Hiking poles on the Chunnel

Are you referring to the Eurostar train?

I've never been through the Chunnel and I don't know the name of the trains that go through it but I want to travel from London to Brussels by train and I would like to take my hiking poles. So I am asking about whatever train that does London to Brussles.

It's the Eurostar which runs all the Passenger trains through the Channel Tunnel

You can take pretty much anything, up to a size limit, and skis.

This is their full baggage policy-
https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage

So the short answer is yes.

You can read through Eurostar’s pages of prohibited and restricted items. https://www.eurostar.com/us-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage/prohibited-items#Prohibited%20items

Are you bringing hiking poles that fold up in your luggage making less things for you to manage on any train and convenient for you?

This Forum is incredible. I got answers in less time than it takes to make lunch! Yes, my hiking poles are colapsable and I will have them inside my luggage. Thank you all for your answers.

Glad you got your answer so quickly.

Be certain you use the name EuroStar when referencing the train that travels from London to Brussels and Paris.

Calling it the Chunnel will be met with blank stares.

To original poster - I hope you feel welcomed on the Forum. My understanding is that Chunnel is a common shorthand term for the Channel Tunnel, and that most people would know what you're referring to. Per Wikipedia: "The Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel".

I can't agree with the comments implying to not know what you're talking about, or making it sound like such a grievous error. Hope you and all others feel welcome on the Forum and aren't worried that you might not use perfect terminology in your post.

Have a great trip!

My understanding is that Chunnel is a common shorthand term for the Channel Tunnel, and that most people would know what you're referring to

Not in the UK.

wikipedia does not mean it is true.

The term chunnel is not in common use in the UK.

It may be in the US - I don't know.

When I opened the thread I thought you might have meant in your car on the Eurotunnel Shuttle service which I use to drive to France. In which case they are perfectly fine as is almost everything you can fit in your car.

Thanks again. I feel safe packing my collapsible hiking poles inside my luggage while traveling on the Eurostar and going through the train tunnel that connects the UK to France.

I think saying “Chunnel” may be similar to saying “Frisco”.

My understanding is that Chunnel is a common shorthand term for the Channel Tunnel, and that most people would know what you're referring to. Per Wikipedia: "The Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel".

Well if it’s in Wikipedia.

Seriously nobody in the UK calls it Chunnel and most people will indeed stare at you blankly.

@Bob- I was extremely polite, in fact my 'correction' was barely noticeable and Mona was merely trying to be thoughtful and helpful in my opinion.
When you are actually there travelling it is useful to refer to things correctly, to help things run more smoothly.
I thought this was a model of how a query should be answered before this intervention. Quickly, accurately and thoughtfully.

Unfortunately Eurostar themselves muddy the waters by also using the term 'Chunnel' deep in their FAQ's.
When it first opened Chunnel was a widespread nickname, but has long fallen almost into disuse in the countries it actually serves.

In my experience Wikipedia is about as reliable as Rome2Rio. I have just had the experience of having to totally rewrite a whole chapter of a new railways book for an author (which I had approved) because the original was based on very scanty on line information, most of which was copied from Wikipedia. Unfortunately weeks after publication I got wind that somebody had spent many months checking original archival sources to write the real, definitive history- which totally changed the history of the railway concerned. I was livid.
Don't tell me to rewrite the Wikipedia page- twice I have done that, for different matters, with real factual archival sources in front of me. Only to literally minutes later have some utter xxxxx on the other side of the world revert my edits.
Why?- because they have nothing better to do than sit there as a keyboard warrior 'checking' hundreds of pages a day in a position of total blissful ignorance. In one of the cases I was accused of vandalism for inputting actual demonstrable facts.

Wikipedia = online Cliff Notes.

Dear dkgreene8, I am glad that you are able to take your poles on Eurostar. You may be a bit shocked at the debate that your use of the term "Chunnel" has created. Don't let it discourage you from posting again with any questions.

FYI- I agree that calling it the Chunnel is not the accepted term in Europe, but I don't see any reason to pretend that you wouldn't know what it was people were referring to. For fun I just looked in the index of Rick Steves' newest "England" guidebook. The entry looks like this. "Chunnel: See Eurostar"

I didn't take offense. It just seemed like someone was trying to correct me. I have only ever heard the term "Chunnel" and I thought it was used globally. So that brings up another question...I use RometoRio quite a bit nd they say I have to get to St Pancras first to catch the Eurostar. Any tips on getting from Heathrow to St Pancras? I assume St Pancras is the name of the train station that the Eurostar departs from. It sounds like RometoRio is not the best.

What is the Chunnel?
The Channel Tunnel (often called the 'Chunnel' for short) is an undersea tunnel linking southern England and northern France.
https://www.eurostar.com/us-en/travel-info/eurostar-experience/the-channel-tunnel

The Eurostar website uses the term "chunnel". If memory serves, the UK version of the Eurostar website may not. ( which more than once has led to some on the Eastern side of the Atlantic to make derisive snarky remarks..... it's not our fault we in the US use what you consider an incorrect term.... the train company uses the term)

You can take the Tube, also called the Underground, from Heathrow to St Pancras. The Picadilly line. Simply follow the signs once you exit out of baggage claim. When you reach the tube station, it is a short walk to the train station.

Are you planning on landing and taking a train the same day? I’d encourage to spend a night in between if you aren’t already planning to do so.

Have you researched the EuroStar website?
https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en/train

Yes, the EuroStar train departs from St Pancras station.

How to get to St Pancras from Heathrow will depend on which Heathrow terminal you arrive at. Do you know that yet?

What did we humans do before the internet?

How did we get from place to place?

Get the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow to Kings Cross St Pancras.

remarks..... it's not our fault we in the US use what you consider an incorrect term.... the train company uses the term)

They do that for Americans.. Nobody here calls it the Chunnel. Or Edinburgh “Edinburg “, or Glasgow “Glascow” or The Cotswolds, Cotswold, Cotswalds or Cotsworld, or Tower Bridge London Bridge. I guess we think it’s helpful to point it out but maybe it’s not worth it.

@stroudy60 I for one appreciate it very much when you help me get the terms straight. I'm not sure why this is such a big issue to others??? I also want to thank you for taking the time to answer questions here on the forum.

I live near Seattle and we have all sorts of those types of changes that tourists make for place names here as well. It is just an easy mistake to make, but I do like knowing the correct terms/names so thank you.

To add to the confusion, we have quite a few place names that have Native American Origins. It is fun to hear people try to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Tulalip, Dosewallups, etc. We understand when they don't get them correct, but we also quickly identify them as tourists.

To me the angst isn't about what you call the Tunnel. The frustration, upset and annoyance is about someone who had nothing further constructive to add, instead making a demonstrably incorrect allegation, and the whole thread then spiralling out of control and then trying to use Wikipedia in defence. I have had a nice PM from someone tonight accepting the original good intent, thank you.
And I do find it both amusing and odd that Eurostar themselves use the term.
My memory, which may be erroneous, is that the word "Chunnel" was originally used in a rather derogatory manner. Clearly it has stuck over there, "across the pond"!
If the OP had stopped me in St Pancras and asked me "where's the chunnel" I'd have known instantly he was a tourist. Yes I would have said something like "ah, the Eurostar" in a clearly light hearted voice. But recognising that he was a tourist in all probability I would have walked him down the station to the ES entrance and seen if he needed any more assistance. Quite a few times in such circumstances, and somehow I have a knack for being found by those confused by our rail system, I have missed my own train in doing that kind of thing before now. That doesn't matter if I have made a difference to some one.
Anyway enough said, I am now off to Monastic compline, and special prayers after this thread. Goodnight.

Just to add what I hope is a postcript- I have had a thoughtful PM this morning.

The post which said that this was not as welcoming as it might have been to the OP, was concerning the one liner from Andrea (in particular) and to an extent that from Claudia, and then the largely irrelevant remainder of the thread, which lead to a lot of unnecessary heat being generated which was (at best) a sideline to the OP's question. Much of the thread did feel rather like point scoring- this says that, that says this.

The PM does make a very valid point, that the focus on response to a post should ideally be on answering the OP's question in a sympathetic and direct manner. It could be construed that some of the early responses were somewhat abrupt, to an OP not intimately familiar with European transit systems.
I have seen that happen quite a few times over the last 3 or 4 years when watching this forum from the sidelines.

We can all be a stranger in another's land.

I’m old. Surprisingly so, as in I often surprise myself how old I am. Thus I can recall The Channel Tunnel being colloquially, and possibly irreverently and disparagingly, referred to as The Chunnel. However it hasn’t been referred to as The Chunnel since Methuselah and myself were lads, having been replaced in common parlance more often as Eurostar.

None of this matters. Call it what you want. Only the most obtuse Brits I think would claim no knowledge of what is being referred to as The Chunnel. Live and let live, and bank those tourist dollars with grace and gratitude. I’d like to think that forum users will leave better informed without having their intelligence questioned. Mostly, and thankfully, that remains largely the case.