Despite our need to get on, after a late start and chatting with an English guy living in France, it was nearly mid-day before we left this pretty spot, now in bright sunshine. Must remember it for the future. Caumont-sur-Garonne.
Back onto the fast roads again although being Monday, it was a lot busier and we decided to push on. Bergerac saw us crossing the route we took last year exploring the Dordogne then on towards Limoges, stopping for lunch at an aire in La Coquille whilst looking for water - we hadn't been able to refill the tank at Caumont, a connector on the tap defeating our bag full of adapters. But, like many at this time of year, it hadn't yet been turned on - they'll probably do it tomorrow!
Well behind schedule now, we elected to jump up onto the A20 which is toll-free on this section and follows exactly the same route as our non-motorway plan but without the roundabouts. Our target was Chateauroux which we could have easily made but instead decided we needed a site tonight for showers etc. and the ACSI book told us of one "just off" the A20 that was open - again many do not open until 1 April......
Eguzon was about 10 minutes from the motorway and a very pleasant village. We were made very welcome at a nice site, obviously only just opened as it was practically deserted and we were asked to park on the roadway as the grass was still not properly dried out. All facilities (except the swimming pool - he did offer but thought it might still be a little cool) including WiFi. Cuppa, re-tuned the satellite TV (and got all the UK channels back) then showers before tea.
Sorry, no photos today.
Monday, 31 March 2014
Sunday 30 March 2014
Despite a little nervousness about our isolated position we in fact spent a quiet comfortable night and were awoken by the Sunday cyclists and walkers. However we weren't in any rush and it was 11.30 before we actually got away on the road to the Spanish border. Avoiding the motorway as we usually do, finding the actual border became a bit of a challenge but we spotted a French van who looked like he knew where he was going and followed him.
Result, and we crossed at Irun, noting the crowds of French motorhomes and cars visiting the garages and supermarkets, obviously taking advantage of cheaper prices. And what better to do on a bright Sunday morning?
But time was pressing, with a need to cover some miles and our target of Bergerac was still some way away. Biarritz and Bayonne went by on a somewhat familiar road, until it all very nearly went badly wrong when a young lad dashed out into the road right in front of us, chasing a ball........
Suffice it to say that Terry's reactions were spot on and we managed to avoid him, although the bang suggested that his ball didn't survive! Bet he needed a change of underwear though, we nearly did! So, slightly subdued, we stopped shortly after for lunch.
The difference between Spanish and French roads suddenly became obvious as we headed north on long straight empty roads, in fact it got a tad boring and as the weather was grey and overcast we were beginning to feel a little down - the holiday was coming to an end. It became apparent that we were not going to make Bergerac within our normal time frame and as there did not appear to be many stopping places we started looking at alternatives. The netbook showed us a place on our route so we stopped to investigate but, although it was okay, we felt we could do better. Another aire showed up about 5 minutes away, off route but a canal side setting appealed so we went looking. And we were very glad we did because it was beautiful, peaceful and only half full, worth the effort of actually maneuvering into a spot without driving into the canal....
And as the sun had come out, it cheered us up no end.
Result, and we crossed at Irun, noting the crowds of French motorhomes and cars visiting the garages and supermarkets, obviously taking advantage of cheaper prices. And what better to do on a bright Sunday morning?
But time was pressing, with a need to cover some miles and our target of Bergerac was still some way away. Biarritz and Bayonne went by on a somewhat familiar road, until it all very nearly went badly wrong when a young lad dashed out into the road right in front of us, chasing a ball........
Suffice it to say that Terry's reactions were spot on and we managed to avoid him, although the bang suggested that his ball didn't survive! Bet he needed a change of underwear though, we nearly did! So, slightly subdued, we stopped shortly after for lunch.
The difference between Spanish and French roads suddenly became obvious as we headed north on long straight empty roads, in fact it got a tad boring and as the weather was grey and overcast we were beginning to feel a little down - the holiday was coming to an end. It became apparent that we were not going to make Bergerac within our normal time frame and as there did not appear to be many stopping places we started looking at alternatives. The netbook showed us a place on our route so we stopped to investigate but, although it was okay, we felt we could do better. Another aire showed up about 5 minutes away, off route but a canal side setting appealed so we went looking. And we were very glad we did because it was beautiful, peaceful and only half full, worth the effort of actually maneuvering into a spot without driving into the canal....
And as the sun had come out, it cheered us up no end.
Saturday 29 March 2014
Now definitely heading east, despite it being a twisty turny
uppy downy road along the coast we decided to stick to the N634 as the motorway
becomes toll for part of the way to San Sebastion, or to give it it’s Basque
name, Donostia. However the effort was worth it as the Cantabria coast is wonderfully scenic with lots of little coastal villages with sandy beaches.
We’re into Basque country today as indicated by the signposts all being in dual languages and it’s certainly unusual – you can normally deduce Spanish but Basque is a mystery; we could not even pronounce a lot of it!
The weather started bright and sunny but as we approached
Bilbao it went cloudy and got very windy too. Despite our intentions, the road
started to get silly so we jumped up on the motorway for a short while until we
were clear. Though it’s nice to travel through the towns, it’s just a waste of
time – and fuel – battling through the crowded streets.
Lunch in a supermarket car-park then onward to San
Sebastion. As we would shortly be crossing into France we decided to top up the
fuel tank, hopefully a bit cheaper than in France, and refill the gas bottles
and we found a garage in San Sebastion to do both. It was now late afternoon so
the aire we used here last year became our target for a night-stop – but
unfortunately it was absolutely full, all French, so an alternative was needed.
Consulting the book, there was a small 2-place aire in a natural park in the
hills behind the town so we headed there.
Our luck was in, although there were quite a few locals
enjoying a day in the country, the motorhome spaces were empty so we settled
in. Gradually everybody went home and as I write we’re now on our own. There is
a hotel about 300 metres away and we’re actually on a road so we feel ok about
it. We will, however, take extra security measures tonight!
With no light pollution and a clear sky, there are a lot of
stars to be seen.
Friday 28 March 2014
Today is our drive round the Picos de Europa Mountains and,
as hoped for, it was a nice bright start although (as you will see) once we got
into the mountains it did cloud over somewhat. We can thoroughly recommend this
drive, taking the N625 south to Riano then N621 back to the coast at Unquera,
although it should be noted that for long sections at the beginning and end of
this route the roads travel along river gorges and are both narrow and twisty,
often with rock faces on one side and a drop into the river the other. Not for
the faint-hearted!
But when we got to the top the views were worth it. 133
photos taken and here are a small selection:
Lunch was taken once we got back to the main road as there
were few stopping places accessible due to snow. From there we continued east
along the N634, which is the alternate to the motorway, a lot of which is not
yet finished, towards Santander. For our overnight stop we chose a Nature Park
in the hills just behind Santander which had plenty of room and, to our
surprise, more British motorhomes – and only British motorhomes – parked here
than we had seen in a month! We realised of course that this was a very
convenient spot to wait for a ferry booking on the Santander-Plymouth route,
but nevertheless was in a lovely location.
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| Tranquil Parking |
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| Local population |
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Thursday 27 March 2014
We watched the tide go out; we watched the tide come in; we watched the tide come in...... (Well you've got to sleep sometime!)
As forecast, no more rain and from a cold start it improved as the day wore on. Moving on along the coast, we stuck pretty well to the N634 which seems to be the main non-motorway route across northern Spain. It generally runs alongside a new motorway but occasionally strikes out into the hills and becomes very picturesque. If you're not in a hurry it's very quiet and recommended.
A quick call into Lidl for milk, bread and water - we're sticking to bottled water for drinks - then a stop for fuel and lunch were the only interruptions to a nice easy and enjoyable run, taking turns to compare the scenery to other places we've been.
As we plan to "do" the Picos de Europa mountains tomorrow we'd picked out an aire at Cangas de Onis which is right at the beginning of a "scenic route" on our map. Just a town centre car-park with four allocated spaces and facilities for water and waste, we joined a huge overland camper truck and in turn another motorhome joined us. Don't think there's room for anyone else........
As forecast, no more rain and from a cold start it improved as the day wore on. Moving on along the coast, we stuck pretty well to the N634 which seems to be the main non-motorway route across northern Spain. It generally runs alongside a new motorway but occasionally strikes out into the hills and becomes very picturesque. If you're not in a hurry it's very quiet and recommended.
A quick call into Lidl for milk, bread and water - we're sticking to bottled water for drinks - then a stop for fuel and lunch were the only interruptions to a nice easy and enjoyable run, taking turns to compare the scenery to other places we've been.
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| A pretty seaside village beach |
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| A valley town |
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| First glimpse of Picos de Europa in the distance |
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| With snow on the tops |
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Wednesday 26 March 2014
So much for peaceful! It seems that the building we were parked next to was a council depot, that started work at 7.30, testing the equipment being used - chainsaws and strimmers. Then shortly afterwards a road crew started resurfacing about 50 metres from us so by 8.00 all hell had broken loose! So we got up and had an early start for a change.
Santiago de Compostela was on our route but as the weather forecast was not helpful we had already decided to give it a miss this time round. Well we've got to save something for the future! So rather than follow a fairly tortuous path around the coast we set the netbook to take us more or less straight to the north Spanish coast, to another attractive looking aire at Foz. A pleasant enough drive though we suffered frequent, sometimes heavy rain showers most of the way. A little bit of non-toll motorway for a change then a standard N road which so happened to run alongside an obviously new motorway not on our maps!
Foz turned out to be a very pleasant sea-side town and the aire a large empty open space overlooking an estuary and out to sea. Although a little earlier than we normally stop, we were both a little tired after the late night and early start, and tomorrows leg should place us very well for the Picos mountains.
Santiago de Compostela was on our route but as the weather forecast was not helpful we had already decided to give it a miss this time round. Well we've got to save something for the future! So rather than follow a fairly tortuous path around the coast we set the netbook to take us more or less straight to the north Spanish coast, to another attractive looking aire at Foz. A pleasant enough drive though we suffered frequent, sometimes heavy rain showers most of the way. A little bit of non-toll motorway for a change then a standard N road which so happened to run alongside an obviously new motorway not on our maps!
Foz turned out to be a very pleasant sea-side town and the aire a large empty open space overlooking an estuary and out to sea. Although a little earlier than we normally stop, we were both a little tired after the late night and early start, and tomorrows leg should place us very well for the Picos mountains.
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| View from Foz aire |
Tuesday 25 March 2014
A quiet start at this almost deserted camp-site, but we did see a couple in the little touring caravan next to us who left at the same time as us. An OK place we suppose, and relatively cheap, but not for a long stay. Interesting sculptures though no idea what they are about (musicians if you can't make them out).
Our plan today was to continue north and cross into Spain but with no real destination in mind - this is a mistake because at this stage of the trip having no objective leaves us, well, deflated.
So we set out, using Vigo in Spain as a sort of aiming point and again avoiding the motorways. It was a fairly uninspiring trip with more of what we experienced on Sunday; only the roads changed - they got worse! A short stop for essentials found us doing a full larder restock so with full fuel, gas and water and empty waste we were free to do whatever came up.
Stopped for lunch on a forest road that was lined with stonemasons yards, it seemed you could get almost anything carved in stone. Whilst stopped we started planning our next few days; Terry had visited the Picos de Europa mountains some years ago and as the weather forecast indicated much better weather in a couple of days we decided to give it a try. As for tonight the Aires book showed a small place overlooking a sea inlet in the small town of Arcade, with nearby alternatives if it proved to be unsuitable - or full!
So across the border into Spain, still enduring frequent rain showers, and easily found the aire which turned out to be just as delightful as the book promised. One other, British, van already parked up but room for a few more so that was us sorted for the night. And the sun came out.
Back in Spain, we could once again use the mi-fi so the evening was spent catching up. Of course we'd forgotten the time change again so lost an hour as well as being later than usual going to bed.
Our plan today was to continue north and cross into Spain but with no real destination in mind - this is a mistake because at this stage of the trip having no objective leaves us, well, deflated.
So we set out, using Vigo in Spain as a sort of aiming point and again avoiding the motorways. It was a fairly uninspiring trip with more of what we experienced on Sunday; only the roads changed - they got worse! A short stop for essentials found us doing a full larder restock so with full fuel, gas and water and empty waste we were free to do whatever came up.
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| Roadside cafe - colourful (name). |
So across the border into Spain, still enduring frequent rain showers, and easily found the aire which turned out to be just as delightful as the book promised. One other, British, van already parked up but room for a few more so that was us sorted for the night. And the sun came out.
Back in Spain, we could once again use the mi-fi so the evening was spent catching up. Of course we'd forgotten the time change again so lost an hour as well as being later than usual going to bed.
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| Dusk... |
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| at Arcade |
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Monday 24 March 2014
A peaceful night was disturbed just before getting up time
by heavy rain, despite it being clear last thing last night. We had managed to
get a weather forecast for the week and in fairness it was expected – showers,
some of them persistent most days until the weekend. So we just got on with it
and with no facilities here, after breakfast we departed. The rain was starting
to show signs of clearing so we continued with our plan.
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| Roundabout Art... |
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| ...in the rain |
Porto, another ex-capital city, was only an hour north
although our Rough Guide did not convince us this was a must-see place.
Nevertheless we had planned a route taking us into the city and then east along
the north bank of the Rio Douro, which was recommended – well a river cruise
actually but the map showed a “scenic route” by road.
As always we tried to avoid using the toll roads, out of
principal more than cost, and this gave us a somewhat interesting trip into
Porto, culminating in us battling it out in the centre of the old town with
trams, taxis and sight-seeing buses! Some inspired guesswork finally got us
down onto the riverside, albeit going in the wrong direction, but this was soon
sorted via a bus link (oops!) and we found ourselves travelling through the
suburbs for what seemed like miles.
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| Porto |
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| Porto |
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| Bridges over Rio Douro at Porto |
But the sun came out and eventually we joined the Rota de
Romanica which basically followed the N108 onto a drive that was more like the
River Rhine in Germany, with elements of the French Alpes. It was so
picturesque – yes lots more photos – and with the spring blossoms just starting
to appear it became one of the highlights of our trip. See for yourselves.
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| Wanna buy a Roman column? |
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| More like The Rhine |
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| Blossom coming out |
We stopped at Entre-os-Rios for provisions and fuel then a
short while later for lunch. The Douro is said to be one of the longest rivers
in Portugal, and in fact rises in Spain so we could have travelled for miles
further but as time started to run out we turned off at Mesao Frio and headed
north-west towards Amarante where our books told us there was a campsite as
well as several aires. Needing servicing we opted for the camp-site which,
though hosting lots of semi-permanent caravans, was all but devoid of visitors!
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