UK signs to European locations/UK towns signed in European locations?

[Owain]

How bizarre that London was signed beyond the Iron Curtain... it's not like many Polish people would have been permitted to get there at the time is it?

Having heard about that sign a few years ago, I thought it was on the E8 (Old System), as London was the end of that. However it's on the current E65, then E14; the E22 corridor across the north of Germany and along the North Sea to Amsterdam (where it jumps to Immingham) wasn't an E road that far east then, so it's really odd.

Now Poland signs its border hamlet (from the other side of the country) rather than foreign places.

The place above London on the sign would appear to be "Kopenhagen", also to the west of the Iron Curtain, and also at the end of a ferry route (presumably).

[Osthagen]

I'm more than positive that I saw a sign for Newcastle-upon-Tyne around IJmuiden.

Don't think there are any equivalent signs in Newcastle though.

[brombeer]

There is one sign in IJmuiden for "[Ferry symbol] Newcastle", basically where one leaves the main road through town for the ferry port. It's a references in black-on-white, which means that the Dutch are not treating it as a reference to a city, but to a ferry terminal. Likewise in Newcastle you'd need to follow the signs with the ferry terminal symbol. No overseas towns are mentioned on these.

[toowise]

Liverpool docks, from which a Ro-Ro service is operated across the Atlantic on a couple of otherwise container ships, has a "Motorway to the USA" sign above the dock gate.

Have you got any photos of this ?
Ive been going into Liverpool docks for years with my job and never seen this...Im not saying its not there just I havent seen it.

I have collected trailers from the US that have travelled on this very service..ACL (Atlantic Container Line) operate the service, not sure if its available for private car use in the traditional RO-RO sense

[Osthagen]

This doesn't really count as both locations are in the UK, but Stornaway is signed around Ullapool, despite being accessible only by ferry.

[WHBM]

Liverpool docks, from which a Ro-Ro service is operated across the Atlantic on a couple of otherwise container ships, has a "Motorway to the USA" sign above the dock gate.

Have you got any photos of this ?
Ive been going into Liverpool docks for years with my job and never seen this...Im not saying its not there just I havent seen it.

No, I just recall it. Used to have (1990s) a Pontiac (mentioned occasionally in past posts of mine here) which came over this way. It was unaccompanied, that is a driver cannot travel on the ship with it.

Eventually the car went back, but this time in a container.

[BigBazz]

Almost certainly disqualified, but how about this one on the side of the Town Hall in Royston?

https://goo.gl/maps/rc2G6i5iARM2

[Vierwielen]

In this picture taken at the Eurotunnel terminal, one can see most of a signpost pointing to "France". One might argue of course that since the sign is beyond passport control, it is, as per the Anglo-French Eurotunnel treaty, really within France.

[Osthagen]

This struck me as interesting as we usually don't name the destination of ferries on road signs in the UK, presumably because they may change if the ferry company were to change routes.

My guess is that we sign ferry ports of origin like Dover or Southampton in the UK rather than ferry destinations like Calais, Cherbourg or Dublin because ports usually have multiple destinations - for example, ferries from the Liverpool area go to Belfast, Douglas and Dublin - which would clutter up signs if we signed them all from really far out. It's rather simpler to just list the origin point, on arrival at which - as is the case in Liverpool - you may be directed to the terminal for your ferry destination.

[Vierwielen]

I take it this doesn't count

They are on the wrong side of the road and the sign should read 1.5 [km]!

[Vierwielen]

Roscoff has four for the price of one - Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare and Bilbao.

[brombeer]

Looks like an imitation of a French road sign by the ferry operator.

[Chris5156]

Looks like an imitation of a French road sign by the ferry operator.

Yes, it is - the lettering is wrong and it’s well within the ferry terminal.

[Owain]

Roscoff has four for the price of one - Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare and Bilbao.

A ferry from Roscoff to Bilbao?

That's a ferry going from one landmass to the same landmass! That must be quite unusual for an international crossing anywhere other than Scandinavia or the Balkans ...

[Vierwielen]

Roscoff has four for the price of one - Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare and Bilbao.

A ferry from Roscoff to Bilbao?

That's a ferry going from one landmass to the same landmass! That must be quite unusual for an international crossing anywhere other than Scandinavia or the Balkans ...

Might be useful for overnight journeys. According to viaMichelin, the road distance is 982 km. In addition, there might be a case for a Plymouth / Roscoff / Bilbao route.

[Owain]

Roscoff has four for the price of one - Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare and Bilbao.

A ferry from Roscoff to Bilbao?

That's a ferry going from one landmass to the same landmass! That must be quite unusual for an international crossing anywhere other than Scandinavia or the Balkans ...

Might be useful for overnight journeys. According to viaMichelin, the road distance is 982 km. In addition, there might be a case for a Plymouth / Roscoff / Bilbao route.

There is already Plymouth-Santander, which I've always wanted to do.

[FosseWay]

I'm more than positive that I saw a sign for Newcastle-upon-Tyne around IJmuiden.

Don't think there are any equivalent signs in Newcastle though.

There used to be a sign to Newcastle shortly north of the bridge over the Göta älv in central Gothenburg. The ferry service ceased some time ago (2006 rings a bell), but the sign persisted until the whole area where the England ferry terminal was located started to be redeveloped five years ago or so.

One difference between the UK and some Continental ports is that in most UK ferry ports, all the ferries go from the same general location. In other words, while you're still on the public road network, it doesn't matter what your ultimate destination is, and presumably you know that you need to follow signs to "Ferries" in general. You only pick your queue depending on destination and/or operator once you're within the port area. (Liverpool is a bit of an exception to this.)

In Gothenburg, on the other hand, there are/were two/three separate docks for the two/three current or former international destinations (Kiel, Frederikshavn and formerly Newcastle), and two further docks for local ferries. Signs that just say "Ferries" are therefore not useful, and you need to specify directions to the end destination on the motorway on approach to the city. The Netherlands is similar - the distance between Hook of Holland (for Harwich) and Rotterdam (for Newcastle/Hull) is not great, and you need to know which you're aiming for while you're still on the motorway network.

[exiled]

In Gothenburg, on the other hand, there are/were two/three separate docks for the two/three current or former international destinations (Kiel, Frederikshavn and formerly Newcastle), and two further docks for local ferries. Signs that just say "Ferries" are therefore not useful, and you need to specify directions to the end destination on the motorway on approach to the city. The Netherlands is similar - the distance between Hook of Holland (for Harwich) and Rotterdam (for Newcastle/Hull) is not great, and you need to know which you're aiming for while you're still on the motorway network.

The port areas of Rotterdam and Hoek van Holland are both vast as well, so any additional help is useful for the casual traveller.