Just back from a truly Epic road trip… what next?
Discussion
Myself and SteveSPG have been doing annual trips to Europe for over 10 years now in Cobra’s / TVR’s and usually take in a Motorsport event at Le Mans, Spa or Nurburgring. This year we decided to forget events and to try complete the best driving experience that we could manage in 6 days. After much deliberation we headed for the Alps in my Griffith 500 and Steve’s LS7 powered Tamora and racked up 1900 glorious miles over the 6 days. Here is the outline of our little tour taking in France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
Day 1
• Left Sussex 5am for early Tunnel crossing to Calais
• Crossed France Calais to Colmar via mix of motorway and A/B roads.
Day 2
• Colmar into Switzerland Glarus via Zurich, Klausen pass into the mountains
• Susten pass, Grimsel pass and Furka pass before overnight stay in Hospental
Day 3
• St Gottard pass to Bellinzona
• San Bernadino pass to Splugen and onto Thusis
• Albula pass to Samedan, Bernina pass Tirano then up to overnight stop at Bormio
Day 4
• Stelvio Pass. Big tick in the bucket list box and a clear run up the south side. Slow run down the famous switchbacks held up by two daisies in Ferraris!
• Ofen pass, Fuorn pass, Fluela pass to Davos (this road ‘route 28’ is a drivers dream!)
• Though Switzerland round the south side of lake Konstanz and into German Black Forest with overnight stop in Freudenstadt
Day 5
• The truly magnificent Route 500 from Fredenstadt to Baden Baden. Awesome road where even the road barriers are painted like that on a racetrack!
• With the main fun roads done we pointed the cars north and pressed the load pedals until we arrived in Saint Omer northern France.
• A good meal followed by and end of tour drinks at the Queen Victoria St Omer, our usual final night watering hole.
Day 6
• Short drive to Calais feeling more that groggy from previous nights activities
• Arrive back in the UK to the usual traffic jams on sh*t roads!
The weather was fantastic with glorious sunshine for most of the trip. We did see a little rain early morning on day 1 but roofs were off permanently from then on. We did see a little rain on day 2 also but not enough to get wet. We did question our sanity though when we passed through a hailstorm at the top of Furka… quite an experience when coming down a mountain with about 15ft visibility!
The route did not allow for lots of time to stop and visit many places on route. We went for the drive and drive we did with no less than 8 hours spent in each day.
Now the question is what next as I find it difficult to think of how we can better this one. Any suggestions welcome. Also happy to provide further details to anyone interested in doing all or any parts of this drive. I thoroughly recommend it!
A few pics of the trip can be found on my flickr page here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/107779236@N07/sets/7...
Brian
Day 1
• Left Sussex 5am for early Tunnel crossing to Calais
• Crossed France Calais to Colmar via mix of motorway and A/B roads.
Day 2
• Colmar into Switzerland Glarus via Zurich, Klausen pass into the mountains
• Susten pass, Grimsel pass and Furka pass before overnight stay in Hospental
Day 3
• St Gottard pass to Bellinzona
• San Bernadino pass to Splugen and onto Thusis
• Albula pass to Samedan, Bernina pass Tirano then up to overnight stop at Bormio
Day 4
• Stelvio Pass. Big tick in the bucket list box and a clear run up the south side. Slow run down the famous switchbacks held up by two daisies in Ferraris!
• Ofen pass, Fuorn pass, Fluela pass to Davos (this road ‘route 28’ is a drivers dream!)
• Though Switzerland round the south side of lake Konstanz and into German Black Forest with overnight stop in Freudenstadt
Day 5
• The truly magnificent Route 500 from Fredenstadt to Baden Baden. Awesome road where even the road barriers are painted like that on a racetrack!
• With the main fun roads done we pointed the cars north and pressed the load pedals until we arrived in Saint Omer northern France.
• A good meal followed by and end of tour drinks at the Queen Victoria St Omer, our usual final night watering hole.
Day 6
• Short drive to Calais feeling more that groggy from previous nights activities
• Arrive back in the UK to the usual traffic jams on sh*t roads!
The weather was fantastic with glorious sunshine for most of the trip. We did see a little rain early morning on day 1 but roofs were off permanently from then on. We did see a little rain on day 2 also but not enough to get wet. We did question our sanity though when we passed through a hailstorm at the top of Furka… quite an experience when coming down a mountain with about 15ft visibility!
The route did not allow for lots of time to stop and visit many places on route. We went for the drive and drive we did with no less than 8 hours spent in each day.
Now the question is what next as I find it difficult to think of how we can better this one. Any suggestions welcome. Also happy to provide further details to anyone interested in doing all or any parts of this drive. I thoroughly recommend it!
A few pics of the trip can be found on my flickr page here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/107779236@N07/sets/7...
Brian
Edited by V8BJC on Thursday 2nd July 14:03
Longers said:
Now that sounds like a terrific trip! But lots of long days of driving, which can be tiring especially on demanding roads like those, will not be for everyone 
Next time you're heading that way don't forget to include the often overlooked Vosges. Not as dramatic as the Alps but the roads are brilliant and a lot closer to home.
To answer your "what next?" question is hard because the Alps are fabulous and take some beating...
- French Alps?
- south of France?
- Pyrenees / Spain?
- Norway?
I like the idea of North Spain and Pyrenees. Steve andi have talked about getting the ferry from Southampton to Santander, doing the above and then blatting back through France. Should be a good run. Next time you're heading that way don't forget to include the often overlooked Vosges. Not as dramatic as the Alps but the roads are brilliant and a lot closer to home.
To answer your "what next?" question is hard because the Alps are fabulous and take some beating...
- French Alps?
- south of France?
- Pyrenees / Spain?
- Norway?
AutoAndy said:
...great photos...isn't that one of the best things to do in a TVR...drive it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHex6_Kf2vk
Cheers Andy. TVRs are meant to be driven. Longers said:
Next time you're heading that way don't forget to include the often overlooked Vosges. Not as dramatic as the Alps but the roads are brilliant and a lot closer to home.
....agreed..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHex6_Kf2vk
Great video. One to think about for next time.
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