as the Welsh and Cornish anthems.
- A number of independence groups exist and they enjoy increasing, but minority, support in elections.
- The Onion Johnny from the area around Roscoff in Brittany was the image of the stereotypical Frenchman for British people.
- Asterix and the other Gauls of his village live in Brittany, according to the comics.
- Another famous Breton is the girl Bécassine (http://www.wnsstamps.ch/stamps/FR053.05/fr.html)
- Legendary road bicycle racer Bernard Hinault was born in the town of Yffiniac in Brittany.
