Thanks for a lot of useful information given, so basically to summarise:-
I will be taking the EHIC card (I always do when I travel in the EU), travel insurance that covers motorcycles, not bother changing my slip on exhaust, carry all documents (I always do this when driving abroad), be extremely cautious for drink driving the following morning as EU limit is lower than England, I have applied for my Green Card and also International Driving Permit (should we leave the EU on the 12th we will still be away), break down cover (already have this with BMW will check policy to see what is covered) and be wary of getting caught speeding!
Gav525 how long are you going for and are you taking bike? I tried Newcastle as that is our local port unfortunately we could not get a return ticket so we used PO Ferries and it was a better deal, a totally flexible ticket, better cabin and all our meals included for the same price as the most basic ticket from Newcastle which you could not cancel or alter! We sail from Hull going the 11th to 14th there is 3 of us going two S1000RR one ZX10R might see you about
Cheers