Woke up, and decided to Drive to Spain.
Discussion
Well, we really enjoyed the weather last week and I am now sat looking out at the snow on the fells, British weather at its best. Our recent decision seems like an even better idea. I woke up on Monday and asked the wife if she fancied a tour of Southern Europe, taking in parts of France, Spain and Italy, she agreed and we will now leave this Sunday.
First decision was to take the ferry instead of driving 800kms of French auto-route. The ferry is 30 hrs but at least it will give me time to plan a route :-)
That's about as far as I got. The plan is to then take two weeks to drive back to the UK from Barcelona, via Cannes/Nice, Italy, Switzerland and Germany (with hopefully a TF day at the ring).
Totally unprepared, but at least the Porka is full of oil, tires are good and I have a full tank. Will take some pictures as the journey progresses and hopefully no bad news.
First decision was to take the ferry instead of driving 800kms of French auto-route. The ferry is 30 hrs but at least it will give me time to plan a route :-)
That's about as far as I got. The plan is to then take two weeks to drive back to the UK from Barcelona, via Cannes/Nice, Italy, Switzerland and Germany (with hopefully a TF day at the ring).
Totally unprepared, but at least the Porka is full of oil, tires are good and I have a full tank. Will take some pictures as the journey progresses and hopefully no bad news.
Edited by redback911 on Thursday 26th April 21:42
Nice pictures! Austria is tempting as well, just wondering if we should bypass Italy and tour Austria. I guess we could just check the 5-day weather report when we leave Barcelona to head north around the coast.
Back to practical trip planning, just negotiating with the wife. She is going to mess up the MPG and handling with the amount she wants to take:
Front
Rear
I wanted to avoid having any luggage on show so not planning to use the cargo netting area in the rear. Also I do not really want a bag smacking me in the back of the head if I brake hard.
Back to practical trip planning, just negotiating with the wife. She is going to mess up the MPG and handling with the amount she wants to take:
Front
Rear
I wanted to avoid having any luggage on show so not planning to use the cargo netting area in the rear. Also I do not really want a bag smacking me in the back of the head if I brake hard.
Edited by redback911 on Wednesday 4th April 16:39
Actus Reus said:
Where's the wife going (assuming the dogs are in the passenger seat and passenger footwell)?
Be nice to take the dogs, it would save paying for a dog/house sitter. Still last time I took my dog out in a sports-car (Boxster) it vomited. Maybe it was the silver/red combo, I know it made me quesy. 
Finally, high-speed Internet!
Day 1 Images
Left the Lake District and drove to Portsmouth
Queueing for the ship to Bilbao
They put all the SUVs and sport cars in the same queue.
The good news was they made sure we had plenty of space. Except we seem to be next to an oil supply dump. ;-)
Sailing out of Portsmouth
Day 1 Images
Left the Lake District and drove to Portsmouth
Queueing for the ship to Bilbao
They put all the SUVs and sport cars in the same queue.
The good news was they made sure we had plenty of space. Except we seem to be next to an oil supply dump. ;-)
Sailing out of Portsmouth
Re: Ferry. For sure the 34hr was bad enough but it was the only one I could book at short notice and get a room without bunk-beds.
Re: Curved Bar - Yup, thats the one!
It was not too bad. I spent the last two weeks at a conference and cramming 2 months of dissertation prep into the same 2 weeks, so ended up sleeping 20+ hrs.
Day Three - Bilbao to Oviedo
I prepped a route stright into the "Picos De Europa", it looked like nice roads on the Michelin Maps and we planned a route that ended at Oviedo.
Hotel Info: Ayre Hotel Oviedo (http://www.ayrehoteles.com/en/hotels/ayre-hotel-oviedo/the-hotel/home/)
The hotel is just outside the old part of the city but that makes access in and out of the city easier. Room rate was 81 Euros (includes breakfast) and excellent value, brand new and very high quality 4-star hotel. Parking is 12 Euros per night and is underground. Access is a little steep but taking slowly and at an angle meant no bumping.
Trip Advisor ranks the hotel 1 of 49 in the region (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187452-d2100227-Reviews-Ayre_Hotel_Oviedo-Oviedo_Asturias.html)
Finally arriving at the Hotel in Oviedeo. The Wifey wanted to stay here as it was designed by Santiago Calatrava.
All tucked up and ready for bed.
Hmm, hamburger. Not exactly quintessential Spanish cuisine. At least the beer is Spanish.
Today was great. Dry in the morning, a little rain and then blizzards and snow in the afternoon :-) Awesome. Car coped really well. Average MPG was 28 and we did about 500km over multiple passes, although 4800ft was the highest pass we never had any any major snow. I stuck a GoPro HD on the front and rear so will edit together some footage of today and upload soon.
Re: Curved Bar - Yup, thats the one!
It was not too bad. I spent the last two weeks at a conference and cramming 2 months of dissertation prep into the same 2 weeks, so ended up sleeping 20+ hrs.
Day Three - Bilbao to Oviedo
I prepped a route stright into the "Picos De Europa", it looked like nice roads on the Michelin Maps and we planned a route that ended at Oviedo.
Hotel Info: Ayre Hotel Oviedo (http://www.ayrehoteles.com/en/hotels/ayre-hotel-oviedo/the-hotel/home/)
The hotel is just outside the old part of the city but that makes access in and out of the city easier. Room rate was 81 Euros (includes breakfast) and excellent value, brand new and very high quality 4-star hotel. Parking is 12 Euros per night and is underground. Access is a little steep but taking slowly and at an angle meant no bumping.
Trip Advisor ranks the hotel 1 of 49 in the region (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187452-d2100227-Reviews-Ayre_Hotel_Oviedo-Oviedo_Asturias.html)
Finally arriving at the Hotel in Oviedeo. The Wifey wanted to stay here as it was designed by Santiago Calatrava.
All tucked up and ready for bed.
Hmm, hamburger. Not exactly quintessential Spanish cuisine. At least the beer is Spanish.
Today was great. Dry in the morning, a little rain and then blizzards and snow in the afternoon :-) Awesome. Car coped really well. Average MPG was 28 and we did about 500km over multiple passes, although 4800ft was the highest pass we never had any any major snow. I stuck a GoPro HD on the front and rear so will edit together some footage of today and upload soon.
Edited by redback911 on Tuesday 10th April 22:00
Edited by redback911 on Tuesday 24th April 10:35
Wozy68 said:
Daniel, I do not know what/if you have pre booked your hotels or even have time, but please seriously consider the N260 from its start at Biescas and head East as far as Puigcerda and there head down to Perpignan to get back on track.
Beautiful road, and stunning scenery,
Brilliant! That looks perfect. Looking at the map I plan to drive to Burgos tomorrow, then Pamplona the day after and I can add the Biescas to Puigcerda N260 on my way to Barcelona. Will be a long day but we can always find somewhere if needed. Beautiful road, and stunning scenery,
jamessealey said:
Looks so much fun, I'm proper jealous 
I'm only 23, and when I can afford to do this with a half decent car, I'm going to!! 
It has to be on the top ten things to do before you die :-) I'm only 23, and when I can afford to do this with a half decent car, I'm going to!! cragswinter said:
Few reasons pal, means I can do a full Saturday at work then drive down to portsmouth on the Sunday & get the late might ferry, get some kip & then we've got a day at sea, go to bed & wake up in Bilbao with the full day ahead of us.
Plus it means a club cabin, on the cheap, with swmbo on a boat away from home for 2 nights
Oh, & it can't be any worse than the Friday party boat from Hull for the ring trips can it?!
Indeedy, maybe I am getting old but I found it quite relaxing as well. The trip was spur of the moment so a little cruise gave us time to digest all the suggestions and start planning a route. Plus it means a club cabin, on the cheap, with swmbo on a boat away from home for 2 nights
Oh, & it can't be any worse than the Friday party boat from Hull for the ring trips can it?!
OllyHill said:
You're doing a mix of the two road trips I've done in my Boxsters.
Love the pictures Olly. Love the Boxster too as well. had a couple myself. Great cars.Video now on-line of Day 3: http://youtu.be/0caHCxOCjb4?hd=1
Very basic, front and rear (outside) cameras. Showing the roads up to and down from Riano. Initial climb was awesome, mostly dry and hardly any traffic. Then a little rain, personal I like driving in rain, especial on a motorcycle but a lot of fun in a car. Just looking for super smooth lines. Then we get to the top and the snow starts coming down pretty heavily. All good fun.
Edited by redback911 on Wednesday 11th April 19:31
Day 4 Costa Verde
Also changed the mounting points of the video cameras. Front bumper, inside top windscreen and rear right-side. All tested up to 260km without losing one, yet.
Time to soak up the sun along the Coast. Although, not so much sun or sand to be honest. Still plenty of great roads and empty tourist areas.
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We took some great footage from the HD cameras so I will edit some together and upload as well.
Also changed the mounting points of the video cameras. Front bumper, inside top windscreen and rear right-side. All tested up to 260km without losing one, yet.
Time to soak up the sun along the Coast. Although, not so much sun or sand to be honest. Still plenty of great roads and empty tourist areas.
We took some great footage from the HD cameras so I will edit some together and upload as well.
Day 5 - Oviedeo, Leon, Burgos
Wow, possible one of the best bits of autoroute we have ever encountered. Definetely in the top 5 anyway. Its a 2/3 lane highway from Oviedeo to Leon and peaks at around 4100 feet. The climb was pretty wet and cloudy but there is a tunnel at the top and it was like a portal because temperature jumped 8 degrees with blue skies and white fluffy clouds. hardly any traffic and no cops/cameras. The video footage is stunning so I will spend a little extra time putting together something good. In the meantime here are some images:
Oh! of course the car gets filthy, look!!!
Some pictures of Leon. Typically we try to stop at some of the regional cities and do the "major" items. Although the wife tends to go off and see the sights and I sit in a cafe/bar and read or edit images and videos.
Wow, possible one of the best bits of autoroute we have ever encountered. Definetely in the top 5 anyway. Its a 2/3 lane highway from Oviedeo to Leon and peaks at around 4100 feet. The climb was pretty wet and cloudy but there is a tunnel at the top and it was like a portal because temperature jumped 8 degrees with blue skies and white fluffy clouds. hardly any traffic and no cops/cameras. The video footage is stunning so I will spend a little extra time putting together something good. In the meantime here are some images:
Oh! of course the car gets filthy, look!!!
Some pictures of Leon. Typically we try to stop at some of the regional cities and do the "major" items. Although the wife tends to go off and see the sights and I sit in a cafe/bar and read or edit images and videos.
Edited by redback911 on Thursday 12th April 18:44
Day 6, or maybe 7 - Now in Navarra Starting to lose track of the days. Basically arrived in Pamplona (synonymous with "Running With The Bulls"). Cool hotel, all access (rooms, gym, spa, pool, garage, etc.) used finger-prints, which were digital scanned when you check-in.
Hotel AlmaPamplona- Muga de Beloso Entrance
Car park finger-print access
Great views in the hotel bedroom
Corridors and communal areas rather star-trek-esk (TNG of course)
Roads in and out of Pamplona were of course, excellent.
Hotel AlmaPamplona- Muga de Beloso Entrance
Car park finger-print access
Great views in the hotel bedroom
Corridors and communal areas rather star-trek-esk (TNG of course)
Roads in and out of Pamplona were of course, excellent.
Edited by redback911 on Sunday 15th April 13:37
If Carlsberg made motorwayshttp://youtu.be/oOI7nNJ4rcI?hd=1
The video is only a few minutes long but it gives you a sense of the spectacular views and empty roads in Asturias (Northern Spain).
Although the motorway is fun the real treat was the N260 yesterday. We drove approximately 250kms of it.I have some amazing footage I will upload soon. Special thanks to Wozy68!!!
The video is only a few minutes long but it gives you a sense of the spectacular views and empty roads in Asturias (Northern Spain).
Although the motorway is fun the real treat was the N260 yesterday. We drove approximately 250kms of it.I have some amazing footage I will upload soon. Special thanks to Wozy68!!!
redback911 said:
If Carlsberg made motorways
http://youtu.be/oOI7nNJ4rcI?hd=1
The video is only a few minutes long but it gives you a sense of the spectacular views and empty roads in Asturias (Northern Spain).
Although the motorway is fun the real treat was the N260 yesterday. We drove approximately 250kms of it.I have some amazing footage I will upload soon. Special thanks to Wozy68!!!
Sorry for not being more responsive to the questions folks. Will go back through the thread and answer them all today! http://youtu.be/oOI7nNJ4rcI?hd=1
The video is only a few minutes long but it gives you a sense of the spectacular views and empty roads in Asturias (Northern Spain).
Although the motorway is fun the real treat was the N260 yesterday. We drove approximately 250kms of it.I have some amazing footage I will upload soon. Special thanks to Wozy68!!!
Wozy68 said:
Seriously consider the N260 West to East through the Pyrenees .......... It's so fantastic (to me ay least) that I go back to Spain at least once a year just to drive it. I've driven all over europe and its in the top three.
Agreed! Simply awesome. Although the road ended at one point, perhaps due to a large landslide but it basically became a gravel road with a 200m drop on one side. Then after a few KMs rejoined the tarmac road. Pretty cool. Will post vid/images soon. Porkster said:
On another note watch the hidden cameras on the french motorways...
Good point, actually the number 1 thing I would recommend for the trip is a TomTom or equivalent with the Camera Alert Speed Camera Database from Pocket GPS World http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Cam... Best 20 GBP I ever spent. It took some time to set-up warning distances but well worth it, it contains locations for fixed, mobile and "other". Junior Bianno said:
Yeah...post more pics from grey spain to keep our spirits up!!
Weather has been pretty good, not exactly scorching sunshine but an average temp of 15. Some of the passes have been pretty sketchy in places with rain, snow and apocalyptic rain. DoubleSix said:
Top man.
I'm doing a very similar trip in August in my Cayman, same ferry, all booked up, can't wait.
However, one thing I'm wondering about is punctures. Obviously one has the onboard mobility kit but what happens if you get a 'proper' puncture up one of the remote mountain twisties?? Can't imagine the villages in your pics have an abundance of 235/35/ZR19's!
Also, I'm thinking of taking the N260 all the way across Northern Spain and then hitting the SE coast of France (Provence, Marseille to connect to Route Napoleon), do you think this would be too much?
The N260 is awesome. Really really good, but its a serious road that requires concentration so you may want to be careful. Yesterday we spent about 5hrs driving various sections of the road at high speed and barely covered a few hundred KMs. I'm doing a very similar trip in August in my Cayman, same ferry, all booked up, can't wait.
However, one thing I'm wondering about is punctures. Obviously one has the onboard mobility kit but what happens if you get a 'proper' puncture up one of the remote mountain twisties?? Can't imagine the villages in your pics have an abundance of 235/35/ZR19's!
Also, I'm thinking of taking the N260 all the way across Northern Spain and then hitting the SE coast of France (Provence, Marseille to connect to Route Napoleon), do you think this would be too much?
Re: Tyres - We took a kit but I just figured we have Euro AA and if ship happens, it happens. We can chalk it up to an experience.
We are well into 6000kms now on the current tyres (3000 or so on the current trip) and the tyres have a few mm left before the wear indicator. So maybe this is something to consider as well. Depending on the long term forecast for Switzerland, Germany and UK (Dover to Cumbria) I may try to fit some new rear tyres somewhere.
r1flyguy1 said:
Great photos, and that car is a beauty mate.
How do you attach the GoPro in the offside vent?
Cheers
The front vents are curved slightly so a helmet sticker pad sits on it really nicely. Although maybe a towing eye adapter would also work. I have seen them used on track days. How do you attach the GoPro in the offside vent?
Cheers
NS80 said:
Awesome - and thank you for sharing.
Love the side-profile of your Cayman - which seems to be sparkling in all the photos!
Car was detailed to a high specification before the trip and seems to stay cleaner for far longer. The work was carried out by Nick at Clenz, full details of the process, wax, etc. is at:Love the side-profile of your Cayman - which seems to be sparkling in all the photos!
http://www.clenz.co.uk/read-more/techart-cayman-gt...
When it does get dirty I just rinse it off at with a hose (no brush) and occasional sponge if really dirty.
Edited by redback911 on Sunday 15th April 11:04
Edited by redback911 on Sunday 15th April 11:05
Day 7 - Pamplona, via N260, to Barcelona - 9hrs 360 miles
The route:
The reason, the N260:
6:30am start. The breakfast made us forget what time it was:
When we got onto the N260 at Biescus the roads were pretty much like this for 200km:
The road turned into gravel for around 5-10 kilometres but then it was back to perfect tarmac
Although we have seen a few cops on the trip, this was the first mobile radar cop we saw. I was flying along and saw the suspicious car on the left and I slammed the anchors on. Got a bit of a look from them but they never bothered us at all.
Eventually we turned off the N260 and headed towards Barcelona
The route:
The reason, the N260:
6:30am start. The breakfast made us forget what time it was:
When we got onto the N260 at Biescus the roads were pretty much like this for 200km:
The road turned into gravel for around 5-10 kilometres but then it was back to perfect tarmac
Although we have seen a few cops on the trip, this was the first mobile radar cop we saw. I was flying along and saw the suspicious car on the left and I slammed the anchors on. Got a bit of a look from them but they never bothered us at all.
Eventually we turned off the N260 and headed towards Barcelona
Edited by redback911 on Sunday 15th April 12:01
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