The Bayeux Tapestry has crossed the Channel again — on display at the British Museum in London for the first time since the 11th century — and its return has thrown a spotlight on a much older trade route between France and England: wine. Fittingly, the 70-metre embroidery shows a wine barrel loaded aboard William the Conqueror's invasion fleet alongside the men, horses and weapons before he sailed from Normandy in 1066. As French President Macron quipped at the ceremony, standing beside King Charles: the French have always had a sense of priorities.

Nearly a thousand years later, the crossing is a lot less combative. Calais has become the go-to wine run for UK travellers, and two big names are leaning into the tapestry connection. Calais Vins, France's largest wine store, sits close to Calais Port, while Olivier Vins et Compagnie operates near the Eurotunnel terminal. Between them they stock more than 4,000 wines, beers, spirits and ciders — plus Champagne, which didn't even exist in William's day. Sommeliers on site give advice in English, and both stores are open daily with free parking.

The customs paperwork side is deliberately painless. Spend within your allowance and there's no form-filling in the way William never had to fill out a customs form — though he also never got a VAT refund. Both merchants hand you a tax-free form in store, which you simply scan at the terminal on your way home to get the VAT back.

There's also a day-trip sweetener: pre-order over €300 online and either merchant will throw in a free ferry crossing with P&O Ferries for UK visitors. That turns a stock-up run into a proper mini-break — order your cases ahead, sail over, collect your haul, then spend the rest of the day wandering Calais' historic old town before the evening sailing back.

Practical details: Calais Vins (formerly known as Franglais) is just off the A16 at junction 44 'Calais St Pierre'; Olivier Vins et Compagnie is off the same motorway at junction 40 'Gare TGV'. Ordering in advance at wine-calais.co.uk saves time and unlocks the ferry deal.

Why it matters: for anyone within driving distance of a Channel crossing, a Calais wine trip remains one of the cheapest ways to fill a cellar, especially with the VAT refund baked in. And with the Bayeux Tapestry drawing crowds in London, there's a neat excuse to make the reverse journey and see the other end of the story in the Norman town of Bayeux itself. Same crossing as 1066 — a lot less fighting involved.