Travel and Covid - please help

[dementedma]

Received devastating news today and have to travel to France to say goodbye to my dearest friend. Can barely see to type for tears and trying to work out all the travel rules and Covid....please can someone explain to me in words of one syllable what I need to do. i can’t think straight.

I am in Scotland. she is in Normandy. It looks like the best option is train to London from Edinburgh, then Eurostar to Lille, then train from Lille to Rouen where her sister will collect me by car.

I have had one vaccine so far. I need a clear test before I travel. I think a need to get a test over there to travel back? Then what....can I get the train back to Scotland to quarantine here.

Any help much appreciated. Am trying to google but its not making any sense.....
Thank you

I’m so sorry for your news

I believe you can leave the uk for compassionate reasons but horribly you may need to be able to prove it to avoid the £5000 fine - perhaps your friend has a doctors letter or similar she could scan in for you? You’d also need a test to enter France as you’ve mentioned.

Then to get back into the uk you’d need a test in France before you leave (I believe France is much easier and cheaper to get tests) and then you need to have a receipt for two more tests you will take at home in the uk once you have arrived home. These have to be on day 2 and day 8 after you get back. The price of these varies. They also need to be purchased from a government approved test provider, there’s a list on gov dot uk. You’re allowed to take public transport to get homemade must quarantine for 10 days.

This articlemay help - it’s written by a British journalist visiting the uk for Easter and talks about the process of getting back into the un. It’s the same rules for France and spain.

Oh thank you so much

Sorry to hear that. I'm pretty sure you can travel home by train, is it not possible to fly? X

I could fly Edinburgh to Paris, but then have to get into Paris centre, use metro and get train to Rouen. I think Covid is high in Paris and know my way better round London so was thinking better to do the train connection in London?

I just dont know...

Also I think if you fly into Scotland you will have to quarantine in a hotel? But if you fly to England and travel on to Scotland you can quarantine at home. The last thing you need is to be grieving alone in a hotel. Sending hugs

Thats what I was thinking - thank you for the hugs. We've been friends for 40 years; from teenagers to wives, mothers, careers, deaths of parents, marriages of said children....so many shared holidays, getting by in Franglais when neither her English or my French could rise to the occasion...

You should try and get some sort of proof, they could stop you travelling otherwise. Once you have it you need a pcr test to enter france no more than 3 days before you enter (don't think they accept lateral flow ones) you repeat the process to return home then self isolate for 10 days.

So sorry for the reason for travel, but hope it goes smoothly. Might be easier to fly if it's direct

KLM operate a flight from Edinburgh to Rouen via Amsterdam. It takes 3 hours 50 minutes.

Oh, I will look at the KLM flight. Thank you all very much for your help